HENRIK IBSEN:

Henrik Ibsen was born in 1828 in Skien, in the south of Norway. When he was fifteen, his father sent
him to the small provincial town of Grimstad to become an apothecary's apprentice. During this time
he began to write poetry, and learned Latin in preparation for applying for university. After six years
in Grimstad he moved to the capital, Christiania (later renamed Oslo). He published his first
play, Catiline, under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme, soon followed by The Burial Mound, Ibsen’s
first play to be produced. In 1851, Ibsen moved to Bergen, Norway to become an assistant at the
Norske Theater, which was an important apprenticeship for his development as a dramatist. He wrote
and staged plays for the theatre, as well as directing, thus gaining insight into all aspects of theatrical
production. He moved back to Christiania in 1857 to become the artistic director of the Norwegian
Theatre and married Suzannah Thoreson. Dissatisfied with Norwegian politics and his lack of success
as a writer, Ibsen moved his family to Italy in 1864.
In 1865, he published what is considered his first major work, Brand. Ironically, this play was a great
Norwegian success and earned him a state stipend and financial stability. His success continued
with Peer Gynt, a fantastical verse drama for which Edward Grieg composed the music.
Ibsen moved from Italy to Germany in 1868 and began work on his first contemporary realist
drama The Pillars of Society, first published and performed in 1877. A Doll's House followed in 1879,
along with Ghosts in 1881, and The Wild Duck (1884). Late in his career, Ibsen turned to a more
introspective drama such as Hedda Gabler (1890) and The Master Builder (1892).
Ibsen completely rewrote the rules of drama with a realism that was to be adopted later by writers such
as Anton Chekhov. He died in 1906 after a series of strokes.

Henrik Ibsen was a play writer that influenced a lot of changes in the writing industry. During his
time, there arose many new writers that were determined to experiment different forms of playwriting.
Most of them, however, followed the already existing conventions. For Ibsen, he convinced himself on
how the theater should look. He thought that theater should evolve in a different way to achieve
diversity. This was his vision, and he fulfilled it to become the father of the modern drama. Prior,
theater in both the United States and Europe was at its lowest. From the 1850s up to 1889, The School
for Scandal was the only play of significance that was produced. This became better after the arrival of
the A Doll’s House in the year 1889.
In his vision to revolutionize drama writing, he faced many challenges. He, however, did not give up,
and he made significant contributions that led to him being labeled the father of the modern drama.
One of the major obstacles that he faced was that Ibsen hailed from Norway. Denmark ruled Norway
for over half a century. Most of the drama work in Norway was done in Danish and by Danish
companies. New companies of drama theaters were not welcome by people. They struggled to thrive
and most collapsed before they could make a debut
Ibsen risked his career and his work with going against the then drama and theater rules. He was,
however, lucky because, at the same time, there was a high demand for new intelligentsia for the
theater. The drought in the drama industry sparked lot expectations. Many people were, therefore,
looking for new thinking that would make the drama theater active and compete favorably with the
poetry and fiction sectors. Ibsen’s thought saw the creation of plays like Ghosts, A Doll’s House and
An Enemy of the People. Following these plays, new theaters were created in Berlin, Paris, and
London. These theaters were purely dedicated to performing Ibsen’s plays. It did not take long before
the Ibsen’s thought controlled the theater industry. The old industries shook off the dominance of the
old way of performances. There was, however, a major controversy and conflict between the modern
and the ancient culture
In the late 19th century, the playwright Henrik Ibsen completely rewrote the rules of drama with a
realism that we still see in theatres today which was meant to be a direct observation of human
behavior. It emerged in France in the 1840s, around the 1848 Revolution, It began as a way to make
theater more useful to society, a way to hold a mirror up to society and rejected Romanticism. Realism
revolted against the exotic subject matter and the exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the
Romantic Movement. Instead, it sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations
with truth and accuracy, and not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. The movement aimed to
focus on unidealized subjects and events that were previously rejected in art work. Realist works
depicted people of all classes in situations that arise in ordinary life, and often reflected the changes
brought by the Industrial and Commercial Revolutions. Realism was primarily concerned with how
things appeared to the eye, rather than containing ideal representations of the world. Because of this
thrust towards the “real” playwrights started using more contemporary settings, backgrounds and
characters. Where plays in the past had, for the most part, used mythological or stereotypical
characters, now they involved the lower class, the poor, the rich; they involved all genders, classes and
races.
