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  • Essay / Henrich Ibsen and feminism - 585

    On May 26, 1898, Henrich Ibsen attended a banquet organized by the Women's Rights League. At the banquet, a toast was made to her for working for the women's just movement. Women had considered her works, notably A Doll's House, to be a feminist play. Ibsen, however, denounced the toast as not accurately describing its purpose. I thank you for the toast, but I must give up the honor of having consciously worked for the women's rights movement… It is true that it is desirable to solve the women's problem…. but my task has been to describe humanity. (Ibsen, 1898) If solving the “woman problem” – as 19th-century feminism was called – was not Ibsen's theme for A Doll's House, then what was it? Well, as the author himself said, the description of humanity, a person discovering who they are, but why isn't A Doll's House a feminist play? A Doll's House is not a feminist play because the women, especially Nora, are portrayed too imperfectly. Before diving into the analysis of Nora, it is important to know who Henrik Ibsen meant by Nora: “Nora, Nora!” What a woman yo...