Henrik Ibsen's a Doll's House As a Feminist Play
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I Will Begin My Talk Today by Considering Some of the Ways in Which Ibsen Is Not Classifiable As a Decadent Author
ROMANTIC REMAINS: IBSEN’S DECADENCE, WITH AND AGAINST GEORG LUKÁCS Olivia Noble Gunn This article emerges from two big questions: Who is Ibsen for the Hungarian Marxist critic Georg Lukács? and How does Ibsen fit into Lukács’s understanding of the history of western bourgeois literature? At stake in looking for answers to these questions is a more comparative (and less idealized) understanding of what makes Ibsen’s dramas modern or proto-modernist – or, most aptly in the case of his late works, neo-romantic. Of course, many scholars have insisted on versions of Ibsen’s romanticism. For example, in ‘Ibsen the Romantic’: Analogues of Paradise in the Later Plays, Errol Durbach explores both Ibsen’s romanticism and his counter-romanticism: “the paradoxical simultaneity of Romantic and counter-romantic attitudes which makes Ibsen a Romantic of extraordinary individuality, both celebrant and critic of a vision potentially redemptive and potentially ruinous” (Durbach, 1982, 6). Unlike Durbach, Lukács locates Ibsen decisively as a counter-progressive writer of the “era of decay.” I am interested in Lukács’s readings of Ibsen, precisely because he insists on this counter- progressive (and thus anti- or failed realist) current in Ibsen. I would argue that Ibsen turns or returns to the strange and extraordinary, the fantastic, and the subjective in his neo-romantic period, but does so in a mode of radical skepticism that both rejects the supposed progress of 19th century realism – that is, its claims to have moved beyond the romantic moment – and looks askance at the 20th century, predicting a repetition of idealization as degradation. -
Helle 2016 Polve
Poljarnyj vestnik: Norwegian Journal of Slavic Studies, vol. 19, 2016, pp. 1–14 Ibsen in Russia Revisited: The Ibsenian Legacy in the Symbolist World of Andrei Belyi Lillian Jorunn Helle The intellectual atmosphere of Russian fin de siècle was characterized by a strong fascination for Norway, its nature, its culture and its literature. A good example is the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen who was a significant source of inspiration for Russian dramatists, writers and poets.1 The Russian symbolists in particular recognized him as a tutelary spirit and especially the “younger” symbolists, the so-called second generation of Symbolism, regarded his works and thoughts as a prefiguration of their own. Typically, the second generation developed their own interpretation of Ibsen which differed significantly from the dominant contemporary European attitude to his dramas: In the West, at the beginning of the last century, there was a tendency to underline the pessimistic, resigned sides of Ibsen.2 The younger Russian symbolists however, read him in another light, as a fighter and rebel calling for ground-breaking renewals, although perceived in esoteric, spiritual terms (cf. Nilsson 1958, 194ff). This specific reading of Ibsen corresponded to and intensified their own dynamic attitude. In opposition to the older symbolists with their “l’art pour l’art”-programs, the task of the younger symbolists’ was a much more ambitious one; their strategies were to bring forth a new world, make life into art and art into life. As the poet Marina Tsvetaeva once contended, [с]имволизм меньше всего литературное течение (1994, 258),3 epitomizing that this movement was not merely an aesthetical revival, but first and foremost a Weltanschauung and a life building project (жизне- творчество).4 In this respect it was conceived as a unique possibility to overcome the cultural anxiety of the age and to realize the leap into a reconstructed reality, an 1 For a general study of the influence of Ibsen in Russia, see Shaikevich (1974). -
A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen
A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen ۳۲ Setting: The play takes place in Norway in the late ۱۹th century. The entire play is = set in one location, the city apartment of Torvald and Nora Helmer, a married couple. = The action of the play takes place over three days: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. = The main characters in the play are Nora and Torvald Helmer, Mrs Linde (Noraʼs childhood friend), Doctor Rank (a family friend) and Nils Krogstad (an employee at the bank of which Torvald has recently been made Director). Plot: The play opens on Christmas Eve. Nora returns home with a Christmas tree and presents for her three children. Her husband Torvald is at work in his study, but soon comes out into the living room to see what she’s bought. He chides Nora for being a squanderer and spending all their money; Nora responds by saying that surely they can let themselves go a little bit this year, now that he has been appointed Director of the bank and will be earning a good salary. They talk more about money; Nora says that all she wants for Christmas is money, so that she can buy herself something with it later; she also suggests that they borrow some money until Torvald receives his first pay packet, however Torvald rejects this suggestion as he doesn’t agree with borrowing money. The couple is very affectionate and playful together; Torvald calls Nora his songbird, his lark and his squirrel, and teases her about her sweet tooth. Noraʼs friend Mrs. -
