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Doll's House Critical Analysis

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In the 19th century, social mores were strictly dertemining people 's behaviour, especially women; indeed society viewed them solely as wives and mothers whom were to fulfill their familial duty; on another hand, men 's role was to work and care for their families financialy.The play Doll 's House was written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879; the norwegian author wrote it in Germany, where he was in exile. The Doll 's House was one of his most known productions, yet at the time it was received with great polemic, mainly because of the controversial ending but also the critique of social norms conveyed throughout the play. This essay will demonstrate that Ibsen 's choice of characters was meticulously connected to the message they each conveyed on …show more content…

The premiere of the play generated mixed reactions from the audience, Ibsen was already recognised and appreciated therefore the Doll 's House was expected to be a succes. Indeed, according to a review of the premiere in the Fædrelandet (the country), the play was “followed with great excitement and fascination, at least up to the last scene”, undoubtfully Nora 's decision to abandon her husband and children was most disapproved of by the audience and may have been too controversial to be accepted. Furthermore, she was understood and supported by the public throughout most of the play and, when her forgery is revealed, she does not “lose the audience 's sympathy”; her charming personnality and a noble motive was sufficient to pardon this fault. However, neither the public nor the critique applauded the couple 's separation; “least of all should it be allowed to dissolve a marriage”, the determination of the review 's author shows how anchored his negative view of divorce, especially coming from the woman, is in his mind. The critique then suggest the play 's ending is more related to Ibsen 's “problem finding an ending” than a truthfull view of relationships. His reaction as well as the audience 's are representative of social norms at the time; indeed not only was it reprehensibly viewed for a woman to leave her spouse, but Nora 's

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