Naturalism In Zola's The Master Builder
In the late 19th century, literary theorist Emile Zola wrote Naturalism in the Theatre as a sharp defense of the naturalistic movement. In this work, Zola posits a formulaic approach to naturalism onstage that focuses on the depiction of character through “physiological man.” As a part of this naturalistic movement, the playwright Henrik Ibsen seems to write his plays according to Zola’s formula. However, when examining Ibsen’s The Master Builder, Ibsen seems to deviate from formulaic naturalism and explore the realm of the ideal. Such a deviation dives into notions of the Freudian “uncanny.” A contemporary of Zola and Ibsen, Sigmund Freud coins the term “uncanny” to describe things that can both be frightening, yet still familiar. How is it that Ibsen can place a character on the modern stage with a very deterministic energy, yet slowly deviate from Zola’s naturalistic character? With these concepts in mind, in this paper, both Freud and Ibsen will be used as vehicles to understand how their exploration of the relationship between person and environment differs from Zola’s character as physiological man, and instead delve into free will through the principle of “omnipotence of thoughts.” Naturalistic theater’s conception of character can be best understood through Zola’s specific method. Naturalism onstage refers to ability to see a stark, realistic world onstage that is not heightened to the level of Romantic or Neoclassical theater. Rather, naturalistic theater is
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