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Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879, is set in an unnamed town or city in Norway during the late 19th century. During this period, both married and unmarried women had extremely limited autonomy in Europe, although in different ways. Married women in particular were prevented from property ownership and financial autonomy, and oftentimes even bodily autonomy as well. In fact, Ibsen gained inspiration for this play from the real-life story of one of his friends, Laura Kieler (born Laura Petersen), who signed an illegal loan. When her husband discovered what she did, he divorced her and committed her to an asylum. It was with these events in mind that Ibsen crafted the Helmer family and events of the play.
The action of the drama all takes place in the home of Torvald and Nora Helmer, and is therefore constricted and nearly claustrophobic in its limitations. The isolation of the setting mirrors Nora’s isolation from her sense of self, bringing the audience into her state of mind. The winter setting helps further bring the audience into the world of the play by invoking the various anxieties that are endemic to the holiday season—particularly the need to perform the image of a perfect, happy family and marriage. With this context in mind, the audience is primed to pay attention to the ways that the Helmers present themselves to the other characters in the play, as well as to each other, making the cracks in their marriage that much more visible.
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