Antigone and A Dolls’ House Essay Example

at her! Don't you go thinking this is the end of this, my young'un... But your Uncle Creon will hear of this! That, I promise you! (Anouilh 8) The nurse is used in a Brechtian way to describe Antigone's past and to make her life clearer to the reader. In her overly emotional attitude, she easily talks of past experiences, and how Antigone came to be in her current situation. The Nurse also provides possible motivations for Antigone's future actions.

Anouilh's exposition in this play does not explain many of Antigone's or Ismene's motives or actions, but his use of exposition does show us a great deal about their personalities. Further on in the play, the Nurse also explains Antigone's relationships with the other characters in the novel: "Not to mention Haemon! For the girl's engaged! Going to be married! Going to be married, and she hops out of bed at four in the mourning to meet somebody else in a field. Do you know what I ought to do to you? " (Anouilh 8).

Dr. Rank, in his curt, blunt, nature, gives his direct opinion about the lawyer Krogstad, an important character in A Doll's House. Although Dr. Rank is biased by his relationship with Helmer, his opinion of Krogstad reflects the town's opinion of the lawyer. I don't know whether it's the same where you live, but here there are people who grub around sniffing out moral corruption, and when they've found it, out it in a good job somewhere they can keep an eye on it. The honest man probably finds himself left out in the cold.

Here, Rank refers to Krogstad as the "moral

corruption". He sees Helmer, Nora's husband, as the man who watches over this corruption, to ensure he does not get out of hand. Rank explains that Krogstad, hired not because of his competence, but because of his potential danger to the bank, remains badly respected, and poorly welcomed considered dishonest in the eyes of all those around him. Dr. Rank implies that because Krogstad cheats other, more honest, men out of their rightful jobs, he is a threat to society.

Here, Dr. Rank also points out some of Krogstad's possible motives for his malice directed at Nora (Krogstad, untrustworthy and dishonest, prioritizes money, which Nora has at her disposal) and also provides exposition on the time shortly before the play took place. Dr. Rank's previous dialogue points out the motives Helmer has for hiring and dismissing the lawyer from the bank, and also displays the general opinion towards Krogstad in this play- unwanted and mistrusted.

Rank judges Krogstad on a mistake which Nora herself has committed, and in this way acts as a version of the Greek chorus in the play; the voice of the people. Rank represents the actions taken in the play; he has been molded by Helmer, and has become the person he is through Helmers decisions. Both the Nurse and Dr. Rank provide exposition, but only in the beginning of both plays. The placing of the exposition early in the play is effective because exposition is needed to explain what has happened, the motives for what will happen, and to clear up debatable issues within the literary piece.

In Antigone, the Nurse explains that Antigone's brother has been killed, that she is headstrong, and

strong willed, and these traits cause her to make bold decisions and allies the reader on Antigone's side for the rest of the play. In A Doll's House, Dr. Rank explains why Krogstad is treated the way he is, and because of his exposition, he motivates Nora to run away. Without Rank's exposition, Nora entertained the possibility that if Helmer had found out about her dishonesty, she would have been forgiven.

However, once Rank exposed why Helmer disliked Korgstad, Nora realized that her hope for forgiveness was futile. This use of the expositional character is limited to the primary act and scenes, as it is useless to provide background information at the end of a play, where explanation of motives and personality traits would be needless. Both characters appear only three or four times throughout the play, and during these times provide no significant dialogue, other than the explanations of certain characters' actions or relationships, based on past behavior.

Their bias towards certain characters does affect the type of exposition they give: for example, Rank, because of his loyal friendship with Helmer, would find it difficult to say anything demeaning about Helmer or speak out against the way he treats Nora. The Nurse would never say outright that Antigone's stubbornness regarding her brother's burial is wrong. Any information given during the play helps greatly with the comprehension of motives or actions, and it also allows for an in-depth character analysis.

The Nurse in Anouilh's Antigone is the most useful at providing the constructive exposition that builds up accurate character analysis of Antigone. Anouilh and Ibsen have distinctive and different styles, and Anouilh's exposition is more structured and full

of emotion, allowing the expression of more detail in character's speech. Ibsen's less colloquial exposition suffers because of his more formal approach to writing; the characters take on a stiffness that stops them from being as open as they could. The characters determine how useful the background information is through their own biases.

Dr. Rank, an older, calm and quiet man, lacks energy in his lines; this coldness comes across in the script, and his clipped speech illustrates why he remains closed and unforthcoming about his powerful feelings towards other characters throughout the play. However, the Nurse, an emotional and caring woman, divulges past experiences and memories of her trustees through flowing and colloquial speech, giving insight into their personalities. The Nurse laces her dialogue with the emotion and tenderness she feels towards the two sisters.

Her affection is shown by shying away from saying anything shocking or unkind about their personalities or past experiences. Her aversion to negative information is partly due to the fact that when she gives any exposition, she is always in the company of the sisters. Dr. Rank provides uninhibited insight. He speaks briskly and to the point, due to his brusque manner. He does not hint at the information he tries to divulge, instead he openly relates his opinion: brusquely and exactly. Both characters provide useful exposition, and with their absence, the plays would not be as seamless.

Their contributions to the plays allow the reader to understand the motivations of certain characters, and the events that have led up to their current situations. These characters are essential, as they allow us to quickly interpret the actions of other key characters and

also increased our comprehension of the events that lead up to the action throughout the plays. Although both authors and characters have different means of divulging information, the difference in style and attitude adds depth to the characters and makes the plays unique.