World Literature One

Stage directions are a crucial component in plays as a literary technique used to give effect to the literary work in various aspects. Henrik Ibsen in A Doll House and Ariel Dorfmann in Death and the Maiden, both utilize stage directions to personify the women protagonists in their plays. Both authors use stage directions to support their overall themes, to add characterization to the women protagonists, to help structure the play using the varying stage directions, and the development of the plot and main women characters using stage directions within the plays.
A theme present with in Death and the Maiden similar to that of A Doll House is emotional freedom. The stage writing freedom that is present within Death and the Maiden reflects this theme of emotional freedom. This theme is noticed though dialogue, as well as stage directions. Ariel Dorfmann used similar techniques with stage directions in his Death and the Maiden. Unlike Ibsen's, Dorfmann does not use as rigid, very detailed stage directions. Instead, the stage directions are loose and add a sense of ambiguity. This allows the audience more freedom to interpret the characters personalities. In Act one of Death and the Maiden, an entire scene consists of stage directions. The scene is crucial to the play as it alludes to the evasive, unforthcoming attitude of Paulina. Dorfmann uses this scene to reinforce the secretiveness of Paulina's personality, "By the light of the moon she can be seen going to the drawer and taking out the gun, and some vague articles of clothing which appear to be stockings." This scene occurs in dim lighting, if not in complete darkness, which adds to the sense of ambiguity, also in complete silence except for a muffled sound of a cry. This scene is a turning point in the plot of the play, in which the audience is able to view Paulina dragging Roberto's limb body onto the stage, "Paulina leaves the house. We hear the sound of Roberto's car. When the car's headlights are turned on, they sweep the scene and that stark brutal shot of light clearly reveals Roberto Miranda tied with ropes to one of the c hairs, totally unconscious, and with his mouth gagged. The car leaves darkness."
Ibsen and Dorfmann use stage directions with particular detail to add characterization to the two strong female figures in the plays. Through this characterization the authors were able to achieve particular emotion, depth, and tone in the plays making the characters more real. This type of characterization allows the audience insight into the personality of the strong female figures, as well as allowing a certain sense of ambiguity. As mentioned previously, Nora's personality in A Doll House is both childlike and secretive. , especially towards her husband Torvald, reflecting their family values. By simply hearing the dialogue, the audience may be able to understand the personality of Nora, but the added gestures in stage directions help to give the audience a full description of Nora's true personality, and this understanding adds much meaning to the play that would have been lost. In A Doll House, actions within the stage directions show Nora being childlike and very secretive, as mentioned before. Nora is observed eating macaroons while Torvald is not present on stage, and in a hurried manner. In the stage directions, the audience is about to visualize how Nora is bothered by her "big secret," after Krogstad visits her for the first time. The stage directions play a large role in displaying Nora's anxiety. An example of this from the play is in one scene when Nora, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts, begins to embroider, but quickly throws the embroidery down and begins to move around frivolously. "She sits down on the couch, picks up apiece o f embroidery, makes a few stitches then stops. Throws the embroidery down and calls out."
In the play Death and the Maiden, the personality of Paulina comes to light through stage directions. In the opening act of the play, Paulina is introduced as sitting in a chair on the terrace of her beach house, at midnight. When a strange car approaches, Paulina hurriedly stands up, still hidden in the shadows and gets a gun. This description of the darkness and the gun allows the audience to begin to see that Paulina is paranoid, secretive, and possibly violent, all without her ever having said a word aloud.
In both plays, the length of the stage directions is noticeable. Ibsen uses many stage directions to help guide his play. Ibsen shows his style with this play, adding very detail and rigid stage direction^. The rigidness of the stage directions reflects upon Nora and Torvald's relationship. Through the play, the relationship of the two is one of m aster and pet. Torvald holds complete control of the naive Nor a, with her childlike personality. Torvald guides Nora in everything that she must do, as if Nora is a pet, or subservient to him.
Dorfmanns’ minimalism of stage directions rely heavily on sound clues rather than on sets shows his peculiar style, and allows for immense stage freedom. The sounds and lighting present in the play allow for an open stage, as well as for an open interpretation by the audience. An example of this is utilized in Act one scene three, "In half light... .We hear a confusing, muffled sound, followed by a sort of cry. Then silence." This bit of stage direction reinforces Dorfmann's style of ambiguity, and allows the audience to relate to real people and problems and to try to transmit the author's intentions through their emotions in order to engage the audience mentally.
Stage directions add to a play in numerous ways. During a play, like any other literary work, events generally happen over a certain period of time; hours, days, or even weeks. With a play consisting of only dialogue between characters, an understanding in an elapse in time is virtually impossible. The play A Doll House is over a few days, and this time period is made known throughout the stage directions. The Torvald's are celebrating Christmas, and in their culture, the celeb ration of Christmas continues for a few days. This celebration is known of not through the dialogue, but rather through directions and movements in the setting within the stage directions.
In the play Death and the Maiden, the stage directions are a crucial component to the understanding of an elapse in time within the play. In Death and the Maiden, the entire play is set over a two day period, with the exception to the ending. For this play, not having stage directions would completely diminish the value and understanding of the play, as well as an entire scene. In Act one scene three, the entire scene consists of only stage directions. In this scene, Paulina is described vividly to the audience as taking action, "In the half light we see her come out of the room. She goes back to her own bedroom door. She opens it, takes a key from the inside of the door, and locks it. She returns to the spare bedroom. We see her dragging something in, which resembles a body but we can't be sure. As the scene continues, it can be seen that it is a body." This bit of stage direction gives insight into Paulina's personality and grabs the reader's attention. Without the use of this stage direction, the reader would be clueless as to what had happened over night, and how Roberto had gotten tied up, as scene four opens up.
In both literary works, the plots development is crucial to the overall understanding of the play and the characters', whom the lives the play centers around. For both plays, the development of plot is not nearly as important as the development of the women protagonists within the play. Ibsen's Nora is developed from a child like girl, a possession of her husband, to an independent worn an. This progression happens slowly with the development of the plot as Nora's personality diminishes during the play. Emotionally abundant, the frivolous macaroon eater of Act One is spontaneous, playful affectionate and quite versatile in play acting for her sexist counterpart. Nora, as she emerges as the end of the play, has become extremely rigid, and quite rational, much like Torvald. This change in the women protagonist of Ibsen's literary work dramatically stunned the audience with a switch of roles in a dominantly patriarch society. Significantly, Nora used a term of finance when she and Torvald have their first and last serious discussion. "This is a settling of accounts."
Similarly, Dorfmann’s protagonist Paulina undergoes an important transformation throughout the play. Dorfmann develops Paulina's character by presenting her with weaknesses, seen throughout the play with her secretive, elusive actions. Just as the plot develops, Paulina's persona does, too. Dorfmann lifts her façade with her domineering nature and through this uncovers her secret of Dr. Miranda, and her plot to avenge herself from her previous torture. This major change of Paulina's character appears in Act one scene three when she makes her initial action of revenge, all of which is done in silence in the middle of the night.
Stage directions are a crucial component within the plays of A Doll House, and Death and the Maiden. Both authors utilize stage directions to successfully personify the women protagonists in their plays, to support their overall themes, to add characterization to the women protagonists, to help structure the play using the varying stage directions, and the development of the plot and main women characters using stage directions within the plays.