Modern realism plays are very psychologically driven, where the plot is secondary and primary focus
is placed on the mental lives of characters, their motives, and the reactions of others all while taking
place in a very normal real life setting. This allowed for the audience to watch the characters develop
and see their emotions to very real life situations in a real life setting. Since the settings are realistic to
the real world, the settings for modern realism plays are often bland compared to other forms of
theatre.
Henrik Ibsen turned the European stage away from what it had become a plaything and distraction for
the bored and introduced a new order of moral analysis. Without fairy tale figures and unlikely plots,
Ibsen brought his audience into regular people’s homes, where the bourgeois kept their carefully
guarded secrets. He then placed the conflicts that arose from challenging assumptions and direct
confrontations against a very realistic middle-class background and developed them with piercing
dialogue and meticulous attention to detail.
 
For this, Henrik Ibsen has earned his place in history. Next to William Shakespeare, Ibsen is
undoubtedly the greatest playwright in the universe. So naturally, The International Astronomical
Union named a planet after him.
“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, was a reflection of his life. On the on hand, when writing his play,
he based the book on the life of his friend, Laura Kieler. Most of the events and conflicts that
happened between Nora and Torvald happened between Laura and her husband, Victor. When Victor
found out about Laura's secret loan, he divorced her and admitted her into an asylum. After two years,
she came back to see her husband and children, and went on to become a well-known Danish author.
He began writing A Doll's House once Kieler was admitted into the asylum. The fate of Kieler shook
Ibsen terribly. At one point, Kieler had asked Ibsen to intervene, but he did not feel that it was his
place to get involved. Instead of becoming a part of the drama, Ibsen thought he would write one.
However, instead of Victor divorcing Laura, Laura leaves the relationship with her head held high. 
On the other hand, the story’s central themes mirror the social and economic problems that Ibsen
faced. From his parent’s joyless and dysfunctional marriage to his monetary deficiency, one can see
the conspicuous distinction between his life and his works. The story inherently reveals his perception
of marriage, his struggles with poverty, and his existential views which have manifested from his life
experiences. It also exposes the stresses of modern life and truths about society that many people
thought to be blasphemous, but suggests other significant issues in Ibsen’s life. The title “ A Doll’s
House”, suggests Ibsen’s perception of a woman’s role in society, which was influenced by his parents
relationship. It implies that the marriage is superficial and seemingly pleasant on the outside, but lacks
passion and depth on the inside. It reveals the reality of the struggles woman endured during that time.
Women were always seen as inferior to men, and were never individuals of equal standing. In the play,
Torvald refers to his wife, Nora, as “little”, and often compares her to a “squirrel” or a “lark”. These
terms evoke demeaning representation that hints to the idea that Ibsen associates women as “play-
things” and “amusement” due to the lack of respect he had for his mother. Ibsen only knew women to
be compliant to men because of his parents. His mother was not one with a contumacious nature, and
anyone who is would just disgrace the men. It is inevitable that any competent woman would want to
be liberated from a marriage based mainly on the service of men.
Ibsen’s existential views motivated him to incorporate them in “A Doll’s House”. Although he didn’t
seem to have a lot of respect for women, he wanted people to vicariously identify with Nora. She
longed to break free from her trapped marriage and become autonomous in every aspect of life.
“There’s another job I have to do first. I have to try to educate myself. You can’t help me with that.
I’ve got to do it alone. And that’s why I’m leaving you know”. All her life, she’s been prescribed rules
and limitations to live by, and now she wants to liberate herself from all authority. One must look
beyond the selfishness of the act, and at the aesthetic value of her decision.
