E N D
1. Henrik IbsenNorwegian playwright 1828-1906
2. Biography Born in Skien, small coastal town
Prosperous, merchant family brought to financial ruin
Began writing plays in 1850s: prolific output
Rise to eminence and wealth in 1860s
3. Bio, cont�d 1864-91: travels around Europe, soaking in influences
Long, high-profile career
Drama interested in socio-economic issues, Victorian morality
4. Major Works Peer Gynt (1867)
Pillars of Society (1877)
A Doll�s House (1879)
Ghosts (1881)
An Enemy of the People (1882)
Hedda Gabler (1890)
5. Critical Evaluationfrom John Northam, �The Relevance of Henrik Ibsen� HI�s appeal: intuitive and emotional, even on abstract issues and political topics
Challenge to readers: critique our society, our place within it, resist complacency
HI�s heroes learn �the burden of freedom,� but are always limited by society
Society stifles creative energy
Heroes must break free from social values that they have internalized
6. Northam on Ibsen, cont�d Central concern: dramatize experience of living through tragic paradox of modern world
HI�s heroes refuse to be totally conditioned by their socioeconomic roles
Tragedies result from resisting �the falsification of the essential self,� which HI believes cannot be silenced
7. Poet of Modern Society What are the contradictions inherent in the society that tear at the characters� senses of who they are?
HI�s insight: whatever society does, whatever it expects, some individuals will refuse to succumb to its deadening power
Doll�s House, like other of HI�s plays, is formally a tragedy, but one that includes acts of existential heroism