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Modernism In A Doll's House By

Henrik Ibsen
Anindita
Jun 29, 2019 • 2396 views

A doll’s house by Henrik Ibsen is an insightful play as it boldly endorses

modernist philosophies even at a time when romanticism was still rife in
theatre.Modernism started in the last half of the nineteenth century and
continued on into the twentieth century. This is a break from the
traditional way of interpreting and creating. Modernism was seen as an
alternative to the use of bureaucracies and as a source of inspiration for
works of art and literature.
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The play “A doll’s house” with this way of thinking was seen at the end of
the play. Even the overall plot of the story has been used to propagate the
modernist agenda. Through this kind of ending, Ibsen is essentially
questioning societal rules and regulations.

The protagonist was willing to take her own life so that she could save her
husband’s reputation but soon she finds out that her husband was a selfish
and narcissistic individual. Nora therefore decides that it is worthless to
continue living with him. And at the end Nora was bold enough to question
 her community’s norms
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At the end of the play this unexpected twist makes it a modern play
because it looked at the institution of marriage, gender roles and family
duties in a whole new light. This shows that Ibsen wanted to have an
unpredictable plot that would leave audiences uncertain but hopeful about
the future of the main character.

The author uses theme to advance the modernist agenda. At his time,
women had no voice. Therefore Ibsen makes these women the centerpiece
of his play. He shows how women make up for men’s inadequacies through
their tenderness, self sacrifice and their loyalty. Nora is everything that
Torvald is not and this is a new element in modern drama.
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At the beginning of the play she seems like a dependent and weak
individual but soon one learns about her life and her decisions, which
shows she is a strong and independent woman. Nora had been putting the
needs and opinions of others before herself and the result of this was that
she led an unfulfilled life. But by keeping her needs over others helped her
to discover a new path for herself. Therefore Ibsen was able to portray
realist andmodernist thoughts through this theme of self enhancement.
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Modernism can also be seen in the play through the main character of the
play through the form of Marxism. Before this play aristocrats controlled
wealth and used to get several privileges and this usually meant that the
middle and lower classes would pay the price for these privileges. Thus
capitalism favored the rich and oppressed the poor.

Ibsen through his plays is able to throw a new perspective here when he
tells the story not of an another elite but reveals the struggles of a middle
class woman and also talks about the struggles of another female Mrs
Linde. Nora goes through several problems that stem from her economic
background thus it exposes the evils of capitalism and therefore
propagates classic Marxist thought or modernism in its real colors.
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Therefore Ibsen’s use of theme is quite outstanding in exposing class

struggles. Character also plays an important role because he defies
traditional depictions of males and females in his story. His choice of a
female as a central character adds up to this modernist aspect and also his
depiction of complex individuals makes his work realistic. In the end, Ibsen
set the stage for a new and revolutionary way of looking at life in society.

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