On May 26th, 1898, Henrich Ibsen attended a banquet held by the Woman’s Rights League. At the banquet, a toast was made to him as having had worked for the woman’s right movement. The women had taken his works, most notably A Doll’s House, as being a feminist play. Ibsen, however, denounced the toast as not accurately describing his purpose.
I thank you for the toast, but must disclaim the honor of having consciously worked for Woman’s Rights movement….. True enough, it is desirable to solve the woman problem….but my task has been the description of humanity.
(Ibsen, 1898)
If solving the “the woman problem” – what feminism in the 1800’s was called – was not Ibsen’s theme for A Doll’s House, then what was? Well, as the author said so himself, the description of humanity, a person finding who (s)he is, but why is A Doll’s House not a feminist play? A Doll’s House is not a feminist play because women, especially Nora, are portrayed too flawed.
Before delving into the analysis of Nora, it is important to know who Henrik Ibsen meant Nora to be, “Nora, Nora! What a woman yo...
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.
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.
Rogers, Katharine M. (1985): ‘‘A Doll House in a Course on Women in Literature,’’ in Approaches to Teaching Ibsen’s A Doll House, Shafer, Yvonne (ed.). New York: Modern Language Association, p.82.
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.
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.
In Henrik Ibsen 's A Doll 's House, readers can immediately see how social conditions trapped each character in place and did not allow them to grow further in their lives. Barry Witham and John Lutterbie 's "A Marxist Approach to A Doll House," highlights how the characters in A Doll 's House are pawns to their economic backgrounds, and in Karen Ford 's "Social Constraints and Painful Growth In A Doll 's House," she furthers the argument that Ibsen 's A Doll 's House is a Marxist writing without formally calling it Marxist. Each character within A Doll House shows the audience a different manner of how a character could be victim of their cultural setting which includes male as well as female characters. Because of Ibsen selecting both male and female characters in his story to endure these social conditions, readers can interpret how this play would be considered a Marxist rather than a Feminist writing.
I say this because there is no doubt that A Doll's House has long been seen as a landmark in our century's most important social struggle, the fight against the dehumanizing oppression of women, particularly in the middle-class family. Nora's final exit away from all her traditional social obligations is the most famous dramatic statement in fictional depictions of this struggle, and it helped to turn Ibsen (with or without his consent) into an applauded or vilified champion of women's rights and this play into a vital statement which feminists have repeatedly invoked to further their cause. So in reading responses to and interpretations of this play, one frequently comes across statements like the following:
Henrik Ibsen’s famous play A Doll’s House was first published in 1879 and contains elements and characters that appear to support feminism, and drew attention from the women’s rights movement. However, Ibsen himself said that he was not a feminist; rather, his play is about the human nature in general, and is not specifically about women’s rights. Over the years, this was the view that most scholars used to interpret the play, but more recently scholars have produced an opposing argument. Margaret Stetz, one such scholar, writes that “To call Ibsen a feminist playwright or to describe A Doll’s House as a drama in favor of women’s rights is no longer controversial” (150). The most obvious example of Ibsen’s view on gender roles is the relationship between Nora and Helmer and, more specifically, Nora’s self-discovery at the end of the play. Other characters, however, such as Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, as well as Anne-Marie, play a part in defining gender roles in A Doll’s House. In this essay, I will discuss the ways in which Ibsen represents gender roles in A Doll’s House through the characters in his play and the differing views about feminism and gender roles in the play.
...hoice of pursuing any field of interest in my studies, as I would have been very limited in my choices as a woman. For these and many other opportunities, I am thankful for the changes that have taken place. Unfortunately, I feel we have lost a great deal in the process. I think we often confuse the desire to have equal rights with the view that gender differentiation is an oppressive concept that should be abolished. The feminists of today do little more than dissolve the family unit, confuse relationships, and weaken a woman's role in society. In reality, men and women are very different and instead of trying to completely erase the differences between us, we should embrace them. By acknowledging our separate identities, rather than ignoring them, we would be better able to work together and improve society as a whole.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and George Eliot’s Middlemarch are based on events from their personal experiences. The events that lead Ibsen to feel the need to write A Doll’s House makes his approach on the feminist stance a bit more unusual from other writers. Ibsen shows his realist style through modern views and tones that are acted out by the characters in this infamous story. In the viewers’ eyes, it is the women in A Doll’s House that makes it so popular, Nora and Christine give readers a real sense of Ibsen’s feminist stance. George Eliot makes her feminist stance in Middlemarch in much the same way as Ibsen. In Middlemarch, one of the main female characters, Dorothea, wants control of her life and chooses happiness over wealth. These female characters from these well-known works are represented in such a way to give readers a grasp of the social conditions involving women.
The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism and Ibsen is a well written by Joan Templeton (1942), the article argues in favor of Ibsen about not making the play A Doll house about female rights. The article seems to agree with Ibsen as it shows Ibsen stating that “I thank you for the toast, but
I say this because there is no doubt that A Doll's House has long been seen as a landmark in our century's most important social struggle, the fight against the dehumanizing oppression of women, particularly in the middle-class family. Nora's final exit away from all her traditional social obligations is the most famous dramatic statement in fictional depictions of this struggle, and it helped to turn Ibsen (with or without his consent) into an applauded or vilified champion of women's rights and this play into a vital statement which feminists have repeatedly invoked to further their cause. So in reading responses to and interpretations of this play, one frequently comes across statements like the following:
Groundbreaking themes were presented in Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House. The play has shared an important message regarding feminism. It was released in the 1800's, during time when women were not taken seriously. This has made the work essential for humanity to observe and respond to. One of the most important aspects of Ibsen's play was the end, in which the main character, Nora Helmer leaves her husband. This was a shocking scene for unprepared audiences in theaters throughout the world. Divorce and separation from one's spouse and children was not proper to discuss in public because it was not looked highly on. Critics and others who study the play wonder if the ending was too bold for the time.
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.
“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.