Henrik Ibsen is known as the father of realism and is a playwright, theater director, and a poet. Ibsen is the founder of modernism in theater and is famous for his extreme views that are considered to be scandalous during his time period.WRITING STYLE
Ibsen's writing style reflects upon matters in society that are seen as scandalous. His work revolves around realism that leads to social criticism and the plot of his plays are often unapologetic and could be seen as offensive.
POLITICAL VIEW
During the 1880's, Ibsen disliked the Parliamentarism group and felt that the state should be abolished. Ibsen expresses his political views through his work. He believed that the people's behavior is compromised with the society. He saw society as the majority that are ignorant and sheeplike. Criticizes views such as conservatism (preserving the past) and liberalism (freedom and equality).
HIS WORK AND ITS RELATION TO 'A DOLL'S HOUSE'
- A Doll's House: Stands on a feminist side where it goes against the social norm of the female role where women are sacrificial and obey the law of men. It can be seen in the play that women are sometimes responsible for men's mistakes. The play revolves around the theme of money, corruption, social roles, gender roles, and love.
- The title represents Ibsen's perspective of the social construction of a marriage where the setting is based on the house of a family similar to a doll house with Nora, a women, being the
"doll" that men like Torvald play with. - The play was seen as scandalous because of the fact that Nora leaves the family.
- Ghosts: A play that continues the main idea behind the plot of A Doll's House. About a widow who consults a pastor about her fiance's philandering. The pastor advises the wife to marry him and that her love will change him, but instead, this results in her husband passing on syphilis to his son and dying. Ghosts has similar theme to A Doll's House including love, corruption, etc.
- Seen as scandalous and intolerable because it mentions a venereal disease and how it could affect a respectable family.
- Enemy of the People: Due to the public outcry on Ghosts, Ibsen wrote this play as a response. The play is about Dr. Stockmann discovering a contamination in the bath of the village, but no one believed him and saw him as a lunatic. He was hated and was called the enemy of the people. The story of this conflict is man vs. society with the theme being that the thoughts of the minority may be more 'right' than the majority where the majority is portrayed as ignorant and sheeplike.
