Nora's crime resembles closely the forgery efforts of a Norwegian woman named Laura Kieler. Already a married man, Ibsen met Kieler in 1871 and called her his "skylark," a pet name that Torvald uses to refer to his wife in the play. Ibsen and Kieler were acquainted for years before she became involved in events that resembled those depicted in A Doll's House.
Laura Kieler had been advised that time spent in a warmer climate would save her husband's life. They could not afford a trip south, but Kieler hesitated to broach the subject, since her husband became hysterical at the mention of money. Secretly, with the help of a friend, she secured a loan to finance a trip to Italy. When the loan fell due two years later, however, neither she nor the friend could pay it.
Ibsen, unaware at the time of the full circumstances, declined to help her publish an inferior manuscript, which she had hoped would raise money to pay the loan. The day she received his refusal, Kieler forged a check. The crime was soon discovered. She told her husband everything, but he spurned her as a criminal and an unfit mother. Their marriage (and her health) subsequently foundered. He did what he could to take the children away from her, and she suffered a nervous breakdown. Her husband had Kieler committed to a public asylum, but she was released a month later. She pleaded with him to take her back for the sake of the children, and he accepted her proposal unwillingly
http://www.answers.com/topic/a-doll-s-house-the-play-in-focus
No comments:
Post a Comment