Ibsen's Roles
The movement from nineteenth-century Romanticism to twentieth-century Realism in art and literature sought to accurately reflect real life instead of idealizing it. Playwrights all over Europe and America rebelled against the established standards of a "well-made play". They shocked, as well as horrified their audience, by abstaining from writing a resolution, or an "ideal ending" in their plays. These innovators insisted on presenting social issues in a dramatic scenario, and imposed their discussions onto their audience. Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the "Father of Realism" was one of the main advocates for social revolution. He was notorious for weaving controversial topics into his plays, as well as for including female leads. He knew very well that society's oppression over women was a prime example of the hamper it placed over every person's potential. Writing about women allowed him to make a universal call, not only to women, but to every sentient being. His plays cried out for the individual's emancipation. In A Doll's House , Ibsen portrayed the altruistic nature instilled into women by society, the consequential stunt of their development, and the need for them to find their own voice in a world domina
Ibsen also presents the struggle of those women who, like Nora, have become enlightened, and need to seek their own selves outside of the wife/mother role. Women who receive their every single desire on a silver platter cannot ever experience a feeling of achievement. They have to learn that a woman needs to sweat, work hard, because "a strong woman is a woman who is straining. Women need to earn a broader sense of freedom by taking risks. Only those salmon who dare swim upstream can perpetuate the existence of their prosperity. This same concept applies to the autonomy of women in order to transcend all barriers. Ibsen tells his readers that if a woman fails to recognize her own needs, she will remain stagnant in a doll-child existence. Nora's constant need to please her husband has hindered her development as an independent being. Her marriage "is that of a charming child to a parent, and not one of equals. Nora remains an innocent child, who always assumes that Torvald, her father figure, is infallible. This self-abnegation is actually harming her because believing every truth that Torvald proclaims deters her from acquiring the knowledge she needs to be her own person. For ages, society has taught women to set aside their own needs and to focus on those of her husband and children. Women have been forced to be passive, gentle creatures who must also be willing to sacrifice themselves for others. Nora, the protagonist in the play, expresses her intention in protecting her husband at any price, "Torvald, with all his masculine pride--how painfully humiliating for him if he ever found out he was in debt to me." Nora will not admit to Torvald that she has saved his life, for he will most likely acquire an inadequacy complex for his inability to be in control over every aspect of his life. She prefers to be deprived of the credit she deserves than to hurt Torvald's manly ego. She allows Torvald to treat her like a mischievous little spendthrift although he is not aware that "she had scrimped and skeletonized her own needs so that Helmer and
Some common words found in the essay are:
Torvald Nora, Torvald Aren't, House Ibsen, Father Realism, Europe America, Doll's House, , torvald nora, guardian angel, husband children, own person, doll's house, nora protagonist,
Approximate Word count = 1399
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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