Essay Questions

1. So, I started with the question: How does the play present families and relationships? This is too broad, however, and will not enable me to answer the question with enough focus. 
2. Then, I decided to develop the question: How is Nora and Torvald's relationship presented in the text? I did this because, clearly, their relationship is the most detailed in the text. However, there is such a large scope that I think it will be difficult to develop a thesis. 
3. How is patriarchal control explored in A Doll's House? I think that this route enables me to address the three male characters (Torvald, Krogstadt, and Dr Rank) and their relationships with Nora and Christine in greater depth, whilst also addressing one of the key themes in the play: control. I think, still, that I may need to focus more on a specific area - the essay is only 1500 words, so to look at patriarchal control is maybe too broad. I also want to look at selfishness, as this is something that arose from my earlier writing on the first question. 
4. To what extent does control in Ibsen's A Doll's House stem from selfish aims? I think that this question is interesting. I could look at Torvald's control of Nora in order to preserve her as his child-wife - someone who looks attractive and helps him to appear like a generous husband - and I can address Krogstadt's selfishness - he controls and manipulates Nora in order to get his job back. I think, however, that the question is poorly worded, and I'm not sure if it will provide enough examples. 
5. Torvald attempts to control Nora, so maybe I could word the question a bit more like this: How does Torvald try and control his wife in Ibsen's A Doll's House? 
6. Or maybe, on a different note that would allow me to focus more upon Nora, and facades, something I wrote about in my last post: How does Nora assume different personas in order to determine her fate? or: To what extent are Nora's many façades of her own volition? 
7. I quite like the example questions that have a line from the text at the beginning, so maybe I could use something such as: "You're hiding something from me": To what extent are Nora's many façades of her own volition? or: "I'd turn myself into a little fairy and dance for you in the moonlight, Torvald": [insert above question here]. 
8. But maybe the question is too complex, with 'façades' and 'volition'. Maybe I need a simpler title. What am I trying to say? I want to explore Nora's manipulation of her different characteristics, influenced by her company: flirtatious with Dr Rank; confessional with Torvald; instructive with the servants. I want to explore the extent to which these are what she believes to be correct, or what society does. But maybe I could develop that in the essay. So, possibly, this question could work better: "Nora, you're hiding something from me": How does Ibsen present Nora's different characteristics in A Doll's House? 
9. No. Right. I want to look at changing identity in the text. A doll, a bird, a woman, a wife. The many sides of Nora's personality, and how they change until she loses them all following her leaving the family. Do I want to look at identity, or roles? Torvald's role as a protector, as the head of a house-hold. Nora's role as a mother, a woman, a wife. 
10. Following the thoughts of the last point, maybe a question more along the lines of: "I am first and foremost a human being": How does Ibsen explore the duties of his protagonists in A Doll's House? This sounds better, because I can look at the perceived duties, as well as the duties that Nora discusses in her final speech. 
11. However, I think to improve this, I should maybe change 'duties' to 'roles', so it would become: "I am first and foremost a human being": How does Ibsen explore the roles of his protagonists in A Doll's House?