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A_DOLLS_HOUSE

                           May 15, 2006

Ibsen - "A Doll's House" (1879)
Trans. Rolf Fjelde.  Signet Classic edition
of "Four Plays".

First reaction: this female lead is such a stupid
annoying ditz, I just don't care about her
problems.  Though I can imagine an actress might
find it a fun role.

Second reaction: this plot is a morality play like
some ABC Afterschool Movie.

Third: Oh, I get it, this is a proto-feminist story.
The worm turns.  She has to seem like a ditz at the
outset, so she can have an awakening, and escape her
sheltered "dolls house" existance and become a real
person.

Too bad the character transformation isn't at all
believeable.  And the dialog is horribly dated.

"I'm not confused.  I don't think I've
ever been less confused in all my life."

   Or whatever it was.

                  I grew up on things like
                  the movie "To Have and
                  Have Not" (1944):
                  they were already making
                  fun of this kind of dialog
                  over a half century ago.

                       (Albeit, 75 years after
                        the plays first performance.)

  So anyway: this play
  was "ahead of it's
  time" but now it's
  only barely readable.
  A good production
  might be watchable,
  but I'm not sure
  there'd be any point
  in it, really.



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