Performance History of A Doll 's House by Henrik Ibsen
A Doll’s House is a play written by Henrik Ibsen in Norway and first took place at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879. The play is set in an upper-middle-class home and demonstrates the importance of social class in late-19th century in Norway. Ibsen himself being born into the upper-middle class not only did he understand the importance of social class, but also the expectations placed on its members. Likewise, A Doll’s House tells the story of Nora and Torvald: a married couple living in a society where to keep your social standing, you have to abide by its strict and at times, suffocating standards (Schaefle 2013). Nora and Torvald are living proof that upper-middle …show more content…
There have been many different productions of this play in which a new meaning and understanding can be drawn. My analysis is of three different productions within different time periods and how they were reviewed by the society and the time of production.
First production of the play
The first production of A Doll 's House was World premiered in 1879 at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, directed by H. P. Holst. Betty Hennings originated the role of the protagonist, Nora (Schaefle 2013). This play was written during a time when Norway 's economy was changing drastically, the growth and prosperity of Norway 's upper-middle class began in 1843, with a great economic boom (Larson). The industrialization of Norway had a huge impact providing people with jobs and therefore they could work their way out of poverty into the middle class. As a result of this, they also became obsessed with money. While this economic boom brought prosperity, it also brought an obsession with, and an over-awareness of money (Hagemann 417-419). This is shown in A Doll 's House by how stressed Nora is over the money he owes Krogstad and Torvald finding out that she …show more content…
Many people could not see a woman walking out on her children especially during the 19th century when women still had little say in all aspects. This, in turn, resulted in an alternative ending of the play. In 1880 a Revised version of A Doll’s House with an alternate ending premiered in Flensburg, Germany. (Schaefle). The actress playing Nora, Hedwig Niemann-Raabe, was outraged at the notion that a mother would leave her children and thus refused to perform the play as written. Ibsen decided to avoid the ending being re-written by a lesser dramatist and offered an alternate ending where Nora does not leave. Instead, the curtain falls after Torvald shows Nora the children and she sinks to the ground. However, after protests at the Residenz theater in Berlin against the “distortion of the play,” Niemann-Raabe agreed to revert back to the original script. This new ending did not sit well with critics who said that it made no sense for Nora to stay. Meaning she would still be subjected to the same treatment by Torvald and it was not just as a great ending as the original. The most significant aspect of the play was the feminist message that rocked the stages of Europe when the play premiered. Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood scandalized contemporary audiences (Kissel et al). This period was still marked with men playing the dominant role with the
A Doll’s House is a play written by Henrik Ibsen in Norway and first took place at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879. The play is set in an upper-middle-class home and demonstrates the importance of social class in late-19th century in Norway. Ibsen himself being born into the upper-middle class not only did he understand the importance of social class, but also the expectations placed on its members. Likewise, A Doll’s House tells the story of Nora and Torvald: a married couple living in a society where to keep your social standing, you have to abide by its strict and at times, suffocating standards (Schaefle 2013). Nora and Torvald are living proof that upper-middle …show more content…
There have been many different productions of this play in which a new meaning and understanding can be drawn. My analysis is of three different productions within different time periods and how they were reviewed by the society and the time of production.
First production of the play
The first production of A Doll 's House was World premiered in 1879 at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, directed by H. P. Holst. Betty Hennings originated the role of the protagonist, Nora (Schaefle 2013). This play was written during a time when Norway 's economy was changing drastically, the growth and prosperity of Norway 's upper-middle class began in 1843, with a great economic boom (Larson). The industrialization of Norway had a huge impact providing people with jobs and therefore they could work their way out of poverty into the middle class. As a result of this, they also became obsessed with money. While this economic boom brought prosperity, it also brought an obsession with, and an over-awareness of money (Hagemann 417-419). This is shown in A Doll 's House by how stressed Nora is over the money he owes Krogstad and Torvald finding out that she …show more content…
Many people could not see a woman walking out on her children especially during the 19th century when women still had little say in all aspects. This, in turn, resulted in an alternative ending of the play. In 1880 a Revised version of A Doll’s House with an alternate ending premiered in Flensburg, Germany. (Schaefle). The actress playing Nora, Hedwig Niemann-Raabe, was outraged at the notion that a mother would leave her children and thus refused to perform the play as written. Ibsen decided to avoid the ending being re-written by a lesser dramatist and offered an alternate ending where Nora does not leave. Instead, the curtain falls after Torvald shows Nora the children and she sinks to the ground. However, after protests at the Residenz theater in Berlin against the “distortion of the play,” Niemann-Raabe agreed to revert back to the original script. This new ending did not sit well with critics who said that it made no sense for Nora to stay. Meaning she would still be subjected to the same treatment by Torvald and it was not just as a great ending as the original. The most significant aspect of the play was the feminist message that rocked the stages of Europe when the play premiered. Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood scandalized contemporary audiences (Kissel et al). This period was still marked with men playing the dominant role with the