Instructions: The questions below are all short answer responses. You only need a few
sentences to answer each (at least 80-100 words minimum, but it is fine if you exceed this). You
do not need to quote from the play, but be specific, not vague and check your writing for errors.
If your answer is unclear or too vague, you cannot earn credit.

1.
What makes A Dolls House a work of Realism and why is it considered a problem play?
2. When Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House was first released, the play was considered very
controversial for its time. In particular, Noras actions at the end of the play were thought
of as unforgivable, considering her role as a mother. As a result, some theater directors
considered changing the ending. Ibsen was very unhappy with this, but in order to
prevent others from altering his work, he changed the ending to appease directors. First,
read the excerpt from a letter he wrote to the editor of the Nationaltidende (a Danish newspaper order to prevent such a possibility [of a director changing the ending of the play], I
sent to him [the director], for use in case of absolute necessity, a draft of an altered last
scene, according to which Nora does not leave the house, but is forcibly lead by Helmer
to the door of the childrens bedroom; a short dialogue takes place, Nora sinks down at
the door, and the curtain falls. This change, I myself, in the letter to my translator,
stigmatize as barbaric violence done to the play. Those who make use of the altered
scene do so entirely against my wish When my works are threatened, I prefer, taught
by experience, to commit the act of violence myself, instead of leaving them to be treated
and adapted by less careful and less skillful hands. Henrik Ibsen (1880)
After reading the letter, why would Ibsen have been so upset and consider it barbaric
violence that he was forced to change the ending of A Dolls House? How does the new
ending alter the play as a whole?
3. Given the overarching theme of the play as well as how it ends, which of the following
characters best represents the antagonist of A Dolls House: Nils Krogstad or Torvald Helmer Why? Provide specific examples to support your answer.