Literary Endeavour (ISSN 097 299X) Vl. Xs Issue: 3 (May, 2019) (UGC No. 44728) wwliteranjendemoutorg — 179 37 THE EMERGENCE OF REALISM IN HENRIK IBSEN'S 4 DOLL'S HOUSE Miss. Anupama Hosuri, Reseaich Scholay Departmentof Studiesin English Ke University; Dharwad, Karnataka- State Abstract: 4 Doll's House is.a play written by Henvik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright, The play is set in Norway: but when we talk ahour the social conditions of the women. social etiquette of Norway or any other country in Europe. we find similar characteristics. Iris nothing but zeitgeist (the direction of the thought of the era). The 1870s were dominated hy strict Vietorian social codes and laws that severeh restricted the rights ofall women and married women in particular: The Governments throughout Europe used the Napoiconic Code or The Civil Code of 1804. Itsystemizing family and property law: denied a woman all eivitand political rights, banished her from professions. and did notaliow herevento enter into acontractualagreement withoutthe writien consent of her husband or father: much less to live outsideof hisdomicite. Naturally zeitgeistof theerais rflectedin theliterature ofthe timethroughourEwope like in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice(1813) or Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre(847).lbsen's works causedan uproar because of his candid portrayals of the middle classes, complete with infidelity. unhappy marriages, and corrupt businessmen, Ibsen completely modified therulesofdrama with realism, Several af his later dramas were considered scandalous, becawse when European theatre was expected to model siict morals of family life and propriety: Ibsen's later work examined the realities that lay i facades, revealing much thatwasdisquicting to number ofhisconiemporaries. Hehada critical eveand conductedarive inquiry into theconditionsof lifeand issuesofmoratits, Onesuchplavis A Doll's House hind the Keywords Independence lism, Zeitgeist, Forgery, Spendthrifi, Macaroons, Individuality, Sensibility, Education, The Research article focuses on the social condition of women in Henrik Ibsen's 4 Doll's house Henrik Ibsen (1828 1906) wasa Norwegian playwright, theatredirectonanda poet. Norway isa beautiful Scandinavian country. It iscalledas the land of the midnight sun, where the northern lights dance across endless skies. At present Norway isoncofthemostdevelopedcountriesof the world, Norwegian literature hasachieved a remarkable position in the world literature, especially the translated works in English has achieves popularity world-wide. The late 19"century is considered as the Golden Age of Norwegian literature due to the emergence of the four great literary figures: Henrik Ibsen, Bjornstjerne Bjernson, Alexander Kielland, and Jonas Lie, Henrik lbsen isa strong contributorto early Norwegian romanticism, he is one ofthe founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His majorworksincludes Ai Ewenyof the People, A Doll's House, Hedda Gablen Ghosts. The Wild Duck, The Pillars of Society; The Master Builder, He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the worldafierShakespeare.and bytheearly 20thcentury.4 Doll's House becamethe world'smost pertormed play. He influenced other playwrights and novelists Such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, James Joyce.and Eugene O'Neill with his phenomenal works, Ibsen was nominated forthe Nobel Prizein Literature in 1902, 1903,and 1904 forhiscontributioninthe literature. Henrik Ibsen's 4 Doll's House was published and first performed in December 1879. 4 Doll's Houscisa ModemnRealistic Tragedy in three-actsandcan be read ina single sitting. A playissetin a town orcity of Norway in the span of three days the Christmas Eve, the Christmas Day and the day after theHe EMERGENCE OF REALISM IN HENRIX IBSENS « DOLE HOUS 180 Christmas. 4 Doll's House is originally written in Norwegian and later translated in English and many other languages, which took the whole world by storm be: criticism of the blind acceptance of traditional rolesof menand women in Vietorian marriage and theGovernments throughout Furope used the Napoleonic Code or The Civil Codeot 1804. which restricted women in all spearsor life and made themdependenton themalemembersof their family, There werea lotofrestrictionson married women; they were banned from having a profession and earning money, Many women who conducted their own businessoreared theirownwageschosc not tomarrybecause the laws regarding what married womencould dowhen itcomestofinances weresolimiting In Victorian literature from Richardson until theearly twentieth century the plotpattemn of English fiction were based on the view (should by reader and writer) that what was significant was that altered a social relationship = love followed by marriage, quarreling and econeiliation, gainorlossofmoneyorolsocial status(Daiches 700} Bythe beginning of the twentictheenturysthingsbegan tochangeasthe female sullragemovement sweptoverEuropeand the worldandthe women were awardedrights suchas theright1o own propertyand theright tovote, However for mostpeople in thelate 1870s, sucheventualities werenot yetevena distant dream, Dol!’s House caused quite the scandal forits criticism of nineticth century marriagecustomisand portrayal of a woman abandoning her family in order to gain a sense of self, Ibsen wrote an alternative ending beeause he was pressurized by several theatres, in which Nora, upon seeing herchildren, changes her mind and stays with Torvald. He later regretted doing this, calling the adapted ending “a barbaric outrage.” A Doll's House enactsa journey ofa young woman, Nora Helmer from being a perfect house wile toabandoningher family inorder toeducate herself. Noraishappily marriedto Torvald] lelmer, abarrister and is recently appointed as the bank manager, They are married for eight years and they have three children Ivar Boband Fmmy, Duringthe firstyear of theirmarriage Torvald had grown seriousillnessand in orderto save hislifethe doctor advised Norato takeherhusband tothe Southi.. Italy to recuperation Nora decided to borrow money as a loan in order to expense their trip to Italy from Nils Krogstad. Nils Krogstadisa lawyeranda money lender, who has bad reputation in the society hecausehe did forgery in ordertosavehisdyingwifeandtacttully escaped the punishment in thecourt, Krogstadextendstheloanot ‘wo hundred and fifty pounds to Nora on a condition that she has to produce someone as her security, Nora's circumstances were extremeat that time she was heavily pregnant sind her father was counting his, lastdays. Shedid notwantto rouble her Father byaskingtosignthe security bondandgethimworried, She forged thesignatureof her father and mentionedthe datebelow thesignas2” October, Krogstad knew that Nora's Father died on 29" September and he suspected that may be Nora has forged her father's signature However, Krogstad extend loan to Nora, Since then Nora worked hard and paid the loan in quarterly installments. Shewas successful in hiding this big secret from Torvald. Torvald hasbeenappointed asthe bank manager, which will improve their financial prospective, Noraand Torvald were very much in love and happily leaving with their children and ever thing seemed to be perfectly fine until thestorm strikes anda wonderful thinghappons Mrs. Christine Lindeisachildhood friend of Nora. She comes tomeet Nora afterten long yearsto ask her help in securing a small post in the bank with Nora’s influence and Mr, Heimer’s help. Ithas also beenrevealed that Christincand Krogstadwerelovers, beforeChristine jilted poor Krogstad and marrieda richman, whocan support Christine'sill motherand hertwo littlebrothers. At thepresent time Krogstad is working as a clerk in the bank, Torvald decides to help Mrs. Linde by appointing her as a clerk by dismissing Krogstad fromhispost, Krogstad blackmails Norato stop Torvald Irom firinghim from hispost inthe bank. Krogstad tells Nora thathe will nottakeany legal actionagainsther, but he will keepthe bond with himand blackmail Torvald o help him to get promoted. Krogstad writes Nora's seerel in a letterand mailsto Torvald, Norawassure that when Torvald will know about heractof forgery, he will tll Krogstad ‘ause of its seathin, Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)HE EMERGENCE OF REALISM IN HENRIK IBSEN. DOLL'S HOUS 181 topublish itto thewhole worldandhe will taketheblameonhimseltbecauscorhislove forher, Thisisthe wonderful thing which Nora was expecting and she is also fearful about Torvald’s reputation getting trashed. Nora tells her secret to Christine. Christine talks to Krogstad and they decide to renew their relationship. Krogstad becomes overwhelmed with this happy change and decides to take his letter back fromHelmer, Christinestops him because she wants thattheseeretshouldbe reveledand Nora and Helmer have no deceit in theirmarriage. Torvaldreads the lettersent by Krogstad and scolds Nora and blamesher forthe trouble hehas tosulfer from Krogstad to save his reputation, Later, Krogstad sends the debt bond backalong withthe letterorapology to Nora. Assoonasthe threatisover Torvald hecameslovinghusband and forgives Nora. But Nora realises the true nature of her husband and leaves him. She goes back to her maiden home to educate herself and be independent enough to understand the ways of the world and surviveinit AL the beginning of the play one gets the impression of Nora as a person who is full of life spendthrift and happily spending her life as a doll wife with Mr, Torvald Helmet, He is an epitome of masculinedominancein the Victoriansense, Torvald is projected asavery loving husband, whoregularly treats Noraas achild, Hedoesnot think ofherasa proper adult because she isaw oman, During that time themen dominated everyaspects of life, Norahappily playsalong with Torvald’s pet names forhersuchas ‘litle Skylark’, ‘little songbird’, ttle spendthrilt,‘ittle featherhead, ttle squierel’, ‘extravagant little person’. poorlittlegir!'