"A Doll’s House" By Henrik Ibsen: Inequalty Of Women

The time and place in which Ibsen wrote his novel “A Doll’s House” can be examined through the initial reception of the play. Ever since the play was first published in 1879, it has created debate and controversy due to its structure and its ideological impact. The critics at the time were shocked, negatively and positively, with the messages Ibsen portrayed. Despite some reactions being positive, the ideas presented were too foreign for the majority of the audience to accept.

Critics such as Erik Vullum dismissed Nora to be “unnatural” and deemed that her actions are “artificial” which demonstrates how shocking the actions of the female character were to society at the time. Some critics such as Amalie Skram even thought that the feminist ideas that Ibsen brought up were a bad influence to society. Due to the controversy, many theatres refused to produce it. It even reached a point where Ibsen had to write an alternate ending which he called “a barbaric act of violence against the play. ” In the alternate ending, Torvald takes Nora to see their children one last time. Upon seeing her children, Nora realizes that she cannot leave them. Instead of seeking her freedom, she decides to stay. The significance of having the ending changed to adhere to societal ideals is that it goes to show how strongly people were grounded in their everyday norms and how reluctant they were to accept new ones. In hindsight, the alternate ending can be said to be even more effective for the message Ibsen was trying to convey. The alternate ending can be interpreted to be a judgement on society for indoctrinating women so thoroughly that they are made incapable of making their own decisions. This is because in the alternate ending, the contrast between Nora’s personal morals and those ascribed to her by society is still made clear. In addition to this, Nora’s trust in male authority, that being Torvald, and in her duties as a women, when she realizes that her children will be “motherless”, are so deeply engraved in her that she does not end up leaving despite knowing that she will be unhappy.

Overall, it is palpable that Ibsen’s work has raised a lot of discussion regarding women’s rights. Although the ideas brought up were not agreeable by all, the issue around the inequality of women was being made aware of and talked about.