Finishing Up A Doll's House and Starting Fences

Good evening :)

At last here is a real blog entry with our questions for the week.  I am also posting links to the opening and closing scenes from the 1973 version of A Doll's House starring Jane Fonda and David Warner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjX-u7yAWDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtSGp72hoXE

More recently, in 1997, Janet McTeer performed the role of Nora.  I'm including some scenes from this version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6bnV9R0qls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7TO2-vZjCg

Below is a picture of Hattie Morahan's Nora with Dr. Rank.

Now for a few more questions on A Doll's House....

What did you think about the ending of the play?  Is it credible as an ending to you?

What do you think that Nora does after the play is over?  (In an interview, Janet Adchurch, the original English-language Nora, maintained that Nora would shortly return to Helmer but their reunion would not be successful.   Other authors have imagined Nora as a wealthy man's mistress.  But what do you think?)

Could Helmer and Nora reconcile?  Why?  Why not?

Why does Nora not take her children with her?  How does that affect your understanding of her character?

Compare Anthony Hopkins and Claire Bloom's performance in the last scene with Jane Fonda and David Warner's.  What surprises you about these performances?

Is Ibsen a feminist?  Why?  Why not?  What does it mean to be a feminist?  Consider historical contest.  Could one retroactively label a writer a feminist--when he did not consider himself to be one?  Why?  Why not?

Discuss Ibsen's portrayal of women.  Comment on this passage from Stephanie Forward's article on A Doll's House: "James Joyce said of the dramatist: 'Ibsen's knowledge of humanity is nowhere more obvious than in his portrayal of women. He amazes me by his painful introspection; he seems to know them better than they know themselves.' This sentiment was echoed by Irish suffragist Louie Bennett: 'More than any other modern writer he has proved himself a prophet and an apostle of the cause of woman; no other modern writer has shown more sympathetic comprehension of her nature and its latent powers.'"

Discuss Nora's performance of the tarantella.  What does it tell you about her?  about her relationship with Helmer?  about their relationship with Dr. Rank?

Above are pictures from a recent version of A Doll's House starring Hattie Morahan as Nora, Steve Toussaint as Dr. Rank, and Dominic Rowan as Helmer.  How would you describe the dynamic among these characters?  Consider that the actors playing Dr. Rank and Helmer are about the same age.  Also, discuss the impact of cross-casting.  I'll finish with a picture of a recent production starring Cush Jumbo as Nora.  How does cross-casting change the dynamic?

I'll finish with a few questions about Fences, our next reading.

August Wilson is often noted for emphasizing character over plot.  How does his emphasis affect Fences?

Fences is set in Pittsburgh.  How does that circumstance shape the play?  Consider, too, that it mostly takes place in 1957, that is, after Little Rock *and* the Montgomery Bus Boycott but before the sit-ins at the Greensboro lunch counter *and* Selma.  Do the characters in Fences seem to be aware of what is going on in the South?  Why?  Why not?

Discuss Troy Maxson as a character.

Do Troy and Rose have a good marriage?  Why?  Why not?

Is Troy a good father to Cory?  Why?  Why not?

Why does Cory rebel against his father?

Discuss the role that baseball plays in Fences.