Another recurring theme in Ibsen’s works is financial instability in middle-class families. After Ibsen’s
father went bankrupt, he struggled for years to gain enough money to live a comfortable and secure
life. It is a relevant theme in “A Doll House”, where Nora and Torvald become consumed by thoughts
of money, and repaying their debts. At one part, Nora talks to Mrs. Linde, a friend from school, about
how money world negate any stress in her life. “To know you’re carefree, utterly carefree, to be able
to romp and play with the children and to keep up a beautiful, charming home he also says, “Won’t it
be lovely to have stacks of money and not a care in the world?”. It seems that she is obsessed with the
idea of having excessive amounts of money. It could be interpreted as Ibsen’s desire to have money
that he never had in his life, and shows his quintessential dream of gaining money for happiness.
“A Doll’s House” has remained a timeless classic even today. It is a reflection of Ibsen’s life. Its
themes emulate his parent’s unhealthy marriage, his existentialistic nature, and his financial instability.
His parent’s relationship tainted his perception of marriage and a woman’s role in society, which had a
significant impact on his plays. His fight to succeed in gaining monetary stability also influenced his
works, and became a central theme in “A Doll’s House”. He desired to live a comfortable life with
money, just as Nora and Torvald did. The obsession with money consumed him and his characters. He
incorporated his existential ideals by creating an ending where Nora discovers her true purpose in life,
which does not include her overbearing and superficial husband, Torvald. This realization shed new
light on the truths of the roles of women in society and marriage.
Ibsen was considered one of the four central male voices for feminism in Norway along with
Bjornstjerne Bjornston, Jonas Lie and Alexander Kielland. They unanimously petitioned the
Norwegian National Assembly and demanded that women should have the right to control their estates
and this right should be made automatic. When Ibsen made an attempt to explain why women instead
of men should be consulted about the married women’s property bill, he commented: “to consult men
in such a matter is like asking wolves if they desire better protection for the sheep”.
August Strindberg:

If Henrik Ibsen is the father of modern drama, August Strindberg is the art form’s first revolutionary.
He was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. He began writing plays while a
student at Uppsala University. His first full play, Master Olof (1872), was written when he was 23
years old and is now considered Sweden's first great drama. However it was rejected by the Royal
Dramatic Theater because of its "irreverent" treatment of Swedish national heroes. It was also written
in prose, which was unusual for tragedy at the time.
Strindberg combined psychology and Naturalism in a new kind of European drama that evolved into
Expressionist drama. He was a prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience.
His career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works
of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis, and politics. His chief works include The
Father (1887), Miss Julie (1888), Creditors (1888), A Dream Play (1902), and The Ghost
Sonata (1907). Strindberg is considered the "father" of modern Swedish literature and The Red
Room (1879) has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel. His early naturalistic
work was much admired by Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw, both of whom regarded him as a
champion of the naturalistic movement. 
However, it stirred up controversy with its radical depiction of Swedish history and he was forced to
flee Sweden with his family in 1883.
Strindberg married three times but his outbursts against the feminist movement and emancipation
scandalized society and lost him the support of his liberal friends. He was summoned back to Sweden
on a charge of blasphemy brought against him by his growing number of enemies. Although
Strindberg was acquitted, the trial marked the beginning of his descent into insanity, which would
reach its peak a decade later. After studying mysticism, Strindberg recovered and went on to write
about his experience of near madness. He died alone in Stockholm in 1912.
The Swedish playwright took the groundbreaking innovations of his elder Norwegian contemporary
and broke the remaining links to early 19th century populist drama.
Naturalism had a significant effect on modern theatrical development, from its origins in the mid-
nineteenth century until the present day. It affected the way that productions were staged, acted and
presented although it was not the only movement that affected the way that audiences thought. Charles
Darwin, in his book The Origin of Species theorized that only the fittest of any natural species would
survive to pass on its genetic material. Thus in drama, a naturalistic focus addresses subjects in a
scientific manner. The writer becomes a disinterested party who observes and studies specimens as
though in a laboratory. Naturalism refers to theatre that attempts to create an illusion of reality through
a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies, detailed sets, and an unpoetic literary style that reflected
the way ordinary people spoke and a style of acting that tried to recreate reality. Naturalism in
literature is the writer’s attempt to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to the
study of human beings. Naturalistic writers were influenced by the evolution theories of Charles
Darwin. Whereas Realism seeks to describe subjects as they really are, Naturalism also attempted to
determine “scientifically” the underlying forces such as the environment or heredity. Naturalistic
works often include uncouth or sordid subjects such as sexual behavior. Naturalistic works exposed
the dark harshness of life including poverty, racism, sexism, prejudice, disease, prostitution, filth.
