Nora

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how dramatists often criticize society through the characters and situations they depict on stage. In particular it looks at the way these characters are shaped by the society in which they live and how they behave because of the conflict that develops between their psychology and their personality as well as the demands of society. It evaluates how the same is true of novelists and fiction writers and how the process can be seen by reference to several women coincidentally named Nora, in three in plays by J.M. Synge, George Bernard Shaw and Sean O'Casey and a real-life Nora who served as model for the character of Gretta Conroy in James Joyce's "The Dead." It also analyzes how they can all be compared to the prototypical middle-class woman emerging from her cocoon, Nora in "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen.

From the Paper:

"Sean O'Casey wanted to be a voice for a new Ireland, but after The Plough and the Stars was rejected by the very audience for which it was written because of its unsympathetic portrayal of those involved in the Easter Rebellion, O'Casey left Ireland for Britain. Interestingly, the play has become one of those most performed in Ireland since that time. The 1916 rebellion is the background for the play, and it was a period of disturbance in Irish history. The play begins in 1915 and prepares for the tragedy to come in 1916. Nora and Clitheroe are introduced by Fluther Good and Mrs. Gogan. This Nora has not been married long, and she and her husband are beginning to quarrel. She is unhappy living in a tenement house and would also like to dress in better clothing than Jack can afford."

More papers on Nora:

• Analytical Essay # 67580 : "Nora in "A Doll's House"
• Essay # 71247 : "Nora's Development in "A Doll's House"
• Essay # 36471 : "Nora Zeale Hurston"
• Analytical Essay # 67055 : "Nora as a Theorist"

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