The Wild Duck one of Ibsen's latter plays not only shows his great talent for mimesis writing, with it social depth and distinguished realism it offers a psychologically framed exploration into human nature. Even the plays structure, such as the juxtaposing of the Werle's wealthy, over indulgent, powerful status with that of the Ekdal's menial, disgraced, impoverished existence. By opening the play in the lavish, `elegant' social space belonging to Werle then introducing the space on which the majority of the action ensues, that of the crude, humble communal room in the Ekdal's home. The first scenes concern themselves with the structure of social space both in terms of class and family line. The speech in these scenes gives history and depth to the characters, through the exchanges made we understand the characters relationships with one another.
Naturalistic dramas, such as `The Wild Duck' offer an illusion or picture of reality. They began the moving the `stage closer to real life'. According to Emile Zola theatre in his era was in need of `a human drama with truth'. The Wild Duck offers this to a certain extent. Emile Zola felt in his time that many playwrights in his time felt reality needed to be `dressed up, least it look too disreputable I public'. He felt naturalists brought about the ideal that `truth has no need for dressing up; it can walk naked. ` What I find interesting about The Wild Duck is that if Zola's theory upon Naturalism is true then Ibsen has conditioned his whole play to play upon the dangers that exposing the truth can bring. Ibsen uses Gregers to expose the truth, if the truth can really `walk naked', why is it so ugly on exposure.
Advances upon the technical aspect of theatre that were in o...
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...egers is consistently warned by Relling of the dangers of destroying the `life-lie', the life-lies which are used to evade problems. The attic revolves in and around this act, symbolising an escape to illusion. It is exposed as a timeless place, a realm of fantasy. Where characters can make there own truth amongst the clutter of `treasures'. Though the attic remains the true realm of Old Ekdal, the households own double for the original proprietor, the Flying Dutchman. He is a `shipwrecked man' sunk into his own life illusion, or `life lie'.
Ibsen uses symbolism to both propel and disperse his use of naturalism. Every element of The Wild Duck is used to promote a concise overwhelming image. That of what The Wild Duck actually stands for, not just in relation to the characters, but as a comment upon the changing times of his own society and that of his own life.
The words predator and prey paint images animals. There are only two outcomes in the situation these words suggest. One animal will escape with its life, and one animal will go hungry, or one animal will have a meal, and one will make sacrifice its life for the other’s nourishment. Predator and prey can also describe the actions of people. There are some preconceptions of which people will play the role of predator and which will play the role of prey, men usually predator, and women usually prey, but in his play A Doll House Henrik Ibsen plays with these expectations, and depicts many different people taking on the roles of predator and prey in the society of 19th century Norway. Within A Doll House, Ibsen employs diminutive language, illness,
All and all, Glaspell’s and Ibsen’s use of the bird cage, dead bird, and dollhouse allows the reader to identify with women of the nineteen century and the roles they played. Throughout the plays, the reader can visualize how men dismiss women as trivial and treat them like property, even though the lifestyles they are living is very much in contrast. The playwrights each in their own way are addressing the issues that have negatively impacted the identity of women in society.
The true meaning of each character is show in the symbolic setting that Ibsen created. In Austin E. Quigley evocative article “A Doll’s House Revisited”, “he maintains that despite the diversity of symbols in Ibsen’s play, all such symbols work collectively to constitute a coherent and extensive “image network… a series of verbal and visual motifs that function not just as supporting elements but as contributing components” (587) to the drama” (Drake). The Christmas tree, the Tarantella, and the New Year are symbols that reveal the life of the characters and show their hidden concealed
... Doll’s House is the second play out of the ten that Ibsen has written with a hint of symbolism. With each play he wrote, the amount of symbolism increased and his skill of this use did so also. Each play also became more complex and more comprehensive. The play is written like any other but adds more symbols than most. They seem to be extremely detailed and noticeable therefore; it is fairly simple to assume the actions later in the play. It is visibly clear to Ibsen’s readers what will be guaranteed in each of his plays. With each case, each symbol is an item, experience, or a person. Symbolism is first brought forward early in the play and it stays throughout the whole time becoming more and more shaped into the play scene by scene. The last appearance of symbolism is in the climax. From the beginning of the play till the end, it repeats like the domino effect.