.andsoon. blisstulmarriagelite isdisplayedt HEUMER: Isthatmylittlelark twittering outthere? NORA: Yes, itis! HELMER: Isitmy littesquirrelbustlingabout? NORA: Yes! HELMER: When didmy squirrel come home? (Ibsen-Act-I-8) Before the twentieth century,themenare thesole providers of the family, Helmerworked hardand provided for his family. He is alsoa strongly opinionated individual, who despise any sort of borrowing. from others and considered it as same to his capability of earning enough for his family, When Nora sted for borrowing forthe Christmascelebration, he strongly condemnsand tells her.” That is likea There can be no woman! But seriously. Nora, you know what I think about that, No debt. no borrow ini freedomor beauty abouta home life thatdependson borrowinganddebt” (Ibsen-Act-1-9), Nora is well aware of the attitude of Helmer and also about the rule that a wife is not allowed to borrow without her husband's consent, She isalso aware of the punishmentshe will getii'she gets caught for the act of forgery, Hence she keeps the deal between Krogstad and her seeret. She hada very pure intension behind breaking this societal rule and committing forgery but law does not care about the intensionsbutevidence. Krogstad tells Nora,“The lawearenothing aboutmotives“(Ubsen-Act-1-40) Nora is aware of her restricted role in the society, She sees freedom and fulfillment in earning money and being independent, it gives hera sense of pride, Shezets upsetwhen Christinecallshera child and ellsherthatsheis unaware of the problemsof life, Nora tells Christine abouther secret of borrowing theloanproudly, Shedoesneedlework, erochet-work, embroidery copingand that kind of thingsand pays the huge loanof two hundredand fifty poundsin the quarterly installments, Nora ellsChristineabouther work experience with great pride: NORA: Well, then | have found other ways of eaming money, Last winter I was lucky enough to get a lot of copying todo: so | locked myself up and sat writing everyevening until quite late at night, Many a time Twas desperately tired; but all the same it was a tremendous pleasure to sit there working and eaming money, It was like being a man (Ibsen-Act- 1-24), Helmeris in full control of all the household and financial affairs and he also restricts Nora from cating macaroon (a sweet dish) and swearing just like one restricts their own children and not wile. This Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : issue: 3 (May, 2019)He EMERGENCE OF REALISM IN HENRIX IBSENS « DOLE HOUS 182 Showshisdominantnature. Helmerisquitepossessive of Nora, he wantsheralltohimself: Noraoncetells Christincabout Torvald’spossessiveanddominantnature NORA: That isquite right, Christine, Torvald isso absurdly fond of me that he wants me absolutely tohimself, as he says. At first he usedto seemalmost ealousifl mentioned any ofmy folk at home, so naturally I gave up doing so. But loften talk about such things with DoctorRank, because helikes hearingstbout them(Ibsen-Act-I-51), Dr Rank isa very close Iriend of Helmerand Nora and visits them often, He issutfering from the consumption of spineandiscounting his lastdays,On the Christmas Day. he tells Nora that he hasalways loved her, but Nora does not return hisfeelings. She tells him that he isa good companiontohersshe Feels much freedomtotalk tohimbecauscheisnot opinionatedandrestrieisherasHelmerdoes Individuality is themostimportant thing in the life, Butin the olderdays womenare notentitled to express their free will, they were subjected to submit before their father, husband or sons, Helmer also exhibits his possessiveness when Nora wants to stay a little longer in the fancy dress party but Helmer ignored even a smal wish of Nora and brings her tohome forcefully, Helmeris not a sensible man, He is full of pretense and hypocrisy. He has biased opinion aboutwomen. HelmertellstoNora,"My dear. have oflen seen it inthe course of my life asa lawyer, Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early nlite has had adeceitful mother (Ibsen-Act-1-45). Helmer dislikes Krogstad and chides him asa moral failure due to his past act of forgery, In Helmer's opinion Krogsted