Father of Modernism: Henrik Johan Ibsen's Impact on Theatre - Essay Sample

Introduction

Henrik Johan Ibsen was born into a well-to-do family in the small town of Skien. He is a Norwegian playwright as well as a poet and a theatre director. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernism in theatre. Ibsen is always considered as the father of realism. Instructively, one of his famous works is A Doll's House which was one of the most performed in the world in the early 20th century. Ibsen has morphed his important themes in his plays to focus more on the man versus society. He moved away from the romanticism and started anch0oring his themes on the political and social issues in society. In Ibsen's play, A Doll House, one of the major themes that take center stage is the lack of female identity in the society dominated by a male in every aspect of life. Ibsen attempts to build this theme by depicting how the women in the society are not allowed to execute some tasks since they are viewed as inferior to their male counterparts. The theme of the absence of female identity illustrates the struggle in the contemporary world to ensure that gender equality principles are strictly observed to promote political, social and economic growth. The paper aims to establish how gender disparity and behaviors influence the decision on who should be entrusted with the responsibility of providing custody to the child both in traditional and contemporary society.

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Nora Helmer is among the main characters in the play, A Doll House. She is the wife of Torvald Helmer. Nora is initially depicted as playful and having little understanding of the happenings in the outside world. Her experience is however demonstrated in her acts of rebellion that depict her as not being innocent as superficially shown by her character (Ibsen 23). However, as the play progresses, Nora is seen as intelligent, strong-willed and motivated qualities that make her the safe pair of hands to provide custody to the children. Also, her decision to source for money through a loan in a society where female are suppressed economically to ensure that her husband gets treatment is a further testament to her caring nature that is needed in any custodian of children. "He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls." (Wang 173) This quote confirms the concern Nora has on how her husband, Torvald, is treating her and the children.

Moreover, Torvald Helmer in the play is depicted as a character with a demeaning personality and hypocritical nature which informs the decision by his wife Nora to leave her together with the three young children. He treats his wife like a child. On the flip side, however, he comes out as a kind man who cares more about the family (Ibsen 29). Instructively, the demeanor of Torvald illustrates that he cannot be entrusted to be the custodian of the children. Also, the pride which Torvald takes in his social status makes him have a volatile emotion that oscillates between the feeling of being respected and ridiculed by the people around him (Hossain and Arburim 8). He consistently referred to his wife as, "my poor little Nora, my little singing bird," this shows that he hardly considers his wife as an equal partner in the marriage. It is on the strength of this quote that makes him not the ideal man to live with the children despite his outward appearance that he cares about the children.

In the contemporary world, the court often determines the cases relating to child custody by looking at specific issues for fathers and mothers. It is worth to note that the main issue that is often looked at before the court on matters child custody is the quality of the relationship between the children and the individual parents (Saunders 78). The strong relationship between either of the parents and the children often depict the closeness and emotional attachment that exist between them. For instance, the intense emotional and physical relationship between the children and the mother will influence the decision of the court to pass the child custody rights to the mother. Also, if it is established that the children enjoy a cordial relationship with the father, then it follows that the court will be more inclined in allowing the father to take custody of the children (Hossain and Arburim 14). It should be noted that courts often decide by looking at what is in the best interest of the child. "The child custodian rights are often premised on the relationship between the parents and the children, and the best relationship is often given an upper hand in determining the case." (Saunders 83). Instructively, given the weak mental strength of the children, it is always considered significant that they are taken care of by the parent they feel comfortable around to ensure that they transition smoothly from childhood to adulthood.

It is worth to note that the issue of child custody is often emotive between the parents and should be approached with the utmost care. The parents need to understand that children are often hard hit by familial conflicts that result in divorce. Both mother and father need to consider that for the children to grow into a more responsible adult and that call for the need for respecting the decision of the court especially when it becomes apparent that the children enjoy a close relationship with either of the parents (Scott and Robert 69). Better still; the parents need to find ways of solving their conflicts and avoiding incorporating their children in their familial conflicts and extensively the divorce. Also, when the courts that are the custodian of the laws give ruling on who should take the child custody, both parents need to respect the outcome and find common ground to ensure that the interest of the children is given priority over their interest (Ghafourinia and Leila 424). It should be understood that divorce often brings a great rift between the parents and the welfare of the children should never be compromised even in the toughest of the situation that often characterizes divorce.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is imperative to note that in the traditional society, women were viewed as far much superior to the male counterparts and this resulted in many conflicts. The suppression of the female gender was on every aspect of life ranging from politics to the economic well-being of women. In the play A Doll House by Ibsen, the female gender is depicted to a doll and more specifically, Nora is treated like a child and is given unequal rights to make decisions in the house. The ultimate consequence of constant conflict in the family is divorce, and the parents are always the worst hit by this scenario. In light of this, the parents need to understand that their children should never be involved in their conflict and they also need to respect the determination of the court regarding child custody. Evidentially, the contemporary cultures are replete with familial conflict that often culminates into divorce, and the parents always seek the intervention of the court to determine who should take custody of the children.

Works Cited

Ghafourinia, Fatemeh, and Leila Baradaran Jamili. "The Women's Right in Henrik Ibsen's Doll's House." Journal of Novel Applied Sciences 3.4, 2014, pp. 424-429.

Hossain, Amir, and Arburim Iseni. "Symbolic Realism in Ibsen's A Doll's House: An Overview." ANGLISTvICUM. Journal of the Association-Institute for English Language and American Studies 3.8, 2015, pp. 8-17.

Ibsen, Henrik, et al. A doll's house. Caedmon, 1971, pp. 23-51.

Saunders, Daniel G. "Research based recommendations for child custody evaluation practices and policies in cases of intimate partner violence." Journal of Child Custody 12.1, 2015, pp.71-92.

Scott, Elizabeth S., and Robert E. Emery. "Gender Politics and Child Custody: The Puzzling Persistence of the Best-Interest Standard." Law & Contemp. Probs. 77, 2014, pp. 69.

Wang, Quan. "The movement of the letter in A doll house." Journal of European Studies 45.3, 2015, pp.173-188.