A Study of the Protagonists in Three Plays by Henrik Ibsen---"The Master Builder", "John Gabriel Borkman", and "When We Dead Awaken"
W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1973 What Price Greatness: A Study of the Protagonists in Three Plays by Henrik Ibsen---"The Master Builder", "John Gabriel Borkman", and "When We Dead Awaken" Janet Rose Fuchs College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Scandinavian Studies Commons, and the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Fuchs, Janet Rose, "What Price Greatness: A Study of the Protagonists in Three Plays by Henrik Ibsen--- "The Master Builder", "John Gabriel Borkman", and "When We Dead Awaken"" (1973). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539624815. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-7wrb-5n62 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT PRICE GREATNESS? : A STUDY OF THE PROTAGONISTS IN *» THREE PLAYS BY HENRIK IBSEN—THE MASTER BUILDER, JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN, AND WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN A T hesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of English The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Janet R0 Fuchs ProQuest Number: 10625271 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. -
University of Warwick Institutional Repository: a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Phd at The
University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/36168 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. Critical and Popular Reaction to Ibsen in England: 1872-1906 by Tracy Cecile Davis Thesis supervisors: Dr. Richard Beacham Prof. Michael R. Booth Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, Department of Theatre Studies. August, 1984. ABSTRACT This study of Ibsen in England is divided into three sections. The first section chronicles Ibsen-related events between 1872, when his work was first introduced to a Briton, and 1888, when growing interest in the 'higher drama' culminated in a truly popular edition of three of Ibsen's plays. During these early years, knowledge about and appreciation of Ibsen's work was limited to a fairly small number of intellectuals and critics. A matinee performance in 1880 attracted praise, but successive productions were bowdlerized adaptations. Until 1889, when the British professional premiere of A Doll's House set all of London talking, the lack of interest among actors and producers placed the responsibility for eliciting interest in Ibsen on translators, lecturers, and essayists. The controversy initiated by A Doll's House was intensified in 1891, the so-called Ibsen Year, when six productions, numerous new translations, debates, lectures, published and acted parodies, and countless articles considered the value and desirability of Ibsen's startling modern plays. -
Henrik Ibsen's Use Of
Henrik Ibsen’s use of ‘Friluftsliv’. by Dag T. Elgvin Presented at the conference: «Henrik Ibsen: The birth of ‘friluftsliv’ – a 150 years Celebration», North Trøndelag University College, Sept. 14th – 19th 2009 Summary This paper intends to explore Henrik Ibsen's concept of "Friluftsliv", as he incorporated it into his writing. Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is probably best known for his plays, which cast light over existential human issues. Freedom in life and obligations in marriage society, how one chooses right from wrong, and how one realizes his own talents and abilities, all are fundamental in his works. The concept "Friluftsliv" appears no more than two times in his writings, once in a play and once in a poem. 1 Both were written in a period when Ibsen was struggling to find his life's purpose. The poem "On The Heights" is considered to have a biographical strain (Hemmer, 2003). The poem's main character chooses a free life in the wilds of nature and away from the village in which he grew up. Ibsen chose to be a writer, to experience his freedom in this fashion, instead of following the wishes of his father, a pharmacist, who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. In fact, Ibsen moved from Norway to Italy in 1864, when he was 36 years old, where he lived for 27 years. Henrik Ibsen's meaning with "Friluftsliv" might best be interpreted as the total appreciation of the experience one has when communing with the natural environment, not for sport or play, but for its value in the development of one's entire spiritual and physical being. -
A Journey of Teaching Henrik Ibsen's a Doll House to Play Analysis
