Ibsens Life & Works

Had a love child with a servant. He never saw the child but
supported him financially. Ironically, in his works, the father
shelters the children-there are no missing father figures.
Suffered financial hardships as a child, which is reflected in
some plays. E.g. Nora had to loan money for Tovrald to travel
to Italy. They also have conflicts over money within the
household.
Self-exiled himself to Italy- Tovrald traveled to Italy for
treatment. Italy has a temperate climate meanwhile Norway is
extremely cold.
Later life: Plays explore emotional and mental state instead of
denunciating societys moral values/rejections of
society/attack on societys norms. They were more symbolic &
physiological-char

Most successful work: Peter Grynt

Ibsenss Views on Drama & Writing
Thought of drama as a medium for making change. More
specifically how women were trapped in traditional gender
roles.
Reception on a dolls house
How was your understanding of the cultural and contextual
elements developed through the interactive oral?
What you knew before and what you know now

The interactive oral presentations gave background to Henrik

Ibsens A Dolls house by providing background information on the
author and the time period during which is was performed. Each
presentation gave insight to a different aspect on topics such as
Ibsens life and works, nineteenth century Norway society and the
reception to A Dolls house at the time and later on.
As a modern audience member, it is difficult to perceive the amount
of shock that those observing the play during the 20th century had
experienced. When I first read the play, I did not take into
consideration the social limitations in Norway at the time, which
meant I did not view the actions of Nora with particularly strong
emotions. It did seem irresponsible for Nora to be leaving her
children but considering the oppression and bigotry she experiences
throughout the play, it is hardly impossible for her to feel the need
to escape. After the interactive orals however, I learned of the
reactions from the 20th century audience realized the impact of her
actions them. In 20th century Norway, women had a much lower
social status than men meaning little rights and control over
themselves and their family. They were expected to dedicate their
whole lives to household duties and catering to their husbands
every demand. Keeping this in mind, it is understandable as to why
the audience had such a disproving reaction to the last scene where
Nora leaves her family for personal discovery. This was such a
shock that not only was the audience outraged but the actress
portraying Nora refused to take on the role unless Ibsen changed
the ending to one where Nora gives Torvald a chance and stays.
Critics today have many different views on the play. Some say it is
outdated and cannot evoke the same emotions from the audience
as it did during Ibsens time. The only shock factor would most likely
be Nora walking out on her children and not the fact that she
rejected the expectations from society on her as a woman. Others
argue that the play still remains iconic, especially in countries still
striving for womens suffrage. Strangely enough, the play received
positive reception in China, a country that is still relatively male
chauvinistic. The female audience in China felt empowered by the
message conveyed through Ibsens plays, leading to a Chinese
remake focusing more the aspect of arranged marriage. Regardless
of the different reviews, A Dolls house still remains as an exemplary
play in the area of realism.