A Dolls House Essay, Performing the Role of Nils Krogstad

‘How would you perform the role of Nils Krogstad, on the two occasions when he is alone with Nora, in order to reveal his scheming nature?’ ‘A Doll’s house’ is a three act play by Henrik Ibsen, which tells the story of a woman named Nora and her advances into independence from her husband. The play is set in Norway and is naturalistic. The sub text in this play communicates to the audience how the characters are actually feeling, despite conveying a completely different emotion. Nils Krogstad is a convoluted character in that, as the play progresses, the audience are not quite sure whether he is actually a bad man, or just a misunderstood one. His attitude changes greatly when Christine Linde admits her affection for him – he becomes†¦show more content†¦It is important for the change in Krogstad’s tone towards Nora to be evident, so I would start with being quite polite and formal to begin with, and then gradually narrow my eyes and make my voice deeper and more threatening when he says â€Å"Oh, you don’t need to play innocent with me† in a derisive manner. This reveals to the audience that he isn’t actually as gracious as he makes out to be. In fact, he is a very bitter man, as he has already been caught out for one indiscretion, he does not want Nora’s husband, Torvald, kicking him back into the dirt by dismissing him. As the scene progresses, Krogstad fights to control his anger and becomes more snide and ruthless, looming over Nora when he says, â€Å"Listen, Mrs Helmer. Either you’ve a bad memory or else you know very little about financial transactions. I had better enlighten you.† To create an atmosphere of suspense, I would start of speaking very carefully and then quicken the pace- to alert the audience of an almost smug, satisfaction on Krogstad’s part; this must mean he has some knowledge that he can use to blackmail Nora. Throughout my posture should be straight and upright, with my hands behind my back- occasionally leaning in to Nora to almost mock scorn her, â€Å"Can you suggest any explanation?† is when Krogstad finally lets Nora know that he’s caught her out about her forging her father signature- because he has the power over Nora, I would stand tall with a patronising smile on my faceShow MoreRelatedA Doll House by Henrik Ibsen7379 Words   |  30 Pages14, 2012 A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen Translated by Rolf Fjelde I. Introduction During the late nineteenth century, women were enslaved in their gender roles and certain restrictions were enforced on them by a male dominant culture. Every woman was raised believing that they had neither self-control nor self-government but that they must yield to the control of a stronger gender. John Stuart Mill wrote in his essay, â€Å"The Subjection of Women†, that women were, â€Å"wholly under the role of men and each