A Doll house by Henrik Ibsen (the play)

Introduction

A Doll's House is written by Henrik Ibsen. It is a three-act play in Norwegian. It was premiered at the Royal Theatre in Denmark on 21st December 1879. The author himself was a playwright, theatre director and a poet. He is considered as the founder of modern theatre. His plays faced a lot of criticisms in 19th century because strict modes of family life were followed.

The play was based on real life of Ibsen's friend Laura Kieler. She was given the character of Nora in the novel except the forged signature from the father for taking up the loan. Laura was divorced when her husband Victor found about the secret loan. She was sent to asylum but returned after two years at his request. She later became a popular Danish author. Nora left her husband Torvald in the play beginning to face uncertain future and limitations on women in society (Dragonfly, 1).

He wrote this play when Laura was sent to asylum and asked for help which he denied. Instead he wrote the play and made Laura recognize as Ibsen's Nora. Ibsen used to consider women as human beings and didn't distinguish between women's rights and human rights. He focused on human rights in the play according to his view. He held the view that men and women both should possess the courage to take a stand against the society and should stand to their own opinions. He believed that each person has a sacred duty to perform. If this view is observed in the play, this can be analyzed that Nora was a submissive wife and Torvald was a dominant husband, both programmed accordingly as per the society's requirements (Dragonfly, 1).

Background

This play critically displays the roles of men and women with concerns to the marriages in the 19th century. This play was highly criticized and unaccepted in the society because marriages were considered holy and sacred and to give a view where a wife can leave her husband was just not tolerant by the people. Many open-minded people appreciated the effort in examining the society and writing about it. Especially, Irish author George Bernard Shaw became excited about the story and appreciated it. But in Germany, the actress playing Nora's character refused to do so unless the ending would be changed. Therefore, forcefully and eventually the ending was changed. The alternative ending was shown as Nora giving her husband another chance after he reminded her about the duties she has towards her children. This ending was unpopular and Ibsen regretted his decision. The famous action by Nora was her door slamming while leaving which shook everyone and the society (Ibsen, 192).

Claim # 1

Nora is trapped in one room in the whole play. She is treated in an arrogant way like a doll for housekeeping (Ibsen, 192).

Women were expected to perform each and every role and duty concerning household, children and family. The activities includes taking care of the husband ...