a doll's house

A Doll’s House

By Henrik Ibsen

I: Historical and Social

Context

II: Life of Ibsen

III: A Doll’s House

Historical and Social Context

• A Doll’s House was published in Norway on December

4th, 1879.

• The first stage production was in Copenhagen on

December 21st, 1879.

• The play caused an immediate sensation, sparked

debate and controversy, and brought Ibsen

international fame.

• Performing the play was considered a revolutionary

action, a daring defiance of cultural norms of

Victorian Europe (1837-1901).


• “Bourgeois Respectability”

Ideals: Financial

Success, upward social

mobility, freedom from

financial debt and moral

guilt, and a stable,

secure family organized

along traditional

patriarchal lines.

Picture:

Woman in

formal gown,

c. 1879 –

Grands

Magasins

Pygmalion,

Summer

Catalog 1879


Patriarchal ideals

were supported and

reinforced by a social

structure in which women

had little overt political or

economic power. They

were economically,

socially, and

psychologically dependent

upon men and especially

dependent upon the

institutions of marriage and

motherhood.

Picture: Mother and Two Children by

Mary Cassatt

Historical and Social ContextSocial Responsibility

Motherhood within marriage was

considered a woman’s highest possible

achievement. It was a social

responsibility, a duty to the state, and

thus, a full-time job. Mothering was no

longer something that came naturally,

but was something that had to be

learned. High infant mortality rates,

particularly in urban areas, were

unilaterally blamed on mothers.

Working class mothers were labeled

neglectful, when in truth they struggled

with both child care and feeding a

family.

A Victorian mother,

pushing a pram


The Ideal Woman

'... her ardent and unceasing flow of

spirits, extreme activity and diligence,

her punctuality, uprightness and

remarkable frugality, combined with a

firm reliance on God ... carried her

through the severest times of pressure,

both with credit and respectability ...'

(The General Baptist Repository and

Missionary Observer, 1840).

•Piety •Patience

•Frugality •Industry

Victorian husband and wife


At Home

•The home was considered a haven from the outside world.

•The middle class home contained concrete expressions

of domesticity in the form of servants, homely décor,

comfortable furnishings, home entertainment, and

clothing.

•Women’s fashion reflected their homes’ interior

furnishing, further cementing them in their role as wife,

mother, and domestic manager.


Household Management

Numerous publications

were written to instruct

women on how to be good

wives and household

managers.

'She [the housewife] is the architect of home,

and it depends on her skill, her foresight, her

soft arranging touches whether it shall be the

"lodestar to all hearts", or whether it shall be a

house from which husband and children are

glad to escape either to the street, the theatre,

or the tavern.' (The Christian Miscellany and

Family Visitor, 1890).

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of


(1861), remained a bestseller

for over 50 years.



•Middle class households could generally afford only

one servant. Servants were a status symbol and not

intended to relieve the stress of house management.

•Many household chores still fell to the lady of the

house.

•Household duties included fetching and boiling

water, washing and ironing clothes, scrubbing

floors, and sewing and mending clothes and

linens.


Marriage

•It was illegal to marry a deceased wife's sister.

•Marriage was encouraged to be with someone

of the same class.

•A man had to prove that he could give his

future wife a life in the manner to which she

was accustomed.

•A woman had to have a dowry.

•A family could set up a trust to protect a

woman's inheritance.

•Marriage was considered a business

deal.

Victorian bride and groom, 1895


Marriage

•An unmarried woman could inherit

money and property after age 21, but

upon marriage control of her money

went to her husband.

•A woman could not have a will for

her personal possessions.

•A man could will his wife's

possessions to his

illegitimate children.

•Few marriages started with

love.

Victorian Wedding Party (date

unknown).

Historical and Social ContextWidowhood and Mourning

“A heartless wife who, instead of being grieved at

the death of her husband, is rejoiced at it, should be

taught that society will not respect her unless she

pays to the memory of the man whose name she

bears that "homage which vice pays to virtue," a

commendable respect to the usages of society in

the matter of mourning and of retirement from the

world,” (Harper’s Bazaar, April 17, 1886).

“As for periods of mourning, we are told that a

widow's mourning should last eighteen months,

although in England it is somewhat lightened in

twelve,” (Harper’s Bazaar, April 17, 1886).

Typical mourning dress

(Harper’s Bazaar, April 17,

1886).

Life of Ibsen

Henrik Johan Ibsen

1828-1906

•Born May 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway

•Died May 23, 1906 of complications

resulting from a series of strokes

•Poet, playwright, and essayist.

•Sometimes wrote under the

pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme.

•Considered the pioneer of modern drama

because he broke away from the romantic

tradition of 19th Century Theatre with

realistic portrayals of individuals.

Life of Ibsen•Changed theatrical tradition from

exaggerated suspense and mistaken

identity to a scenario that closely

resembles everyday life.

•Used realistic dialogue, commonplace

events, and symbolism to explore the

elusiveness of self-knowledge and the

restrictive nature of traditional morality.

“I prefer to ask; ‘tis not my task to

answer.”

•His characters are strong individuals

who come in conflict with the

oppressive social mores of 19th century

Norwegian society.

Life of Ibsen

Three Phases of Ibsen’s

Work

•Phase One: Early dramas written in

verse and modeled after romantic

historical tragedy and Norse sagas.

•Phase Two: Prose dramas concerned

with social realism. A Doll’s House

was written during this phase.

•Phase Three: Dealt with the conflict

between art and life, where he shifted his

focus from the individual in society to the

individual alone and isolated.

A Doll’s House•Et Dukkehjem (A Doll’s House, 1879) is

considered a masterpiece of realist

theatre.

•The plot concerns the collapse of a

middle class marriage.

•Sparked debates about women’s

rights and divorce.

•Considered innovative and daring

because of its focus on psychological

tension instead of external action.

•Created a new acting style that required emotion

be conveyed through small, controlled gestures,

shifts in action, and pauses.

•Groundbreaking in that it caused drama to be

viewed as social commentary and not merely

entertainment.

Det Kongelige Teater in

Copenhagen where the

play was first performed in

December of 1879.

A Doll’s HouseCritics and Ibsen

•Critics considered him to be amoral

and accused him of encouraging amoral

behavior and portraying unwomanly

women.

•Was accused of being iconoclastic in

that they thought that he sought to

overthrow traditional ideas and

institutions.

•Widely criticized for the character of Nora

for her decision to abandon her children.

Critics felt that no real woman would ever

make that choice.

•Critics and viewers alike hated the fact

that Ibsen offers no real solution to Nora’s

dilemma.

A Doll’s HouseCast of Characters

Betty Hemmings as Nora Helmer Emil Poulsen as Torvald Helmer


Agnes N. Dehn as Mrs. Linde Sophus Peterson as Nils Krogstad


Peter W. Jerndoff as Dr. Rank

Louise Phister as Anne Marie with children

(uncredited)

A Doll’s HouseThemes

•Appearances vs. Reality

•Betrayal

•Deception

•Growth and Identity •Honor

•Identity and Search for

Self

•Pride

•Sexism

a doll's house

Education