“ONLY CONNECT”: A JOURNEY OF TEACHING HENRIK IBSEN’S A DOLL HOUSE TO PLAY ANALYSIS STUDENTS Dena Michelle Davis, B.F.A. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2004 APPROVED: Andrew B. Harris, Major Professor Donald B. Grose, Committee Member and Dean of Libraries Timothy R. Wilson, Chair of the Department of Dance and Theatre Arts Sandra L. Terrell, Interim Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Davis, Dena Michelle, “Only Connect”: A Journey of Teaching Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House to Play Analysis Students. Master of Arts (Theatre), May 2004, 89 pp., bibliography, 14 titles. This work examines the author’s experience in teaching A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen to students in the course Play Analysis, THEA 2440, at the University of North Texas in the Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 semesters. Descriptions of the preparations, presentations, student responses, and the author’s self-evaluations and observations are included. Included as appendices are a history of Henrik Ibsen to the beginning of his work on A Doll House, a description of Laura Kieler, the young woman on whose life Ibsen based the lead character, and an analysis outline form that the students completed for the play as a requirement for the class. Copyright 2004 by Dena Michelle Davis ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1 PREPARATION: FALL 2003................................................................................3 PRESENTATION -
Ibsen's New Drama
Ibsen's New Drama Fortnightly Review 1st April, 1900 JAMES A. JOYCE Twenty years have passed since Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, thereby almost marking an epoch in the history of drama. During those years his name has gone abroad through the length and breadth of two continents, and has provoked more discussion and criticism than that of any other living man. He has been upheld as a religious reformer, a social reformer, a Semitic lover of righteousness, and as a great dramatist. He has been rigorously denounced as a meddlesome intruder, a defective artist, an incomprehensible mystic, and, in the eloquent words of a certain English critic, 'a muck-ferreting dog'. Through the perplexities of such diverse criticism, the great genius of the man is day by day coming out as a hero comes out amid the earthly trials. The dissonant cries are fainter and more distant, the random praises are rising in steadier and more choral chaunt. Even to the uninterested bystander it must seem significant that the interest attached to this Norwegian has never flagged for over a quarter of a century. It may be questioned whether any man has held so firm an empire over the thinking world in modern times. Not Rousseau; not Emerson; not Carlyle; not any of those giants of whom almost all have passed out of human ken. Ibsen's power over two generations has been enhanced by his own reticence. Seldom, if at all, has he condescended to join battle with his enemies. It would appear as if the storm of fierce debate rarely broke in upon his wonderful calm. -
Ibsen's an Enemy of the People
Scandinavica Vol 56 No 2 2017 Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People: An Inter-sociocultural Perspective Mitsuya Mori Professor Emeritus, Seijo University Abstract Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People is frequently performed worldwide today. Its popularity must be due to the relevance of the problems depicted therein to the current global context, such as extreme individualism, democracy vs. mobocracy, environmental pollution, manipulation of information, and the conservative education system. An Enemy of the People was the first Ibsen play to be staged in Japan, although it was adapted for the Japanese setting. At the time of its staging, it reflected the then much-debated issue of copper mine pollution in central Japan. Norway and Japan underwent similar processes of modernization in the second half of the nineteenth century, although with a certain time lag. Therefore, in order to properly appreciate An Enemy of the People today, this article examines the play from an inter-sociocultural perspective. Adopting this perspective allows us to demonstrate the continued relevance of Ibsen to our post-modern world. Keywords Ibsen, An Enemy of the People, Ibsen in Japan, environmental pollution, inter-sociocultural perspective 26 Scandinavica Vol 56 No 2 2017 An Enemy of the People is one of the least performed plays of Henrik Ibsen’s mature œuvre (Andersen 1995: 150), most likely because, after The Pillars of Society, it is the least regarded of Ibsen’s realistic plays. In contrast to his other plays, there is no complex psycho- logical investigation of characters or their relationships, nor is there any demonstration of complicated conflicts between characters. -
Ibsen - Chronology
