In the late 19th century Naturalism was emerging as the primary movement in literature of that period. The movement was influenced heavily by the discoveries made in politics, sciences and psychology of the time. Discoveries such as Darwin’s evolutionary theories, Marx’s Das Kapital and even Freud’s research on the psychology of the human were creating shock and upset and began to revolutionised society’s outlook on the world. The naturalist movement in literature also coincided with the beginnings of women’s emancipation throughout the western world. Scandinavia, as well as experiencing The Modern Breakthrough, was also dealing with its own political struggles for national identity. For Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg the early woman’s movement was to influence their writing greatly. Many associate both playwrights with playing key roles in the rise of feminism. However, were Ibsen and Strindberg attempting to write about the emancipation of women in the 19th century as a feminist issue? To explore this issue this essay will consider key play texts of both writers, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Strindberg’s Miss Julie. A Doll’s House will be considered through the reaction of London critics in the 19th century, the women’s political movements in Norway and other influences in Ibsen’s life at the time of writing. Miss Julie will be examined through the women’s movement in Sweden of the period and also through Strindberg’s original manuscript. Lastly there will a comparison of each male protagonist and the issues of their social status.
Many assume A Doll’s House to be a play purely about the emancipation of women. Nora is often seen as a catalyst for women’s equality within a dominant male society. Indeed when A Doll’s House firs...
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.... [Online book] pp. 152-163. Available from: http://www.site.ebrary.com/lib/qmuc [Accessed January 11 2010]
Scott, C. 1889. A Doll’s House. In: Egan, M. ed. The Critical Heritage, Henrik Ibsen. [Online book] pp. 101-103. Available from: http://www.site.ebrary.com/lib/qmuc [Accessed January 12 2010]
Scott, C. 1889. Clement Scott on Ibsen’s Unlovely Creed. In: Egan, M. ed. The Critical Heritage, Henrik Ibsen. [Online] p. 114. Available from: http://www.site.ebrary.com/lib/qmuc [Accessed January 12 2010]
Simonds, W, E. 1890. W.E Simonds on Nora’s Selflessness. In: Egan, M. ed. The Critical Heritage, Henrik Ibsen. [Online book] p. 147. Available from: http://www.site.ebrary.com/lib/qmuc [Accessed January 12 2010]
Strindberg, A. 1992. Miss Julie. USA: Dover Thrift Editions.
Templeton, J. 1997. Ibsen’s Women. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, a drama written in the midst of an 1879, middle-class, suburban Europe, he boldly depicts a female protagonist. In a culture with concern for fulfilling, or more so portraying a socially acceptable image, Nora faces the restraints of being a doll in her own house and a little helpless bird. She has been said to be the most complex character of drama, and rightfully so, the pressure of strict Victorian values is the spark that ignites the play's central conflicts. Controversy is soon to arise when any social-norm is challenged, which Nora will eventually do. She evolves throughout the play, from submissive housewife to liberated woman. It seems as though what took women in America almost a century to accomplish, Nora does in a three-day drama. Ibsen challenges the stereotypical roles of men and women in a societally-pleasing marriage. He leads his readers through the journey of a woman with emerging strength and self-respect. Nora plays the typical housewife, but reveals many more dimensions that a typical woman would never portray in such a setting.
Ibsen reveals many things about the bourgeoisie roles of men and women of society through the play A Doll’s House. These ideals are crucial to ones overall social status. The reader can see the characters and their roles in a figurative and literal dollhouse from the title to the end of the story. The main character Nora is the focus of performing these gender roles as she takes on the role of a doll and eventually seeks self-realization and a striving purpose. She leaves behind her family to fulfill an independent journey. Ibsen helps to point out the flaws of society’s stereotypical gender roles and gives new possibilities to men and women.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House (1879). Trans. Rolf Fjelde. Rpt. in Michael Meyer, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612.
“A Doll’s House.” Drama for Students. 1985. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002. 916-966.
In “A doll`s house” by Henrick Ibsen, we learn from Nora of how women play an integral role in society but due to the limitations society has put on women they find it difficult to reach their full potential . This notion can be seen through the author`s use of conflict and symbolism. The play is packed with symbols that epitomize intellectual ideas and concepts that are effective in illustrating the fact that women are being underappreciated in society.
Davies, H. Neville. 1982. "Not just a bang and a whimper: the inconclusiveness of Ibsen's A Doll's House." Critical Quarterly 24:33-34.
Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement. . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object. (Templeton 142).
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. Lives Through Literature: A Thematic Anthology. Ed. Helane Levine Keating et al. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. 782-838.
Henrik Ibsen paints a sad picture of the sacrificial role of women throughout all social economical classes in his play “A Doll House”. The story is set in the late 19th century and all minor female characters had to overcome adversity to the expense of love, family and self-realization, in order to lead a comfortable life. While the main female protagonist Nora struggles with her increasingly troubled marriage, she soon realizes, she needs to change her life to be happy as the play climaxes. Her journey to self-discovery is achieved by the threat of her past crime and her oppressing husband, Torvald and the society he represents. The minor female characters exemplifying Nora’s ultimate sacrifice.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612.
..." A Doll's House," by Henrik Ibsen portrays the genders role of nineteenth century women and men in society. Torvald's perception of his wife of how she is a helpless creature shows the overall role which women fill. Women are responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home and through the upbringing of their children. They had to beg and ask for permission to do certain activities and essential things.
The idea of equality for women has been the subject of countless books, speeches, and performances for decades. The concept of a world in which a woman can be considered equal to a man is not a new concept in today’s society, but it was in that of 19th century Norway. This is the world of noted playwright Heinrik Ibsen, a forward thinking individual with ideas that challenged the restrictions of society time and time again. A forerunner in the women’s rights movement, Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House offers a commentary much before its time on the dangers of a patriarchal society through the evolution of its protagonist, Nora. In his play, Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize the growing empowerment and independence of Nora, as well as the steady deterioration of Nora and Helmer’s marriage.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
“A Doll’s House” is a play written by a Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen. The play was published in 1879, and is a literary piece that triggered almost vigorous reactions from the audience. Moreover, the play was considered Ibsen’s masterpiece and he was determined to provoke a reaction from the public. His intention was to bring awareness to the problem of gender roles in the 19th century society: the role of women who were used as decorations of the household. The title this play, “A Doll’s House”, foreshadows the play’s protagonist, Nora Helmer, and her role in the household. The title of the play suggests that Nora is a doll in her own home.