Setiing in "A Doll's House"

Setting in "A Doll's House"

Perhaps the most important element of this play is the setting. The first thing that the audience see when the curtains are raised is the setting, so it is important to get it right, to invite them in.

We are thrown into a Norwegian, working class home in the 1870's. It is well furnished and certainly very pretty with a grand piano, engraved walls, rocking chairs, and a bookcase with leather bound books. Maybe it is too pretty, maybe like a dolls house is meant to look.

The special thing about the setting in "A Doll's House" is the fact that it remains the same house, indoors throughout the whole play. We never get too see the outside, the only indication we are given on it is that it is cold and harsh.

This constant indoor setting in a frilly, perfect home gives the audience a sense that they are trapped inside it, just as Nora is trapped inside.

Ibsen has used the setting to make the audience feel in a particular way, this in turn intensifies the play and allows the audience to feel how Nora feels.

The setting in "A Doll's House" is brilliant as it immediately makes the audience feel a certain way, trapped in a perfect house, it's almost creepy.