[Nora's husband]: It's shocking. This is how you would neglect your most sacred duties. Nora: What do you consider my most sacred duties? [Nora's husb[Nora's husband]: It's shocking. This is how you would neglect your most sacred duties. Nora: What do you consider my most sacred duties? [Nora's husband]: Do I need to tell you that? Are they not your duties to your husband and your children? Nora: I have other duties just as sacred. [Nora's husband]: That you have not. What duties could those be? Nora: Duties to myself. [Nora's husband]: Before all else, you are a wife and mother. Nora: I don't believe that any longer. I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being, just as you are - or, at all events, that I must try to become one. I know quite well, Torvald, that most people would think you right, and that views of that kind are to be found in books; but I can no longer content myself with what people say, or with what is found in books. I must think over things for myself and get to understand them. From A Doll's House (1879), Act III
I originally read A Doll's House during my required literature course in college and I recently decided to return to the play. I passingly read some disgruntled commentary about how an author's pronouncements about their own works shouldn't matter, that Word of God commentary from creators (authors, playwrights, directors, etcetera) should be ignored because what the creator intends to produce may be (and often is) different than what they actually manage to produce. This got me thinking about something we discussed in my class about how Ibsen, in his lifetime, vehemently insisted that A Doll's House was not a feminist play even though many people interpreted the play as having feminist themes (to the point where the play was outright banned in some places and preformed with a different ending in others). Upon this reread where I was actually paying attention and not just memorizing cliffnotes lines for a test, I can see why people interpreted A Doll's House as being feminist. In fact, I don't understand how Ibsen himself could have insisted that his play was not feminist.
A Doll's House is about a Norwegian woman who, in trying circumstances, is forced to closely examine her marriage and comes to the conclusion that it is not a "real wedlock," that she is treated as thing rather than as a person in the context of her life, and that this has always been the case. Being confronted with the reality of the situation and being honest with herself, she admits she is unhappy that she has been so confined in her life and has not learned more about the world and about herself. She feels that there cannot be a "real wedlock" between herself and her husband under the circumstances, and so she leaves everything behind to begin anew.
In the 21st century where women are still praised for 'standing by their man,' this would count as having feminist themes. When this play was first preformed during the Christmas season of 1879 it would have been beyond shocking; so far beyond shocking I'm surprised Ibsen got anyone to publish it and that there were theatres who preformed it with the original ending. Women's suffrage - the first wave of the women's movement - didn't really pick up steam until after the turn of the century and most European countries did not enfranchise their women citizens until after World War I (and others, like the US, still argued over it for years after WWI; the 19th amendment wasn't passed until 1920 and that came scarily close to not happening at all). A lot of other strides forward for women's right didn't happen until much, much later. For example, the last Head and Master law - a law that said the husband was automatically the head of household and could do what he pleased with any and all household monies or property without his wife's knowledge or consent, even if she was the one who brought the monies/property into the household - wasn't repealed in the US until 1979. And things still aren't great. There are still plenty of sexist laws still on the books, I could use up all my remaining characters talking about the economic situation, and ingrained cultural sexism is still a major problem. Things improved for women between 1879 and 1920, and things improved for women between 1920 and 1979, and things have improved since 1979; I don't think anyone would say that they haven't. However, given that there are still people who, in all seriousness, echo Torvald's words to Nora - who argue that women belong at home with children, who argue that women should be wives and mothers above all else - should send the message to all loud and clear that we as a society still have a long, long way to go.
Overall, A Doll's House is a short, simple, elegant, excellently written play. I listened to the full cast audio production (called A Doll House) by L.A. Theatre Works, which had superb acting and effects; I highly recommend it. I also followed along with the AmazonClassics edition, which provided the lines and accompanying stage directions clearly and completely; I would recommend this copy of the text. The only complaint I have is not the fault of either production/publisher, as these were never meant to be used together, but they don't use the same translation of the original text and it made trying to follow and highlight lines somewhat awkward. But, as stated, this is neither the fault of LA Theatre Works or AmazonClassics, it's my own fault for assuming that both would be using the same translation. Regardless, both the production and the text were clear and of high quality, and I highly recommend both (though perhaps not at the same time) if you would also like to enjoy the play....more
Years ago, I signed up for an elective on folklore, and promptly panicked when I recieved the book list. There was no real textbook for the class, butYears ago, I signed up for an elective on folklore, and promptly panicked when I recieved the book list. There was no real textbook for the class, but there was a list of about 25 books on the syllabus. I found out later that, due to some formatting issues, the required reading and suggested reading lists had been put together, but by that I had already purchased the lot and started reading them. Lost Goddesses of Early Greece is one of the books that I probably never would have stumbled across or read if not a formatting error. It's a formatting error that I am grateful for, as the book is amazing.
Lost Goddesses of Early Greece is a deceptively simple book. Most people don't think about how old myths are or how they evolve over unimaginable lengths of time. Most people just think of the classical greek myths and go 'that's about as old as it gets, unless you want to read Gilgamesh.' I know that's what I thought, prior to reading Lost Goddesses. It had never really occurred to me that, yes, there was something that pre-dated classical Greece, that it was a culture and tradition different than classical Greece, and that we actually know about it (perhaps not as much as we know about other periods of history, but it's not completely lost in the mists of time, either). Spretnack does a wonderful job of explaining how this gap in knowledge came to be, why it exists, and filling in the gap by explaining what we now know about pre-Hellenic times, though understandably hampered by the fact that these traditions were largely oral and they were targeted for extinction due to political reasons over time. Then, she goes on to focus on individual godesses to explain what their characters were originally like, how their characters were changed to the Hellenic veraions that most of us would be familiar with, and offers possible explainations for the alterations. Then comes my favorite part of the book: Spretnack writes a short 'myth' for each goddess to illustrate their character in the pre-Hellenic era. Though Spretnack's academic analysis is wonderful, it is the stories that keep me coming back to this book. Though short, the stories accurately present for the modern reader what these goddesses would have been like for pre-Hellenic worshippers. Their stories are caring, uplifting, and empowering, and I cannot thank Charlene Spretnack for writing a book that makes these stories and their history accesible for the average reader.
Lost Goddesses of Early Greece is a book that I adore, and one that I would highly recommend (especially over a book about classical greek mythology)....more
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