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Critical theories on miss julie
How Henrik ibsen represent women in his work
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What causes a person to commit suicide? This has been an age-old question that is never easily (if ever) answered. Literature has been a great source in which to address the complexity of such a horrific self-act. Two exemplary dramatic literary authors tackled this subject head on within two years of eachother in Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 “Hedda Gabbler,” and August Strindberg’s 1888 “Miss Julie.” A woman’s life in the late 19th century was very difficult. James McFarlane frankly generally describes a middle and upper class women’s dilemma during this time period in his introduction to Henrik Ibsen Four Major Plays: “These women of the modern age, mistreated as daughters, as sisters, as wives, not educated in accordance with their talents, debarred from following their real mission, deprived of their inheritance, embittered in mind…what will result from this?” The protagonists in both aforementioned plays, Hedda and Julie, both commit suicide. Does the plight of 19th century women, as suggested by McFarlane, give compelling reasons why Hedda and Julie are justified in killing themselves? Even though these reasons may be what defines the “tragedy” in both of these plays, Hedda and Julie must be held accountable for their actions. It is true that their childhood rearing and societal mores influence their mental state, however, Hedda and Julie show a significant amount of individual choice and self-resolve, even in their ‘put upon’ circumstances. They also made the conscious choice to see only the negative side of their existence; while coveting a selfish and delusional “ideal” of a fairytale life. The true tragedy is that neither allowed their actual potential to have a chance at life.
From the beginning, Both Hedda and Julie are de...
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...ld only see their life through a glass ‘half-empty.’ Perhaps if they would have been able to recognize redeeming qualities in the life they had before them, they would not have felt so hopeless and helpless. They poured so much time and effort into focusing selfishly on the negative and undesirable circumstances in their life, they neglected to simply step back and recognize the positive things that could have given them just as much, if not more joy, than the pessimism they seemed so determined to harbor. They were just too trite to fight for it.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik; Translated by James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Henrik Ibsen Four Major Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Strindberg, August; Translated by Michael Robinson. Miss Julie and Other Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Boklund, Gunnar. "Hamlet." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Hedda Gabler is a text in which a very domineering society drives a woman to her suicidal death. Many argue that Hedda’s death is an act of courage, as rebellion against the rules of the society, however other believe that Hedda’s actions show cowardice, as she is unable to cope with the harsh reality of the her situation. Hedda's singular goal throughout the play has been to prove that she is still in possession of free will. Hedda shows many examples of both courage and cowardice throughout the play, differing to the character she is with.
Simonds, W. E. "Henrik Ibsen." Dial 10.119 (Mar. 1890): 301-303. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
Northam, John. 1965. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 5th Compact ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 1010-1107. Print.
Everyone has faults, some people are greedy, some don’t know how to use manners, and others neglect a person’s feeling all together. Most of the time people just have one “fault” that they try to get better at. In Hedda’s case, she has all three problems but she encourages them instead of trying to learn to control them. In the play Hedda Gabler the author Henrik Ibsen shows that Hedda’s ill-behaved manners, greed for power and lack of emotional understanding of others will come back and bite her in the butt.
Hedda's tragedy is that she is denied the freedom to realize her creative potential, and so have the self-esteem that comes from personal achievement. Her attempt to retain her independence within society prevents her, through fear of scandal, from marrying the man with whom she might have had a relationship both individually satisfying and mutually supportive. In Hedda's suicide are seen the stifling of intellect and the emotional isolation caused by oppression, even within a commonplace bourgeois family where "People don't do such things!" (1507).
Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler portrays the societal roles of gender and sex through Hedda as a character trying to break the status quo of gender relations within the Victorian era. The social conditions and principles that Ibsen presents in Hedda Gabler are of crucial importance as they “constitute the molding and tempering forces which dictate the behavior of all the play's characters” with each character part of a “tightly woven social fabric” (Kildahl). Hedda is an example of perverted femininity in a depraved society intent on sacrificing to its own self-interest and the freedom and individual expression of its members. It portrays Nineteenth Century unequal relationship problems between the sexes, with men being the independent factor and women being the dependent factor. Many of the other female characters are represented as “proper ladies” while also demonstrating their own more surreptitious holdings of power through manipulation. Hedda Gabler is all about control and individualism through language and manipulation and through this play Ibsen shows how each gender acquires that or is denied.
Ibsen, Henrik. Four Major Plays: A Doll House, the Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, the Master Builder. New York: New American Library, 1992.
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen is a play about Hedda, a woman living in Christiana, Norway in the 1860’s who manipulates others, but her efforts produce negative results. During this era, there were Victorian values and ethics which were followed by almost all. The main values comprised of women always marrying and, their husbands taking care of them. Women were always accompanied by chaperone and were not allowed to be left alone with an unfamiliar male. It was Bertrand Russell who said “It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly”. This quote brings light to how Hedda acts on a daily basis where she is driven by possessions. In Hedda Gabler the theme of internal pressure is portrayed throughout the play. This can be seen through Hedda’s greed and materialism, her uncaring attitude and her manipulative personality.
...cements him in the lowest social class in Russia. He is weak and unable to crawl out of these depths by himself. Luka brought a false salvation with him, and took it away when he left. Without the illusion and without the aid of alcohol, the Actor is brutally forced into seeing the truth, and it is beastly. The Actor's realization arrives in Act IV when he quotes, " `this hole here... it shall be my gave... I die, faded and powerless.' " Hedda is forced into a dull marriage in which she is expected to be obedient, and her pregnancy shoves her into the role of motherhood. At the end of the play, she is unable to fight against the blackmailing judge since he is a powerful figure in the community, and she is just a married bourgeois woman. In many aspects of their lives, the Actor and Hedda are ultimately trapped because of the roles society has forced upon them.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print
Henrik Ibsen catches the world off guard with his play A Doll House. The world is in what is known as the Victorian era and women and men have specific roles. The way the story unravels takes the reader by surprise. Ibsen wanted to write a play that would challenge the social norms and that would show the world that no matter how hard they press, they would not always win. Ibsen uses society’s customs, deception, and symbolism to keep the reader on their feet and bring them a play that they would never forget.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." Ibsen : Four Major Plays - Volume 1. Trans. Rolf Fjelde. New York: Signet Classics, 1992. 43-114. Print.