Ibsen - Chronology http://ibsen.nb.no/id/1431.0 1828 Henrik Johan Ibsen born on March 20th in Stockmannsgården in Skien. Parents: Marichen (née Altenburg) and Knud Ibsen, merchant. 1835 Father has to give up his business. The properties are auctioned off. The family moves to Venstøp, a farm in Gjerpen. 1843 Confirmed in Gjerpen church. Family moves to Snipetorp in Skien. Ibsen leaves home in November. Arrives in Grimstad on November 29th to be apprenticed to Jens Aarup Reimann, chemist. 1846 Has an illegitimate child by Else Sophie Jensdatter, one of Reimann’s servants. 1847 Lars Nielsen takes over ownership of the chemist’s, moving to larger premises. 1849 Ibsen writes Catiline. 1850 Goes to Christiania to study for the university entrance examination. Catiline is published under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme. Edits the Students’ Union paper Samfundsbladet and the satirical weekly Andhrimner. First Ibsen staging in history: the one-act The Burial Mound is performed at Christiania Theatre on September 26th. 1851 Moves to Bergen to begin directing productions at Det norske Theatre. Study tour to Copenhagen and Dresden. 1853 First performance of St. John’s Night. 1854 First performance of The Burial Mound in a revised version. 1855 First performance of Lady Inger. 1856 First performance of The Feast at Solhaug. Becomes engaged to Suzannah Thoresen. 1857 First performance of Olaf Liljekrans. Is appointed artistic director of Kristiania Norske Theatre. 1858 Marries Suzannah Thoresen on June 18th. First performance of The Vikings at Helgeland. 1859 Writes the poem "Paa Vidderne" ("Life on the Upland") and the cycle of poems "I billedgalleriet" ("At the Art Gallery"). -
Henrik Ibsen's the Master Builder As a Case Study of Pre-Freudian Psychiatry Hansgerd Delbriick
Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder as a Case Study of Pre-Freudian Psychiatry Hansgerd Delbriick Written in 1892 when Ibsen, aged 64, was already a world-famous, if highly controversial, playwright, The Master Builder was first produced in January 1893 in Trondheim and Berlin, and soon afterwards had its premieres in a number of other European capitals: in London (February of the same year), Copenhagen (March), and Paris (April). 1900 saw its first production in America (New York) and 1905 in Russia (St. Petersburg). 1 These dates mark the beginnings of an impressive stage history; even the London critics, who at the time of the premiere were almost unanimous in writing scathing reviews of the play, admitted that in spite of their own severe misgivings about its message, which they found incomprehensible and "the most dreary and purposeless drivel," the production was well received by the general public, since the actors "never let the attention of [the] audience run loose."2 And interest in the play was never restricted to the stage. While its New Zealand professional theatrical premiere took place as recently as March 1995 3, it had already been a set text in New Zealand university courses for decades. Both The Master Builder's popularity and the controversy it has generated can largely be attributed to the many issues it raises: the generation gap, sexual obsession, the capitalist exploitation of labour4 and of women, and the relationship between science and 1 See the table of the play's stage history from January 1893 to October 1983 in George B. -
Lorenzo Mango
Lorenzo Mango CRAIG AND IBSEN TEXT PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTION* In one of the very first volumes to study the considerable transformations in early twentieth-century theatre Sheldon Cheney makes a very interesting remark: ‘There are two great revolutionary figures in the history of the modern theatre: Henrik Ibsen and Gordon Craig’, immediately afterwards specifying that while the former had revitalized tradition in its best aspects, the latter had radically subverted it. His conclusion was that ‘Ibsen is the great reformer, Craig the great secessionist’.1 Cheney’s reading presents the two as avenues to modernity: radical reform of theatre writing on the one hand and the ‘secession’ of dramatic form itself, out and out revolution, on the other. Two roles and functions which met in Craig’s staging of three Ibsen plays: The Vikings of Helgeland which premiered under the title The Vikings in 1903, Rosmersholm, in 1906, and The Pretenders, in 1926.2 The Craig-Ibsen relationship was singular and tortuous. Of the three productions two – the second and third – stemmed from external commissions, only one being the result of explicit choice. The temptation exists to reduce the significance of the ‘great reformer meets great revolutionary’ not to any specific interest but to opportunity tinged with opportunism, given Ibsen’s almost invasive presence on the European scene in the early twentieth century. Craig’s measuring himself against Ibsen, in other words – the fact that three of his total of nine productions were dedicated to Ibsen – is simply further proof of the dramatist’s importance in the birth of stage directing.3 However, while this ground-breaking moment certainly offered the opportunity for * Translated by Anita Weston, Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma.