A Doll’s House, Part 2 makes its PNW debut at Seattle Repertory Theatre on March 15. Cassandra Swan
Modern theater started with the slamming of a door.
That’s what they say, at least. The door slams two hours into A Doll’s House, by the 19th-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The character slamming the door is Nora Helmer. She’s just had an epiphany: Her marriage sucks and she hates being a mother. Her happiness is a lie, built on top of other lies. Her husband pleads for her not to go, but she walks out. Then… blackout. The end.
Western civilization responded by pulling its collective hair out over the meaning and impact of Nora’s final gesture. Are we supposed to celebrate her choice? Why would a mother abandon her children? Is this feminism?
