Noras Monologue from A Dolls House

Nora's Monologue from A Doll's House A Dolls House is a play by renowned Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen. Challenging marital norms and featuring strong feminist themes, the play was widely celebrated as well as criticized when it was first performed in 1879. Here is a breakdown of Noras revealing monologue near the end of the play. For the complete script, there are many translations of A Dolls House. The edition by Oxford University is recommended; it comes complete with A Dolls House and three other plays by  Henrik Ibsen. Setting the Scene In this definitive scene, the naà ¯ve yet often contriving Nora has a startling epiphany. She once believed that her husband, Torvald, was a proverbial knight in shining armor and that she was an equally devoted wife. Through a series of emotionally draining events, she realizes that their relationship and their feelings were more make-believe than real. In her  monologue from Henrik Ibsen’s play, she opens up to her husband with stunning frankness as she realizes that she has been living in A Doll’s House. Doll as Metaphor Throughout the monologue, Nora compares herself to a doll. Like how a little girl plays with lifeless dolls that move in whichever way the girl wishes, Nora likens herself to a doll in the hands of the men in her life. Referring to her father, Nora recalls: He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls.   In using the doll as a metaphor, she realizes her role as a woman in a mans society is ornamental, something cute to look at like a doll-child. Further, a doll is meant to be used by the user. Thus this comparison also refers to how women are expected to be molded by the men in their lives in terms of tastes, interests, and what they do with their lives. Nora continues in her monologue. In thinking of her life with her husband, she realizes in retrospect: I was your little skylark, your doll, which you would in  future  treat with doubly gentle  care,  because it was so brittle and fragile. In describing a doll as brittle and fragile, Nora means that these are the character traits of women through the male gaze. From that perspective, because women are so dainty, it necessitates that men like Torvald need to protect and take care of women like Nora. Role of Women By describing how she has been treated, Nora reveals the way women are treated in society at that time (and perhaps still resonates with women today). Again referring to her father, Nora mentions:   When I was at home with papa, he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the  fact,  because he would not have liked it. Similarly, she addresses Torvald by saying:   You arranged everything according to your own taste, and so I got the same tastes as youor else I pretended to. Both of these short anecdotes show that Nora feels that her opinions have been disregarded or suppressed in order to please her father or to mold her tastes according to those of her husbands.   Self-Realization In the monologue, Nora reaches self-realization in a fit of existential fervor as she exclaims: When I look back on it, it seems to me as if I had been living here like a poor womanjust from hand to mouth. I have existed merely to perform tricks for you...You and papa have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life...Oh! I cant bear to think of it! I could tear myself into little bits!

40 Fish Idioms

40 Fish Idioms 40 Fish Idioms 40 Fish Idioms By Mark Nichol The ubiquity of fish in culinary traditions and the popularity of fishing as both a recreational pastime and a food-gathering activity has led to the development of many fish-based idioms, including those listed and described below. 1. all is fish that comes to his net: a proverb that alludes to a person’s resourcefulness 2–4. another/different/whole other kettle of fish: spoken to recognize an abrupt shift in the topic being discussed 5–6. better/other fish to fry: a reference to having more important things to do than what one is doing or than what is proposed 7. big fish: an important or influential person 8–9. big fish in a little/small pond: an important or influential person on an insignificant scale, such as in a small community 10. cold fish: a person who does not exude friendliness or show emotions 11. cry stinking fish (primarily British English): self-deprecate 12. drink like a fish: imbibe excessive amounts of alcohol 13–14. fine/pretty kettle of fish: a predicament 15. fish around: investigate 16–17. fish for a compliment/compliments: encourage someone to say something favorable about you without asking outright 18. fish in troubled waters: involve oneself in a dangerous or difficult situation to risk gaining an advantage 19. fish or cut bait: an admonition to act or to remove oneself as an obstacle to another person acting 20. fish out of water: a reference to a person who feels awkward or uncomfortable because he or she is in an unfamiliar environment 21–24. fish out/fish out of/fish up/fish up out of: retrieve (the first variation is also used literally to mean â€Å"deplete a body of water of its fish population by overfishing†) 25. fish story: an exaggerated account or tall tale, from the supposed tendency of fishermen to claim that the â€Å"one that got away† was larger than it actually was 26. fish-eating grin: smug smile 27. fish-eye lens: a type of wide-angle camera lens 28. fish: inept or stupid person 29. fishy: suspicious 30. like shooting fish in a barrel: a reference to something that is extremely easy to do, on the notion that fish swimming in a barrel rather than in open water make for an easy target 31–32. need (something) like/about as much as a fish needs a bicycle: a reference to the incompatibility of a fish and a bicycle to convey that something is utterly useless to someone 33. neither fish nor fowl: an allusion to something difficult to categorize, describe, or understand 34–35. odd/queer fish: a strange person 36–37. plenty of/more fish in the sea: a reference to the notion that many other romantic partners are available to one after the end of a relationship or after one is rejected by another person 38. teach a man to fish: the essence of a proverb, one version of which is â€Å"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,† which means that it is better to teach someone to do something than to do it for him or her 39. The cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet: A proverbial comment referring to the necessity of enduring annoyance or taking risks to achieve goals 40. What’s that got to do with the price of fish? (primarily British English): a response to an irrelevant comment or a non sequitur Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before Words8 Writing Tips for Beginners40 Idioms with First

