henrik iben dolls house

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Nobody can fix what they don’t know is broken. Henrik Ibsen’s play, a Doll’s house was published in 1879 as a public statement to the people; an awakening, where criticism of gender roles and societal aspects such as order and upbringing are presented to the audience. Ibsen intertwines the books plot and characters actions, with ideas of Marxism, that ‘through conflict, classes develop a sense of themselves” [Green, 2] to clarify his message to the audience. Presenting extreme opposing ideas and questioning fundamental beliefs that are well engraved in society caused reproach but related with Ibsen on a personal level; mirroring his upbringing, and making it a more realistic criticism. Dolls house is a message within a search; noticing the flaws that go unseen, found not within the people but with the central elements of society, that Ibsen reveals by questioning and exploring the way society dictates the actions, interactions and ideas of both genders by posing order and gender based ideologies in their upbringing, asserting that ultimately, the key to fixing the problem is by challenging it, through self-determination, which eventually leads to the overarching solution of equality.
Upon initial inspection it may seem that women in Dolls house are selfish and irrational as a result of the conflicts that arise because of their actions; however, it can be reasoned that Ibsen brings conflict to light to prove otherwise; that they are wronged and their actions are a response to the problem, an empowerment, and that there is something coherently wrong that is responsible for their actions. When Nora is blackmailed for trying to save her husband’s life she is awakened, and realizes that she’s been living a life decorated with decep...

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...ion by others. His theories are tangible and relatable to the era, because they originate from abuse he observed within his own family that includes repression of ideas, amassing social pressures and self-worth, as well as the power of money in dictating status. He presents this perfect family to uncover how even they are victims of this societal inflicted abuse.
Overall, opposing characters, which show different people that are still affected in similar way, proving that the reliability is not of the people but of the society .Ibsen also uses characterization and realism in addition to inform the audience that society is flawed by placing certain expectations based on gender, instead of realizing that they should be treated as equals, as humans, and that gender based roles shouldn’t interfere with the basic equal rights of forming decisions, opinions, and views.

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