Obedience and control is a recurring theme of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Which line in this excerpt from act 1 of the play r
eflect this theme? A. To have any talk with a man like that, and give him any sort of promise?
B. A songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with--no false notes!
C. I am looking forward tremendously to the fancy-dress ball at the Stenborgs' the day after tomorrow.
D. And I am tremendously curious to see what you are going to surprise me with.
B. A songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with--no false notes!
Explanation:
Obedience and control is a recurring theme of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House". Obedience from his wife, Nora and control from himself, Helmer Torvald. The dialogue "A songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with-- no false notes" shows he expects his wife to be clean of any immoral acts. The above lines by Torvald is from Act 1 where he caught Nora lying about Krogstad's visit. Also, the use of "little' shows the dehumanizing of Nora into something that is not of his level, and the animal imagery representative of Nora being conditioned by her husband, losing both her identity and integrity along with it. But ironically, Torvald has no idea of what she has been doing behind his back. Women are expected to be submissive to their husbands and be faithful to their every demands, doing everything without any complains, serving diligently.
