Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright and director, revolutionised modern theatrical performances with his experience writing realistic plays. He landed himself  playwriting position, where he managed and produced several famous plays before his death on May 23rd of 1906. 

 

On March 20 of 1828, he was born in a small lumbering town within Norway, otherwise called Skien. During those childhood years, there were little hints that anticipated his future of becoming a "theatrical genius'' in modern drama. As the oldest member of the five children born into the household raised by Knud and Marichen Ibsen, Henrik Ibsen followed his mother's path and expressed early interest in artistry. However, his father's business, although periodically successful, ran into problems that resulted in the entire family falling into poverty. Practically all remaining income has been dedicated to paying off debts, leaving the family no choice but to move to a rundown farm. Despite the hardships, Ibsen's talents still flourished by spending his time reading, painting, and performing magic tricks that showcased his artistic capabilities. At age 15, Ibsen began working as an apprentice in an apothecary that occupied six years of his life, whereas the remaining time was spent on producing poetry and paintings. During the year of 1849, he wrote and produced his first play called Catalina, which was a drama written modelled after one of William Shakespeare, his great influence. In 1850, he moved over to Christiania (or Oslo) preparing preliminary studies at the University of Christiania. A year later, Ibsen was offered a job as a writer and manager for the Norwegian Theatre by a violinist and theatre manager named Ole Bull. He appointed Ibsen with a position as a p[laywright in The Norwegian Theater over at Bergen. The theatre on its own was a significant element in spreading awareness regarding Norwegian culture. For the next six years, he held his position of a dramatist and stage manager while travelling to Cophehagen and Dresden for state direction studies. However, the contract with his studies inflicted several hardships because of a lack of artistic ensemble. In the spring of 1853, Ibsen escaped the pressures of engaging with theatre.

 

Still, for being the first figure to influence modern theatre, he is called a founder of modernism in theatre and often called "The father of realism". The level of distinction in his writing landed him a placement of the second most influential playwright after William Shakespere. During the late 19th centuries, Ibsen altered the "rules" of drama by rewriting stories with realism that we encounter in modern society today. He provided his audience with a variation of storytelling incorporating complex moral analysis. Especially during the time period, his works were notorious for expanding his audience's mind with difficult and challenging subject matters in relation to societal issues. As opposed to accepting the beauty of happy endings and formality, he brought up deeply troubling endings and story dynamics towards his plays. The title "Father of realism" was given to Henrik Ibsen for depicting harsh realities and controversial social issues in the life of an ordinary individual. Ibsen utilised the power of his art to advocate for social justice, and particularly women's rights. 

 

Aligning with his realist ideals, he produced several well-known realist plays, but notably A Doll's House in 1879, Hedda Gabler in 1890 and The Wild Duck in 1884. A Doll's House revolves around the lives of a group of Norwegians that explores the effects that societal norms during the time period restricted women. A young housewife named Nora comes to realise that her life was dedicated to fulfilling the societal norms instead of herself. It has a strong emphasis on gender roles with the family dynamic between Nora and her husband Torvald. As the story progresses, Nora comes to a self realisation and point of individuality that challenges the norm to put providing for family over anything. However, the themes of individuality, freedom, and gender role expectations challenged this norm and revolutionised the public's thinking back then and even today. The second work, Hedda Gabler, centres around the daughter of the general named Hedda Gabler who got married to George Tesman solely out of desperation. However, she found that she was severely dissatisfied with her life and that she manipulated the people around her for the purpose of excitement and life purpose. Like A Doll's House, this explored the same themes of individualism, and gender roles, but also challenged the idea of manipulation. It deals with psychological desires for one to live their own life and the ethical responsibilities throughout the self-discovery process. The third work, The Wild Duck, is about a character named Gregers Werle who returned home after avoiding his father for 15 years after blaming his father for ruining the Ekdal family's business. As an idealistic person, Gregers tried to reveal all the secrets held within his friend's family with truth and honesty. Idealism, personal and moral responsibility, and family relationships are the central themes communicated in the play, when Greger confronts the people around him of their wrongdoings. 

 

However, A Doll's House still remains the most played throughout the entire world, that explored the detrimental societal expectations restricting women from living their personal life with proper education. From the beginning of the play, a young housewife named Nora expressed enthusiasm towards her husband Torvalds life progressions. During Christmas Eve, Nora has returned home after shopping for Christmas until her husband surprises her with the news of a promotion at work. Because of this news, Nora thought that she could spend even more money after going through financial instability when Torvard was sick. An old friend of Nora's named Kristine is running around town looking for a job after her husband passed away, which left her with no remaining income to support herself. Nora told Kristine that she has the money to take Torvard to Italy coming from a secret admirer. As a woman back then who wasn't even allowed to sign checks without their husband or father's approval, she illegally took a loan to pay off with saved up allowance money. A man named Krogstad that borrowed Nora her money threatens to reveal Nora's secret unless she secures his position at the bank. During these challenges and obstacles, Nora goes through a transformative journey and questions her role asa a domestic mother and wife. She realises that she has been neglecting her personal benefits and fulfilment to pursue societal expectations of being an "obedient" wife. The climax of the play rises when Nora makes the firm decision to leave her husband and children to seek further life opportunities for personal fulfilment. During this scene, she spoke about her life at home with her father, where she has been treated like a doll to be played with. Although it was difficult as a woman who had a low regard in society to break social norms, she recognized her role as a "doll" and broke out of her house. The play ends after the climatic scene of Nora leaving her husband and children which led the audience to self-interpret the results of Nora's actions. 

