Ibsen "Doll House", or "Nora"

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when practically all countries experienced serious, fatal events, the genius of the writer named Ibsen was born. "Doll House" - the work of this author, also known as Nora, reflected the spirit of that time: rebellious thoughts, doubts, moral dilemmas, attempts to preserve the human face even in the most difficult and controversial situations.

Many writers of the early 20th century thought about such problems, feeling the breath of change and the impending fateful events. Ordinary people also experienced a difficult period of metamorphosis and crumbling foundations, and the answers were sought in dramas, one of which is the work "Doll House". Henrik Ibsen belongs to the writer-playwrights of the old school, and his creations are very organically and easily flowing from paper to the stage and into the mouth of the actors, so he gained great popularity as the author of plays staged around the world. In Russia at that time, his work was mainly directed at the Moscow Art Theater.

So, what kind of problems is covered by Ibsen, whose "Dollhouse" is so psychological and tangible that every reader can find a part of himself in the characters of the play? It is worth turning to the biography of the writer. The playwright was a real man in the most classical sense of the word: stern, reserved, honest, principled, capable of sacrificing himself, if circumstances so demanded. An extremely important for society element, he considered the family and the institution of marriage in general, it was the issue of conjugal happiness that occupied the writer. And the first person who did not hesitate to cover rather personal and deep moments from the life of a husband and wife who were previously considered private was Henrik Ibsen.

"Puppet House" - a chamber work with a small number of characters. The antagonist is a woman named Nora, the wife and mother of children, accustomed to seeing the meaning of existence in the family and maintaining a home. But her life does not bother her, because she sincerely loves both children and her husband, and everything would be fine, if not for a gloomy secret. When Thorvald, Nora's husband, fell ill, she had to borrow money from a person who was not too clean by the hand, who suddenly announced and began to blackmail the woman. The moneylender wants to take a place in the bank where Torvald works, and sends letters with threats, one of which is found by an unknowing husband. He is so shocked by the truth revealed to him that he blames his wife for deception as if she is a real criminal - he is afraid for his career, he is scared of a scandal and does not try to spare the feelings of his wife. It comes to the fact that Thorvald threatens to take away from his wife the right to raise children. When the heat of passion reaches its apogee, the moneylender suddenly abandons his claims, deciding that it requires too much from a frightened woman.

But if the play ended like this, it would not be Ibsen. "Doll House" closes its shutters, behind which a real drama unfolds. Torvald is happy that the blackmailer no longer prevents him from leading a habitual existence, and lives as if nothing had happened. But Nora could not forget her husband's behavior and forgive him. She realizes that she built an air castle for lies, and now it falls apart, because it turned out that self-sacrifice does not mean anything, in comparison with the duty to be a "right" wife. The woman decides to leave the house and utters the fatal and shocking words for that time that she, first of all, is a person, not a mother or a spouse. So Henrik Ibsen proclaims the thesis of a new time that traditions need to step aside, that people should live differently, and women should be equal members of society.