A Doll's House Context
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- Created on: 27-05-20 12:12
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- A Doll's House Context
- Biographical Facts
- all of his life, Ibsen wrote about money and marriage; and this is no surprising, he witnessed a first hand failed marriage between his parents and his family struggled with financial issues
- his characters often mirror his parents, themes in his plays often deal with issues of financial difficulty
- His father was a merchant and he lost all of their money, veverything was solf; the family were ostracised
- He is often referred to as the 'Father of Realism'
- Ibsen was forced to move away and leave school age 15. He started doing an apprenticeship and in his spare time wrote plays.
- He applied to many universities, but was rejected as his entrance grades were too low.
- He had a long and happy marriage to Suzannah Daaae Thoresen
- He had father a child with maid whilst working at his apprenticeship, he provided financial support but never met the boy
- moved to Norway in 1851 to become an assistant at the Norske Theatre. He wrote directed and stage plays for them
- he was greatly influenced by his mother-in-law, Magdalene Thoreson, who was a leader of the feminist movement in Norway
- all of his life, Ibsen wrote about money and marriage; and this is no surprising, he witnessed a first hand failed marriage between his parents and his family struggled with financial issues
- Ibsen Plays
- Include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, The wild Duck, When We Dead Awaken, Rosmersholn, and The Master Builder
- directed more than 70 plays by scribe or in his style
- Ghosts - extremely controversial
- his first play -The League of Youth - explores forces and friction of modern life
- Literary Influences
- Camilla Collet - founder of Norwegian feminism
- German philosophers, Hegel, Voltaire and Kierkgaard
- literary critic Georg Brandes - who called for naturalism and realism (personal friend)
- Politics
- Ibsen gave many political speeches and was decorated with numerous awards and honours during his lifetime
- As much as he was involved with politics he din not want to be viewed as a politician
- Laws and Campaigns
- 1870 Married Woman's Property Act
- One of the leading central male figures for feminism n Norway
- Didn't want to be labelled as a feminist
- Historical Context
- Social context- Freedom and Gender
- new science/Darwinism - expolred the questions of heredity, survival and the struggle of the individual towards meaning in life without religion
- Darwin's radical new idea also made Victorians ponder about life after death - dear of degeneration. This fear was also compounded by the Industrial Revolution
- Ibsen explored ideas about individuals and freedom- Nora breaking away from an unhappy marriage is more about her freedom as an individual rather that as a woman
- Marxism
- characters hold a lack of empathy for people not like themselves
- definition: the political and economic theres of Karl Max and Fredrich Engles, later developed by their followers to form the basis of communism
- Capitalism in ADH - Nora being presented as quite stupid and childlike shows the fail and inconsistent nature of capitalism
- Bourgeoise Society
- definition - the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes
- Patriarchal society
- women were subordinate to men, they couldn't take out their own money, married women couldn't work
- theatre was changing, from naturalism to realism
- industrialisation, social mobility, middle class wanting representation, working long hours with little wage
- Social context- Freedom and Gender
- Audience's Beliefs and Responses
- Weigand: saw it as a comedy
- Had to change the ending fro a German actress, she refused to leave her children
- Biographical Facts
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