 

In 1879, the year in which this play was produced. gender roles were especially strict. Women were expected to act their part by conforming to wives or mothers with restricted access to educational and employment opportunities. On the contrary, men were the heads of the households with plenty of education and work opportunities to maintain the household. "A Doll's House" is deeply rooted in gender dynamics, individuality, and societal norms from the perspective of a woman. Nora standing up for herself during a time of strict norm confinement was contradictory to how women were "supposed" to behave. Torvald's character fulfilled the guideline of a traditional male figure in the household by getting promotions at job and providing for Nora and the children. The challenge of traditional gender role fantasies portrayed in Ibsen's works initiated a shift of thinking towards the original notions implemented. Ibsen utilised the voice of Nora as many women in society who are struggling with confinement to traditional expectations. By offering the public a different perspective that was not recognized in the past, Nora's story sparked discussions and controversy over the autonomy and individuality of women. It has been a greatly transformative work for its bold statement against the expectations that have been set for centuries, altering the thought process of the public and encouraging them to acknowledge the detriments to a woman's life.. 

 

A Doll's House is widely regarded as a piece of feminist text because Ibsen addressed the restrictions that gender roles imposed on women and gave Nora a voice to strongly stand up against her husband. It highlighted the unequal power distribution within every marriage that goes unnoticed because society has normalised traditional gender roles that Ibsen's work seemed absurd to some audiences. The aspiring character Nora is presented proudly as a woman to look up to based on her bold decision to leave what was originally her entire life. With a proud presentation of his characters, Ibsen advocated for feminism early on by encouraging the audience to recognize the unnoticed hardships for women. He's paved the way for how literature perceives the real world with challenging perspectives and realism. In the history of literature until the 1800s, playwrights typically resorted to melodramas, romantic themes, and fabricating stereotypical characters that aligned with the public's expectations. Contrary, A Doll's House and several other plays composed by Henrik Ibsen went deep into real social and psychological issues that truly exist in society. Additionally Ibsen is one of the first to bring social criticism and issues to the realm of literature during the 1800s, which created a chain reaction to produce socially engaging works given the popularity of A Doll's House. The play critiqued the hypocrisy of people in society who are ignorant to the harms of traditional values on women while changing the dramatic structure of traditional plays, emphasising the importance of realism. Therefore, being the first to ever produce unique work with controversy, Ibsen created social reform for society's perception of traditional values. 

 

That being said, his brilliant risk-taking nature seen in this play is became highly regarded as the very beginning of modern feminist literature. Ibsen modelled several female characters after his real life experiences, such as his mother. He considered his mother as the "soul" of the house because of the sacrifices she has made in honour of her husband and children. The theme of suffering for women portrayed in the Doll's House is also the dominant theme of Ibsen's other plays like Hedda Gabler. A Doll's House was a reflection point for Ibsen that challenged his thinking. When it was illegal for women to independently take out loans, Ibsen and his wife were friends with a couple similar to the experiences of Nora and Torvald. The wife took out a loan without her husband's permission, and she was called a criminal worthy of imprisonment. This was a fascinating thought for Ibsen and it encouraged him to consider the reality of Nora's situation in A Doll's House. For the time period that it was published, the public had incredibly controversial opinions regarding the ending of Nora's action. Ibsen was forced to write a second ending where Nora weighed the children over her own freedom, to which he called a "barbaric outrage" only used when necessary. The actor who was originally casted for Nora refused to play the first ending and was outraged at Nora's rejection of her family unless Ibsen rewrote the ending to meet the expectations of the normalised society. Considering the strict gender roles imposed in the 1800s, Ibsen's critique of gender roles, moral analysis, and societal standards spraked significant debates about the rights or wrong of womens actions. The story itself with Nora betraying the laws and taking out an illegal loan was already widely unaccepted, but Nora's bold decision to abandon her entire family is largely looked down upon in the past and even slightly today. Middle - class theatre fans were scandalised at the thought of a woman leaving her entire family for freedom. Regardless of the criticism it has received in the past, society is becoming progressive where critics and scholars now consider the original ending an iconic moment in theatre referred to as "door slam heard around the world". It stands as the first work to integrate into the deep thinking of the audience with the realistic portrayal of psychological struggles with limitations and hypocrisies in life. Throughout history, it has played a significant role in shaping the culture and social attitudes towards women written in literature. Feminist movements have been influenced early to give women a voice for their challenges, representing their struggles in the broader gender equality movement.  

 

In the end, Ibsen's work has revolutionised the approaches towards literature and encouraged people to address societal issues as opposed to only melodramatic plays. Because of his devotion and risk-taking to address highly controversial topics in the environment he was surrounded by, today's norms are far more progressive towards freedom, justice, and equality.