The Tarantella Dance in A Doll's House

382 Words1 Page

The Tarantella Dance in A Doll's House

In A Doll's House, Ibsen uses many symbols. One symbol that is used to symbolize Nora's character; is a dance called the Tarantella. The Tarantella is a folk dance from southern Italy. It goes from an already quick tempo to an even quicker one, while alternating between major and minor keys. It is characterized by swift movements, foot tapping, and on the women's part, exaggerated ruffling of petticoats. It involves a lot of very fast spinning and jumping until one cannot dance anymore and is so exhausted they fall to the ground. It is in constant uncertainty, like Nora's character.

The tarantella has a very interesting history. Its name derives from a little southern town of Italy called Taranto. It was believed that if a spider called the tarantula bit the townspeople, the only way to survive its bite was to do a dance called the Tarantella. The locals believed this was the only cure. If the people bitten did not dance they would suffer severe pain, muscle spasms, vomiting; most eventually died.

There were not any drugs that could counteract the venom. Many believed that the sweating associated with the dance flushed the venom from the dancer's bodies. They would continue dancing for hours and even days. It was so common that musicians patrolled the fields where most of the bites took place in expectation of being hired to play for the injured. Just as the dancer is trying to get rid of the venom, Nora was trying to rid herself of the deadly outside poison. The tarantella serves as her last chance to be Torvald's doll, to dance and amuse him. "HELMER: But, my dear Nora, you look so worn out. Have you been practising too much?" "NORA: No, I have not practised at all." "HELMER: But you will need to -" "NORA: Yes, indeed I shall, Torvald.

Show More
Related

  • A Doll's House and Trifles

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    In A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays his lead character, Nora, who is a housewife in the Helmer’s family. She has undergone a transformation throughout the play that she reacts differently to her husband. Her husband, Torvald, is an example of men who are only interested in their appearance and the amount of control they have over a person. In particular, he has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman's role. At the beginning of the story, as from the title of the play, Nora symbolizes the “doll” in the house, which means that she has been treated as treats Nora like a child or doll. For example, husband called Nora ‘bird’ and it implies that husband treats her like his pet and she is his doll as the title is a doll house. In other words, her husband wanted her to be a ‘lark' or ‘songbird' so he can enjoy h...

    Read More

  • Investigation of Power in Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    children, her husband and what life she had behind, as she slams the door to the family home. A significant transition of power has occurred and this is one of the major themes that Ibsen raises in his dramatic text ‘A Doll’s House.’ However, in examining the underlying. issue of power presented by the text, one cannot simply look at the plight of Nora’s character, three major aspects of this theme need. also to be considered for.

    Read More

  • Use of Imagery in A Doll's House

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagery symbolically guides the process of self-emancipation for Nora, the protagonist of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. Objects like the macaroons, the lamp, the Christmas tree, and costumes represent the movement towards freedom of a woman who was a victim of society. Ibsen painted Nora as a youthful and lovely creature who was brought through life treated as a plaything by both her father and then her husband, Torvald. She must break society's unwritten laws.  Although the consequences of her actions are initially minor, they start her along the path towards crisis when she realizes her position and the injustice of it. Through Ibsen's use of symbolism, objects in the play echo her process of anguish to liberation.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in A Doll’s House

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” is a controversial play focusing on the marriage of Nora and Torvald Helmer. The play is filled with symbols that represent abstract ideas and concepts. These symbols effectively illustrate the inner conflicts that are going on between the characters. Henrik Ibsen’s use of symbolism such as the Christmas tree, the locked mailbox, the Tarantella, Dr. Rank’s calling cards, and the letters allows him to give a powerful portrayal to symbolize aspects of characters and their relationship to each other.

    Read More

  • The Struggle for Identity in A Doll’s House

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nora and Torvald's relationship, on the outside appears to be a happy. Nora is treated like a child in this relationship, but as the play progresses she begins to realize how phony her marriage is. Torvald sees Nora's only role as being the subservient and loving wife. He refers to Nora as "my little squirrel" (p.1565), "my little lark" (p.1565), or "spendthrift"(1565). To him, she is only a possession. Torvald calls Nora by pet-names and speaks down to her because he thinks that she is not intelligent and that she can not think on her own.

    Read More

  • H.S. Level - SOund And Light Waves

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    momentum transfer when air molecules collide. Our ‘subjective impression’ about the frequency of a sound is called pitch. High pitch has high vibration frequency, while low pitch has a low vibration frequency. A pure musical tone consists of a single pitch or frequency. However, most musical tones are “complex summations” of various pure frequencies - one characteristic frequency, called the fundamental, and a series of overtones or harmonics Younger people can usually hear pitches with frequencies from about 20 hertz (infrasonic) to 20,000 (ultrasonic) hertz. We can’t hear above 20,000 hertz or below 20 hertz (ultra and infrasonic waves).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Stage Directions In A Doll's House

