A Push to Freedom. Speaks of Ibsen's "A doll house"

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Sometime after the publication of 'A Doll's House', Henrik Ibsen

spoke at a meeting of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights. He

explained to the group, 'I must decline the honor of being said to have

worked for the Women's Rights movement. I am not even very sure what

Women's Rights are. To me it has been a question of human rights' ( ).

'A Doll's House' is often interpreted by readers, teachers, and critics alike

as an attack on chauvinistic behavior and a cry for the recognition of

women's rights ( ). Instead its theme is identical to several of his plays

written around the same time period: the characters willingly exist in a

situation of untruth or inadequate truth which conceals conflict and

contradiction ( ). In 'A Doll's House', Nora's independent nature is in

contradiction the tyrannical authority of Torvald. This conflict is concealed

by the way they both hide their true selves from society, each other, and

ultimately themselves.

Just like Nora and Torvald, every character in this

play is trapped in a situation of unturth. In 'Ghosts', the play Ibsen wrote

directly after 'A Doll's House', the same conflict is the basis of the play.

Because Mrs. Alving concedes to her minister's ethical bombardment about

her responsibilities in marriage, she is forced to conceal the truth about her

late husband's behavior ( ). Like 'A Doll's House', 'Ghosts' can be

misinterpreted as simply an attack on the religious values of Ibsen's

society. While this is certainly an important aspect of the play, it is not,

however, Ibsen's main point. 'A Doll's House' set a precedent for

'Ghosts' and the plays Ibsen would write in following years. It established

a method he would use to convey his views about individuality and the

pursuit of...