Mango expands in the world markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mango expands in the world markets - Essay Example According to the research findings in 1960s the fashion market was dominated by haute couture but this trend was going to change rapidly with the emergence of mass-consumer society and prà ªt a porter or ready-to-wear clothing. Initially consumers we not very welcoming of the idea and consider ready-to-wear clothing inferior, but by 70s the trend changed as prà ªt a porter showcased collections at par with haute couture .Over the years businesses have proven that the retail provides a brand with the highest number of options to showcase its potential. It is noteworthy that Spain was one of the countries which had a significant impact of the European financial crisis in 2008. This worsened the situation for most Spanish businesses as there was low productivity, high unemployment and low FDI. Even during these tough times fashion brands like Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti were well prepared for the crises due to their high international presence, adaptation and up-to-date collections based on urban trends. Mango is one such popular prà ªt a porter brands that have an international presence. Mango’s aim right from the beginning has been to dress the urban young woman in premium quality trendy clothing at very affordable prices. Mango has been expanding rapidly globally and has managed to attain its goal â€Å"†¦of having a store in every major city of the world†. Mango has its origins in Spain and initially Spanish consumers were price-conscious but not as fashion-conscious as their Italian counterparts. So it was Italy who entered the international arena first. Mango had a small presence at the time when they entered the international market but they followed the franchising model and also offered return policies to their consumers8. Key Players and their Performance Mango globally is recognized as a key player in the industry of â€Å"fast fashion†, other key players include megabrands like Sweden’s H&M, Spanish Zara, American Gap and the U.K. retail chain New Look 9. By â€Å"fast fashion† we mean that these stores turn-over their inventory on a weekly-basis as opposed to a monthly one10 .The key concept promoted by all these brands is to make trendy and inexpensive clothing accessible to everyone at a very rapid pace. Currently a dominant trend in the apparel retail has been that they have started forming alliances with celebrity designers. This strategy has worked wonders for most brands and pulled the retail label in-line with high-end celebrity brands. According to Interbrand H&M has been particularly very ardent towards embracing this trend by working in collaborations with the likes of Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli (2008). Zara however has not embraced this trend very enthusiastically and sells a somewhat similar product and price range, Mango has attempted to differentiate itself by bringing designers like Mila Jovovich11 , Together they work towards providing affordable clothing to people while having been designed by a top-notch designer. Zara is a member of the Spanish group Inditex, which is considered the world’s largest clothing retailer12 . Presently Zara is showing phenomenal growth and performance as compared to others, here is a representation of sales performance for the brand and some other retail brands for the year 2001 and 2002. Source: Torun, F. â€Å"ZARA-A European Fashion Brand.† Mango Positioning and Closest Competition In terms of branding Mango would be a â€Å"branded own label† by this we mean that they have a private label proposition as well as environment and pricing strategy13. However, in light of the positioning Zara would be the closest competitor for Mango, because their target market, country of origin, business methodology I very similar. Both are examples of â€Å"fast fashion† retailers who have invested extensively n designing and supply chain management to ensure that their inventory levels are m anaged every week rather than on a monthly basis. Mango handles all steps from product