The House
The author provides readers with the description of the house: “Round tables, with chairs, a small sofa, with a worktable in front of it, a narrower conservatory.” This allows readers to understand that this house is of the civilized and intelligent people. The “marvelous landscape” behind the house shows that the owner has a huge land plot, thus hinting at the wealth of people living here. This important detail indicating the wealth and prosperity of the hostess is important when contrasted to her inner world and attitude towards the relationship between her and her deceased husband: prosperity means nothing when it comes to the purity of soul.
Rain
Ibsen describes “A gloomy landscape [that] is faintly visible, veiled by steady rain.” This steady rain gives the feeling of the dark and sorrowful atmosphere, foreshadowing the mood of Ibsen’s play. In literature, weather often serves as a mirror for the characters within the story: in this case, the dismal weather reflects the characters' dismal lives.
Fire
The image of fire shows characters’ self-control, strength of mind, and struggle with sorrow. “Oh, it was a trifling matter. A heap of shavings had caught fire in the carpenter's workshop.” This is a spiteful joke of nature: a "trifling matter" and natural occurrence inflicts loss and damage on the characters of this sullen world.
