The Meaning of Flashbacks

A flashback is an element of literature by which an event, taking place before the present time in the narrative, is inserted into the chronological structure of work. The play A Doll’s House by Ariel Dorfman uses flashback to show how Nora saved her husband’s life. Meanwhile, in the play by Ariel Dorman Death and The Maiden Paulina’s memories of her capture gives information about her character and why her memories lead her to take justice by her own hands. Ariel Dorfman and Henrik Ibsen both use flashbacks as a method to expose the protagonist’s essential information and foreshadow.

In A Doll’s House Ibsen shows essential information about Nora through the flashbacks of how she saves the life of her husband, Torvald. The start of Nora’s flashbacks is inspire by motives of jealousy and vanity which can be seen through her initial words to Mrs. Linde “I’ve got something to be proud of, too” (Ibsen, 159). Not much longer in her conversation with Mrs. Linde, Nora talks about the exact amount of money she collected and asks Mrs. Linde, “ What do you think of that?” showing that she is a competitive person (Ibsen, 159). A part from Nora bragging about her actions to save her husbands’ life she highlights that her actions had nothing to do with luck, she expresses her exhibitionism by saying, “where is the glory in that?” when Mrs. Linde thinks Nora has won the lottery (Ibsen, 159). Nora not only wants to show Mrs. Linde that she too has made sacrifices, but also that she is an independent woman saying that “a wife with a little flair for business” like her does not need her husband’s consent to borrow money (Ibsen, 160). Even though Nora is only trying to boost her ego in front of Mrs. Linde, she shows her deep love for her husband, Torvald, and this can be seen when she asks Mrs. Linde, “Is it rash to save your husband’s life?” (Ibsen, 160). In Death and The Maiden, Dorfman reveals through the techniques of flashbacks how Paulina, the main character, is...