Henrik Ibsen is one of the most controversial writers ever. Ibsen’s relevance to our times is one of the questions on which no two critics seem to agree. For some, Ibsen has become thoroughly outdated; while, for some others, Ibsen is a dramatist who can never lose his relevance. The paper highlights the fact that Henrik Ibsen, more than anything else, is concerned with the problem of the self, and this is a problem which can never become obsolete. Further, Ibsen shows himself to be way ahead of his times, and quite modern, by dealing with sexuality, and especially female sexuality, which did not formally exist for the Victorians, in a particularly revealing and forthright manner.
Key words: Relevance, Self, Identity, …show more content…
Already in 1945, the great German critic Theodor Adorno registered the change: ‘No sooner is a name like Ibsen’s mentioned, than he and his themes are condemned as old-fashioned and outdated.’… Having helped to renew the theatre at the end of the 19th century, after 1914 Ibsen became increasingly irrelevant… Eric Bentley noted that, ‘Today the mention of the Norwegian’s name elicits, in many quarters, a certain feeling of tedium’ (18). Though the critics who have been talking about the irrelevance of Ibsen, indirectly concede that his work played a vital part in bringing about a change in public opinion and social attitudes, and consequently increased the status of drama as an experimental laboratory for social thought and social change, yet, their views continues to do more harm to Ibsen’s reputation as an artist than any other single influence. Callow Simon elucidates: Of the two greatest dramatists of the 19th century, Chekhov and Ibsen, it is the infinitely lovable Dr Chekhov who holds the highest place in our affections, both as man and as author. But Ibsen, the forbidding man of the north - accusatory eyes fiercely staring out at us from behind steel-rimmed spectacles, thin, severe lips tightly pursed amid the bizarre facial topiary - may be the one who speaks most urgently to us today (Guardian ). The
Key words: Relevance, Self, Identity, …show more content…
Already in 1945, the great German critic Theodor Adorno registered the change: ‘No sooner is a name like Ibsen’s mentioned, than he and his themes are condemned as old-fashioned and outdated.’… Having helped to renew the theatre at the end of the 19th century, after 1914 Ibsen became increasingly irrelevant… Eric Bentley noted that, ‘Today the mention of the Norwegian’s name elicits, in many quarters, a certain feeling of tedium’ (18). Though the critics who have been talking about the irrelevance of Ibsen, indirectly concede that his work played a vital part in bringing about a change in public opinion and social attitudes, and consequently increased the status of drama as an experimental laboratory for social thought and social change, yet, their views continues to do more harm to Ibsen’s reputation as an artist than any other single influence. Callow Simon elucidates: Of the two greatest dramatists of the 19th century, Chekhov and Ibsen, it is the infinitely lovable Dr Chekhov who holds the highest place in our affections, both as man and as author. But Ibsen, the forbidding man of the north - accusatory eyes fiercely staring out at us from behind steel-rimmed spectacles, thin, severe lips tightly pursed amid the bizarre facial topiary - may be the one who speaks most urgently to us today (Guardian ). The