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THEA 143: Development of Dramatic Art II

A discussion of ideas, individuals, innovations, and trends in theatre over the past 150 years.

Monday, September 12, 2005

The Lady From the Sea: Melodramatics

In the beginning of reading The Lady From the Sea, I felt that aspects of this play were more melodramatic than A Doll House. Both had the same basic conflict, that is the secret being kept from Ellida and Nora’s husbands. And like Nora in A Doll House, Ellida emotionally and difficultly reveals her secret. But Ibsen drags out the suspense of Ellida’s revelation, having her mention to Arnholm in Act I, “…I want to tell you something now that I couldn’t have mentioned then to save my life (p. 9).” However, she never actually tells Arnholm, and the act ends. It isn’t until the next act that she tells her husband, Wangel, about her promise to the Stranger, her “engagement,” as she calls it (p. 18). Wangel is confused and hurt, and doesn’t seem to understand how their promise could amount to a lasting commitment to one another. But it is with Ellida’s statement about her baby’s eyes – “The child had the stranger’s eyes (p. 22)” – that she rushes dramatically offstage, and the act ends. The ending of this play, while still melodramatic in many ways – such as Wangel’s decision to free Ellida coming only just in the nick of time (p. 48) – ends on such a happy and uplifting note (such a contrast to A Doll House) that it almost doesn’t fit. I suppose that melodramas are allowed to end happily, it is just that there is such a difference between the endings, that I hesitate to refer to them as the same type of play.

The Lady from the Sea: Questions to Consider

You might consider these questions as you comment on The Lady from the Sea. Do not feel you need to answer all - or even any - of them!

• How do the mechanics of this play – in terms of the plot – compare to the mechanics of A Doll House? Do improbabilities strain the conventions of realism?

• How do Ellida and Wangel define their relationship? How do these definitions differ from each other, and where do they overlap? By what means – if any – do these definitions (and their relationship) change?

• If there is an “issue” or social “problem” addressed by this play, what is it? If this play is not an “issue” or problem play, how might we categorize it?

• One French production, during Ibsen’s lifetime, attempted to give the Stranger a specific, realistic name. Ibsen opposed and resisted this choice, noting that if he had wanted to name the Stranger, he would have. What do you make of this character?

• How do you respond to the Ellida's choice? ... to her having a choice? ... to the ending of the play?