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is through these stage directions that Nora’s playful and slightly immature character is revealed. In Act One many of the stage directions written for Nora is her ‘shrieking’ , this overly excited, erratic behaviour is a common theme from Nora throughout the play and emphasises her immaturity and lack of sincerity, most likely stemming from not having the opportunity of independence. A slightly comical action of Nora’s in the play ‘A Doll’s House’ is when she ‘stuffs the bag of macaroons in her pocket and wipes her mouth’ . This could be compared to a child attempting to hide evidence from their parents either in guilt, or in fear of being caught doing something forbidden; for Nora this is brought about by the strict rules of Torvald. Nora also appears very whimsical and is found to be ‘lost in her own thoughts’ and ‘hums ‘. It seems as if she is blissfully unaware and oblivious of the troubles and misfortune her family is receiving and this highlights her role, not as an equal partner in the family but rather a doll on display. However it is not just the stage directions of Nora that give rise to her childish actions. A significant moment in the play that reveals why Nora acts like a child is when Torvald questions Nora about purchasing macaroons. The stage directions state that he is ‘wagging his finger at her’ , this is an action similar to one a parent would make when telling off a

    Read More

  • The Physics of Flight

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Flight is composed of four basic ideas thrust, drag, weight, and lift. Drag resists forward motion and thrust fights to overcome it. Weight pulls an object down to Earth and lift tries to keep it in the air. Those four basic ideas govern all aspects of flight. And yet, man had not mastered flight until the 1900s, while nature had been working with flight for millions and millions of years.

    Read More

  • The Physics of Flight

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    The trials and tribulations of flight have had their ups and downs over the course of history. From the many who failed to the few that conquered; the thought of flight has always astonished us all. The Wright brothers were the first to sustain flight and therefore are credited with the invention of the airplane. John Allen who wrote Aerodynamics: The Science of Air in Motion says, “The Wright Brothers were the supreme example of their time of men gifted with practical skill, theoretical knowledge and insight” (6). As we all know, the airplane has had thousands of designs since then, but for the most part the physics of flight has remained the same. As you can see, the failures that occurred while trying to fly only prove that flight is truly remarkable.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Characterization in Macbeth

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the history of English literature as well as the world’s paramount playwright. Possibly the most superlative writing attribute he possessed was his unmatched ability of characterization. Shakespeare created unique, opaque, and eminent characters who related to almost everyone. When one thinks of these famous characters, Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth comes into consideration. Macbeth is possibly Shakespearian Theatre’s densest and most disturbed character, and this prestigious title can be credited to his obvious psychological problems. The troubled mind of Macbeth can be related to several modern day psychological problems.

    Read More

  • The Breaking of a Family in A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ibsen writes his play A Doll House to explain the life of a housewife and her struggles with her own actions. Ibsen examines the emptiness in the lives of Nora and Torvald as they lived a dream in a Doll House. Both awaken and realize this emptiness and so now Torvald struggles to make amends as he hopes to get Nora back possibly and then to restore a new happiness in their lives. Ibsen examines this conflict as a rock that breaks the image of this perfect life and reveals all the imperfections in the lives of those around.

    Read More

  • Use of Symbols in Ibsen's Play, A Doll's House

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Symbols are used universally to arouse interest and to stimulate the mind. Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House, is filled with symbols that represent abstract ideas and concepts. These symbols successfully illustrate the inner conflicts that are going on between the characters. A few of the symbols are the Christmas tree, New year’s day, the title of the book and the nicknames Torvald called Nora emphasizes a theme of comparing perfect marriage relationship to the reality of the relationship, that is an artificial “Doll’s House” relationship.

    Read More

  • A Doll House Title Analysis

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Doll’s House, the title belonging to one of the most well known plays in the world of literature. As the name suggests, this famous play written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879 discusses the dilemmas of a seemingly perfect 19th century family. The title serves as a significant symbol and proposal of the message that Ibsen intended to convey through the play. The title highlights two important aspects of the play, a doll and a house. The doll and house symbolize the main character Nora Helmer, and the house in which she lives in with her husband, Torvald Helmer. It is clear that Ibsen named his play A Doll’s House because of the relationship between Nora and Torvald, the perfection of the house in which they live, and the constant manipulation that

    Read More

  • How is the title “A Doll’s House” appropriate for the play?

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Torvald’s manipulation over Nora can be seen in the beginning of Act II, when he sends Nora to practice dancing Tarantella:“That’s right. Well, we will share it. Caressing her. Are you content n...

    Read More

  • Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Realistic Drama

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ibsen desires to challenge assumptions as well as rules of Norwegian life, and most importantly wants to depict society accurately, as he meticulously incorporates everyday life. Therefore, A Doll House represents a realistic drama due to the issues involving women, illnesses, and laws within the play, while conveying Ibsen’s desire for controversy and change in Norway’s society. A common woman in Norway, such as Nora, experiences a daily life of oppression, fear, and unjust authority, which exposes societal mistreatment. Society and Torvald Helmer force Nora to look pretty and happy, although “she laughs softly at herself while taking off her street things. Drawing a bag of macaroons from her pocket, she eats a couple, then steals over and listens at her husband’s door” (Ibsen I. 43), which portrays oppression.

    Read More

More about The Tarantella Dance in A Doll's House

Open Document