How is the setting difference from that of Act I? What is the effect of this difference?
In Act I, the scene opened up in Werle's home with nice furniture, nice house, the clinking of glasses, and an overall elegance feel to it. We immediately get the impression that Werle is rich and lives in a nice home. "In the rear wall, open folding doors with the curtains drawn back disclose a large, fashionable room, brightly lit by lamps and candelabra." (119). But once we start reading Act II, you see that the Ekdal's home is part of a whole different social class. "The room which is fairly spacious, appears to be a loft. To the right is a sloping roof with great panes of glass [...]" (137). Now we immediately can tell the difference between the Ekdal's home and Werle's. The description is not as elegant sounding and we know that their home is not as nice like with upholstered furniture. Now since we see the difference life styles of the people we can now put them in their appropriate social classes. Werle belongs in the rich and wealthy class and Hjalmar belongs in the lower/poorer class. The effect of this difference is to get the reader's mind to have already set up which group of people belong in the wealth and the lower. We also get a different point of view in Werle's house than reading in Hjalmar's loft apartment, and see how each of them treat etiquette and interact with each other.
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