They were often pessimistic and tragic.
For Strindberg, psychological plays are more realistic than those with well-formed plots. The
naturalists rejected “magic” because they wanted to show life as it really was. Emile Zola had
complained that the theater was “the last fortress of conventionality”; the naturalist plays of Strindberg
and the realist plays of Ibsen seek to storm this fortress and to create a truer theatre.

Miss Julie is widely regarded as the most important drama to come out of the literary movement
known as naturalism. The movement was based largely on the theory of social Darwinism, which
proposed that individuals fight for position in society much as animals fight for their survival in the
wild, and that, in humans as in animals only the fittest can survive to suggest that the upper classes are
doomed to be replaced by the more forceful lower classes. As a naturalistic drama, Miss Julie focuses
on Julie and Jean’s struggle for survival in their society. Strindberg claimed that the basis for the plot
of Miss Julie was a true story he had heard of a young noblewoman who had had sexual relations with
a servant, although that young woman did not commit suicide. Strindberg lived in a time in which
gender and class roles were becoming more fluid, and the play reflects the conflicts that are inevitable
in a society struggling with change.
Interestingly, the discussion of social-sexual image in Strindberg’s Miss Julie attracts the attention to
the fact that Strindberg finds in Miss Julie an echo of himself, since he is a son of an aristocratic father
and a common woman. His life is also embroidered by misery and suffering like Julie who can be
regarded the other face of Strindberg’s coin. Julie suffers from her father’s weakness who has taught
her to despise man and woman and her mother, an emancipated woman, who encourage her to
dominate man. Being tortured between two opposite forces, being not in total sex-hatred, nor in her
class arrogance leads her to dirt and death. While Jean reflects his cleverness in his successful
seduction of Julie and be above his low position as a servant and reaches to aristocracy.12 i.e., the
contrast that Strindberg wittiness in his own life is cooperated with flavor of Ibsen to be experienced
by his characters later on.
Strindberg was an infamous misogynist, and he intended to portray Miss Julie as a monster. One can
trace the genealogy of his hatred for women in some of his early works, such as Getting
Married (1884), which earned him a charge of blasphemy, and The Cloister (1886), a grim portrait of
his second marriage. Strindberg's misogyny was central to the many psychotic episodes he suffered
throughout the 1890s, episodes that put a stop to his dramatic production altogether.
In the play Miss Julie, one can get that Strindberg introduces Julie, who symbolizes modern woman,
as victim of her unmerciful parents, but in reality Strindberg believes that “woman already by nature is
instinctively villainous”. He believes that woman has no truth in her love, and just like a vampire who
tries to suck the blood of man. Strindberg had been inspired to write Miss Julie when he looked at the
portrait of Munch, an expressionist painter, this portrait depicts the „kisses‟ of women as vampires
sucking the blood of men. Strindberg looks to woman as evil and inferior to man, even if she is an
aristocratic lady. He is always against woman’s freedom, that’s why his woman is the opposite,
contrastive image of Ibsen’s heroine who is the real reason behind their hostility.
Actually, the analogy of Ibsen’s and Strindberg’s views is introduced in their plays that reflect their
understanding of the social, sexual and cultural context of modern man. In addition, they dramatize the
forces and frictions of modern life and widens the territories of modern drama themes by using their
psychological insight and skillful manipulation for the tools of scientific explores then both
playwrights become members of “the theatre of thought” by their introducing “drama of ideas”. In
short, the echoes of Ibsenism are clearly reflected in Strindberg’s drama whether in the matter of
themes or of techniques. Both dramatists introduce naturalistic drama and fix their names to be as
landmarks not only as great writers in the dramatic world, but also as great explores of the
unconscious world.