should have submitted himself to the court and taken the punishment but he played tricks and got outof the punishment, Helmer is not sensible enough tosee the motives behind the crimecommitted by anindividualand heisjudgmental Helmer'sopinion abouttheir dear friend Dr, Rank shocks Nora whenhecomments upon theletters droppedby Dr, Rank, where hedeclared histimeof death isnearing and forbid them to see him in his last daysorsuilering. Hlelmersays,“Hehas so grown into ourlives. [can’t think of him as having gone out of them, le, with his sufferings and his loneliness, was like a cloudy background to our sunlit happiness, Well, perhapsitis bestso, Forhim,anyway.Andperhaps forustoo, Nora Act-II1-94), Helmerhasalsocommented onChristineasa frightful boreandheis happy that sheletitheirhome carly, Thisshowsthat some peoplescemto be genuinebutthey arvonly pretendingandHelmerisone such ‘man, Aman'sreputation,hissocial status isol the primeimportancein the Vietorian society orprior tothe toventicth century. But timesare changing now and even wonten have gained social status and are highly reputed in the society, Helmer's reputation isthe mostimportant thing in his life, He valued his pride and false reputation more than his love for Nora, When he read a letter sent by Krogstad and Nora's act of forgery is reveled, Helmer changed from loving husband to a hypocrite. He was worried about his reputation andtheamountorfavorhe has to extend to Krogstad in orderto save his pride. HeaccusesNora forheractof forgery ignoringherseliTessmotiveand love forhim behind it, “Whata horribleawakening! All these eight years- she who was my joy and pride-a hypocrite, a liar worse, worse- a criminal! The unutterableuglinessofitall! -Forshame! Forshame!”*(Ibsen-Act-I11-97} Helmeraceuses Nora fordestroying hishappinessand forbidsherto raise herchildrenandhe states that from henceforth their marriage will be pretense to show the world, When Krogstad sends the bond back witha letter of apology to Nora, Helmerrealizes that his reputation isno longer indanger. He forgives Nora and promises herthat hewill guide her in the future to take decisions as perhisconscience, But Nora sccinghistrue colours, hiscontrolling natureandmost of allhis false lovetowardsherand leaveshim. She decides to leave him and bea sensible, educated and independent woman, Nora also realizesthat shehas always been adoll-child toher fatherand accepted hisopinionsand laterwhen she gotmarried to Helmer, she accepted his opinions blindly and molded herself into it. She never had her own perception of life Helmertriesto stop her from leaving the house, He scolds herand says thatshe doesnot havethesenseot duty towards her husband and children and she lacks moral conscience and religious consciousness. But ‘Ibse! Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)He EMERGENCE OF REALISM IN HENRIX IBSENS « DOLE HOUS 183 Nora isdetermined toeducate hersell. She realizes that hermost sacred duty istoeducate herself, toknow about thesociety, its lawsand itsreligiousandmoraleodeottheconduet andbea reasonable individual Conelusion Ind Doll's House two couples can beseen. the first couple is Nora and Helmer they are almost pertect at the beginning but pride, false reputation, inequality in gender roles, suppressed position of womeninthesociety andmaleegoofHelmerall these leadsto the separation of them. Thesecond couples Christine and Krogstad, they are lovers separated by the tough circumstances years bak, now reunited because they bathare lonely and still in lovewith eachother, Krogstad had committed forgery to save his wife's lifeand escaped rom the punishment. He had indulged inillegal activities driven by the disparities. Hechasalso blackmailed Noraand threatened herthat he will expose her seeret, But he isready to start his life with Christine becauseshebelievesin his real character. Krogstad returns the bond of debtto Helmers and apologize for blackmailing Nora. The juxtaposition of Helmer and Krogstad can be seen in 4 Doll's House. The reversal ofthe role is visiblehere Helmer, who played the protagonist becomes anantagonist and Krogstad who is an antagonist becomes a good man in the end, Henrik Lhsen's play led to the emergence or the modernrealismin the theatre by breakingtheage oldnormsofihe Victoriansociety and literature. Heshowedthereality and prablemsofthesociety behindsophisticated mask inhis plays. Works Cited 1. Ibsen, Henrik, Doll's fouse, Noida: Maple Press, 2011, Print Daiches, David. A Critiea! History of English Literarure Volume Il: The Restoration to the Present Day. New Delhi:Supernova Publishers& Distributors, 2016, Print Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976-299X) : Vol. X : Issue: 3 (May, 2019)