Ibsen + Rossetti Ao3 (and some Ao5)
Ibsen:
Ibsen’s Life
- Bad relationship with father who was in alot of debt- reflect themes of bad fathers and
financial difficulty in plays.
- Egalitarian marriage with Suzzanah Thoreson
- Was Christian then became an atheist (before play was written)
- Ibsen: “A woman cannot be herself in society”
- Not feminist but wrote what he felt was right- striving for equality “seemed a problem
of mankind”.
Play
- Written in 1879
- Style of Realism in contrast to ‘Well- made’ plays (like lanthe) at the time
- Lack of religion- refer to Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution released previously
- Could be perceived as iconoclastic- miracle never happens.
- Napoleonic code- European countries banned women from engaging in financial
transactions.
- 2- sphere model
- Nora as mouthpiece for Ibsen's views and Torvald mouthpiece of society
- Mrs L. a foil for Nora
- Based of of Ibsen’s friends- Laura and Victor- Laura tried to leave, but Victor divorced
her and put her in an insane asylum until she took him back
- Tarantella- originally to rid someone of poison- she dances to rid herself of society's
poisonous ways? Also sexual overtones- becomes spectacle for sexual enjoyment?
Also metaphorical death of old self?
Socio-economic context
- Norway was a heavily Lutheran country- reflecting influence of christianity in britain
- Women did not have many rights at the time and were expected to be housewives
(upper/middle class)
- Men “owned” women in marriage, and family was the moral centre
- Women assumed to want to marry for desire to become mothers rather than sexual
or emotional satisfaction.
- 2 sphere model- men in public sphere and women in domestic sphere
- Nora is a mouthpiece for Ibsen's feminist views.
- Domestic slavery- women forced to remain in the domestic sphere.
- Cult of domesticity
Rossetti
General AO5:
- Simon Avery- “usually far from conservative and often questioning, challenging and
potentially subversive.”
- Rossetti- “a woman’s words are weak”
- Alice Kiby- “Each of Rossetti's characters given their own agency”
Ibsen:
Ibsen’s Life
- Bad relationship with father who was in alot of debt- reflect themes of bad fathers and
financial difficulty in plays.
- Egalitarian marriage with Suzzanah Thoreson
- Was Christian then became an atheist (before play was written)
- Ibsen: “A woman cannot be herself in society”
- Not feminist but wrote what he felt was right- striving for equality “seemed a problem
of mankind”.
Play
- Written in 1879
- Style of Realism in contrast to ‘Well- made’ plays (like lanthe) at the time
- Lack of religion- refer to Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution released previously
- Could be perceived as iconoclastic- miracle never happens.
- Napoleonic code- European countries banned women from engaging in financial
transactions.
- 2- sphere model
- Nora as mouthpiece for Ibsen's views and Torvald mouthpiece of society
- Mrs L. a foil for Nora
- Based of of Ibsen’s friends- Laura and Victor- Laura tried to leave, but Victor divorced
her and put her in an insane asylum until she took him back
- Tarantella- originally to rid someone of poison- she dances to rid herself of society's
poisonous ways? Also sexual overtones- becomes spectacle for sexual enjoyment?
Also metaphorical death of old self?
Socio-economic context
- Norway was a heavily Lutheran country- reflecting influence of christianity in britain
- Women did not have many rights at the time and were expected to be housewives
(upper/middle class)
- Men “owned” women in marriage, and family was the moral centre
- Women assumed to want to marry for desire to become mothers rather than sexual
or emotional satisfaction.
- 2 sphere model- men in public sphere and women in domestic sphere
- Nora is a mouthpiece for Ibsen's feminist views.
- Domestic slavery- women forced to remain in the domestic sphere.
- Cult of domesticity
Rossetti
General AO5:
- Simon Avery- “usually far from conservative and often questioning, challenging and
potentially subversive.”
- Rossetti- “a woman’s words are weak”
- Alice Kiby- “Each of Rossetti's characters given their own agency”
