How can we start to understand 'A dolls house"?


What were his influences?
- Born in Skien, Norway in 1823
- his family was bankrupt when he was a child and therefore struggled with poverty for many years
-he abandoned his initial dream of medicine to work in the theatre
-A Scholarship enabled him to traveled to Rome in 1864 where he wrote 'Brand' (1866) and 'Peer Gynt" (1876) - which established his reputation as a writer/play write
-He lived manly in Germany and Italy until 1891
-In 1896 he renounced poetry and began writing prose drama
- Experience of repertory theatres
- He had become interested in women's Independence he commented on the theme of his work: "There are two kinds of spiritual law, one for men and quite a different one for women. [Men and women] do not understand each another; but women are always judged in practical matters by men's law, as though they were not women but men."
-Impressed by a book by his friend 'Camilla Collett' on the status of women
-Sponsored a proposal that the women members of the Scandinavian Club in Rome should be allowed to vote in club meetings
- Isben speaks of working on a play of 'modern life'
- Had a visit in Munich from an old friend who wrote the sequel to 'Brand' called 'Brand's daughters'- influenced the characters in 'A Doll's House'
-Drew heavily on continental European cultural resources in his work
- Devoted himself exclusively to his writing
- studied art, history, literature and architecture in Rome


What is he renowned for as a dramatic?


-Founder of modern theatre
- He supported many crucial causes of his day in his plays
- Always visualised his characters and their movements
-Tries to capture 'modern life' in his poetry
-Broke away from the romantic tradition of 19th century theater with realistic portrayals of individuals
- Doesn't draw the line between good and evil- but explores the complexities of of human behaviour and reality
- Focuses on psychological concerns
- Ibsen was interested in the possibilities of presenting a new kind of human being- possessing both pagan and christian beliefs
- His drama begins and ends with a formula
- His plays are derived from his time period
-His plays 'belong to yesterday' of an older time period and the issues regarding them
-Used his plays to try to discover the 'unknowable'
-Ibsen uses dialogue, events and symbolism to explore self knowledge and traditional morality
-Tried to build his life around art
- Investigates the role of the artist in society
- warned against the danger of renouncing love in the name of duty
- posed such questions as the search for truth in his plays
- Ibsen is a path breaking dramatist
- His work is generally divided into 3 categories: dramas written in verse ( modeled after romantic historical tragedy), concerning social realism, later on he continued working on modern realistic themes but increasing the use of metaphors and symbolism, in his final stage he dealt with the conflict between art and life- he shifted his focus from the individual in society to the individual alone and isolated
-He seems to pass judgment on himself as a writer
-His dramas were considered highly contraversal during his lifetime due to his treatment of social problems
- His work is classical and universal in implication and yet capable of endless transformation
-He explores the role of illusion and self-deception in everyday life
-Values the play itself above everything and permits the play to speak for itself
-His characters 'unload their souls' in his writing




Bibliography: " A dolls house and other plays" Henrik Ibsen, Clays Ltd. 1965


Dickinson, Thomas H. "The Drama of Intellectualism." The Drama: A Quarterly Review 7 (Aug. 1912): 148-162. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Joann Cerrito. Vol. 44. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.


"Henrik Ibsen." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.


Sæther, Astrid. "Henrik Ibsen." Norwegian Writers, 1500 to 1900. Ed. Lanae H. Isaacson. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 354. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.