Dramatic and Social 2 Background of Henrik Ibsen and Vijay Tendulkar 2.1 Henrik Ibsen 2.1.1 Biographical background of Ibsen The life span of Henrik Ibsen is from 1828 to 1906. He was born on 20 March 1828 in a small shipping town, Skien, in Norway and he died on 23 May 1906. This period is considered as the most significant period in the history of Norway. The time till 1905, when Norway became an independent state, was full of political upheaval and people were struggling to free Norway from the hands of Danish rule. Aniruddha Kulkarni comments in his biographical book in Ibsen- This freedom fight and the economical and social developments were inter depend- able. The pre independence period was noted for the hierarchical structure of the society. The society was divided between the rich and the poor. The upper class was known as ‘Embetclass’ which comprised of the people belonging to the various professions such as the military, the court, the professors from the University and other high professions such as the authorities of the Church and the government officers. And the others were workers and farmers who had to suffer a lot for mere living. The situation was in transition when Ibsen started writing during the 1850 (referred and translated from Kulkarni, 1992:03). Because of Norway -Sweden republic was changing Norway, there was a tremen- dous growth of industrialization. The railways, ships and roads developed for better transportation and communication. The post and the telegraph too helped people to have fast interaction. The commercial ships became the asset for Norway. As a result of all the transitions during this period, there was a rise of the Norway –Sweden state. There was no slavery in Norway, but the condition of the workers and the farmers was worse. Ibsen fully sympathized with them and supported to the revolution headed by Markus Tehran. Unfortunately, it was not successful yet it gave ample thought for Ibsen’s writings. He wrote The 30 League of the Youth on this background. Later the internal conflicts in Norway during the period of 1880 strongly represent the background of the plays like Ghosts, The Enemy of the People and Rosemer’s Holm. Political background By 1882, the democracy was established in Norway and again the social condi- tions changed a lot. There were two main political parties named ‘Conservative’ and ‘Liberal’. This situation was helpful to the middle class society and sup- portive to the Democracy as well. But in general the situation was not within control and therefore the social and political problems could not get way out as it needed to be. It gave rise to the duo state of Norway-Sweden. Literary background In the beginning of the 19th century, the field of literature was much barren in Norway. The environment was not very nourishing for literature. In the early 19th century, when the Norway, Sweden became republic, the literate people strongly wanted to have a literate theatre of their own. As a result, there was the first commercial theatre in Norway in 1827. Most of the plays were Danish or at the most trans-creations of the European plays. Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland is considered as the first known creative writer who wrote poetry, drama, history and also political writings. Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was a poet of that period. Ibsen was much influenced by Welhaven. The famous philosopher Soren Kierkegaard is considered the father of the philosophical movement called existentialism. Ibsen got influenced by his thought too. He agreed to Kierkegaard’s thought that too much respect for tradition and past spoils the present. Romanticism takes us away from the factual knowledge of the stark realities. Ibsen follows the concept existentialism in some of his plays like Brand and Ghosts. Camilla Collett was a great author and the feminist writer in Norway, in the late 19th century. She wrote about the place of women in the society in those times. She tried to give words to the injustice done to women by male chauvinist society. Ibsen got influenced by her writing and the clear reflection of it is seen in his ‘Love’s comedy’ and ‘A doll’s House’. He was also influenced by his mother-in-law Magdalene Thoreson, 2.1 Henrik Ibsen 31 who was the leader of the Feminist movement. After the mid 19th century, the Dano- German war brought modernism in the field of literature. This incident is described as modern break through’. Danish thinker George Brandis was much influenced by the positivism in France, the utilitarian theory of the Mill, the criticism of the Bible done by Foir Bach, and the woman liberation movement. The period after 1870 is considered as the golden period of literature in Norway. Bergson became famous in Europe and Henrik Ibsen got worldwide fame as a modern dramatist. He criticised common, middle class issues like complexities in relationships, forced marriages and its repercussions, the constraints of social norms, etc. Ibsen’s journey as a dramatist Ibsen was a central figure in the modern breakthrough in the intellectual life of Europe, and is considered the father of modern drama. With many changes in his personal and social lives Ibsen’s journey as a dramatist took various modes at various stages. Ibsen’s career as a dramatist spans a period of fifty years. His first play. Catilina published in 1850, and his last play ‘When we dead awaken’ in 1899. His creative period, thus, covers the second half of the 19th century. During this long period, he wrote 25 plays. His journey is characterized by various phases of his artistic development. These changes are clearly reflected in his plays and they can be divided into following categories. 1. Nationalistic plays 2. Poetic plays 3. Modern. Realistic problem plays or the drama of ideas. 4. Psychological or humanistic plays 5. Metaphysical, spiritual or ‘visionary’ plays. The first phase includes nine plays from Catilina to The Pretenders written before his departure from Norway. He wanted to build up a national theatre during this time. Most of these plays deal with national history, folklore, legends and aim at the glorious past. In the second phase as H. Koht observes 2.1 Henrik Ibsen 32 It is very evident that Ibsen follows the fashion and demand of his times and not a demand within himself (Koht, 1931: 65). He wrote plays in the traditional verse form. Ibsen’s real work as a dramatist begins only after he left Norway. His career as an author before Norway was of struggles and later he got success and become world famous. His dramatic art followed the fashion and the demand of the society and he created plays which he had in mind without anybody’s pressure. He was working in Bergen for the National theatre, but the state of theatre was too weak for him to flourish as a playwright and he left it and went to Norway. M.C. Bradbrook remarks– Ibsen did not become a great dramatist until he broke away from the stage in Bergen (Bradbrook, 1966:27). Brand and Peer Gynt were poetic in form, but stood as a class by themselves. They were written in verse, but were built on fantasy and imagination. Brand is a story of a fanatic and Peer Gynt relates a tale of a bold libertine. The third phase of Ibsen’s writing made him famous and earned him the title of the ‘Father of the modern drama’ as (Gassner says, 1953 :354). It was during this period, which extends from The League of Youth to An Enemy of People he wrote the plays which were described as social, realistic or problem plays. In this phase Ibsen describes the stark realities of the world around him. He takes up contemporary social problems as the subjects of these plays and submits them to a radical revolution. In these plays, as G.B.Shaw puts it- The problems of conduct and character of the personal importance to the audience are raised and suggestively discussed.... Unless Woman repudiates her womanliness, her duty to her husband, to her children, to society, to the law, and to everyone, but herself, she cannot emancipate herself (Shaw G.B./1913:37). They were attacks on the moral values and the social norms. In them Ibsen appears in the role of a social reformer. In the next phase, Ibsen wrote psycho- logical and humanistic plays. He has become contemplative about the past of his life. He becomes serious to present the struggle in a reflective tone. Most of these plays end on a dark note. The first play written after his return to Norway was The Master Builder. This phase includes Rosmersholm (1886), The Lady from the Sea (1888) and Hedda Gabler(1890). In these plays he turned from society to the individual questions. Ethical views give way to psychological 2.1 Henrik Ibsen 33 questioning. These plays are the study of the human mind. Hedda Gabler is the psychological study of a destructive woman. In Rosmersholm, an idealist loses interest in reforming society. He uses myths and symbols in these plays. The last four plays, which were written after his return to Norway, constitute the last phase of his dramatic writing. They are as J. Larvin puts– Partly tragic monographs of individual conscience and partly confessions of author himself’ (Larvin Janko, 1950: 12). Ibsen moves away from the realm of the individual psyche to that of individual conscience. He focuses his attention to the inner self. His journey of literature is much influenced by the personal and social events in his life.