Saari, Sandra. In James McFarlane (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen. Cambridge University Press. 1994
A man, intoxicated and impoverished, lay on the dirty streets of patriarchal Norway, and as the jeering citizens sauntered by, they could have never guessed that this man, Henrik Ibsen, would be the Prometheus of women’s rights and the creator of the modern play. Having been born in 1828, Ibsen lived through various examples of the subjection of women within the law, such as Great Britain allowing men to lock up and beat their wives “in moderation” (Bray 33). Therefore, Ibsen was known for his realistic style of writing within both poetry and plays, which usually dealt with everyday situations and people (31). Focusing on the rights of women, Ibsen’s trademark was “...looking at these problems without the distortions of romanticism” and often receiving harsh criticism for doing so (31). In an attempt to support his family, Ibsen became a pharmaceutical apprentice, but after three years he abandoned this profession and began writing poetry. After an apprenticeship in the theater, he began writing his own plays, including a drama in verse, Peer Gynt (31). While working and writing in Norway, Ibsen and several social critics observed “...the penalty society pays when only half of its members participate fully as citizens”, deciding to flee Norway in hopes of finding a more accepting social environment (33). Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House, his most famous work about women suffering through the oppressive patriarchal society, while living primarily in Germany and Italy where he “...was exposed to these social norms and tensions to a much greater extent than he would have been had he remained solely in Norway” (32). While Sweden, Norway, and Denmark began to grant legal majority to women, Ibsen understood the legal improvements f...
Henrik Ibsen's works Dollhouse and An Enemy of the People can be shown to have both been written by Ibsen not only through characteristic technique such as blocking and character exposition, but also the similarity in the decay of the social persona of characters from the norm and the main character's heightening stalwart. The later of that statement proves the works to be Ibsen's writing more effectively because such a commonality is a more direct link between works than such subtlies as character exposition.
Northam, John. 1965. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Ibsen’s theatre background has shaped “A Doll’s House” into a realistic prose drama, which ensured that his idea’s and themes could be easily translated to engage a wider audience.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a three-act play significant for its attitude toward marriage norms. In the drama, Ibsen explores idealism between the wife Nora and her husband Helmer. Nora’s and Helmer’s idealism forces the pair to see themselves and each other starring in various idealist scenarios of female sacrifice and heroic male rescue. As a play, the scenes are act out on stage. The staging of a house reveals the dramaturgical aspects and dynamics of the play. The presence of the house is significant to the depiction of women on stage. The action of the play traces Nora’s relationship to the house. Ibsen’s play focuses on the aspect of the expected idealism of the wife and husband, and how the domestic abode can hinder freedom.
The nineteenth century was truly a different time for women and what their assumed roles in life would be. Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” is an examination into those assumed roles and a challenge to them. It was a time of obedience and inequality and in the first act each character is shown to portray these qualities. However, the characters in this play have multiple layers that get peeled back as the story progresses. As each new layer is revealed the audience is shown that even with the nineteenth century ideals, the true nature of each character is not quite what they appeared to be initially.
The story of a Dolls house by Ibsen is full of unique and hidden messages. In the play, there are many things that do not seem to have any importance to the play. This is why it is important to use close reading. Close reading allows a better understanding for what Ibsen is trying to say not just what the words mean. Throughout the story a Dolls House it is easy to notice the importance of material things to the main characters. The purpose of this paper is to show how the importance of holidays and how they are subordinate to materials and self-worth in the play as well as how these religious symbols relate to the charters in the play.
At the end, the fact that a middle-class family is portrayed makes the entire series of events relatable to a modern audience and is effective in evoking a reaction and truly portrays the genre. The symbolism used shows the fatal flaw of the tragic heroine, the issues in society Ibsen wanted to be tackled and the death of an individual as well as the death of a family, therefore, conveying the key components of a modern domestic tragedy.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
The actions of characters, such as Nora, represent the fact that an individual can make progress in societal reform. Therefore, Ibsen’s identification and attempt to change society symbolizes a realistic desire to find solutions to problems. The ultimate goal of Realism is to better everyday life for the majority of people, while trying to deepen the understanding of society’s problems. Works Cited for: Ibsen, Henrik. The "Doll House" Ibsen : Four Major Plays - Volume 1.