Tragicomedy: A doll’s House
‘A woman cannot be herself in modern society.’
Tragicomedy characterizes fictional literary masterpieces and theater plays that constitute both the aspects of a tragedy and that of a comedy. Tragedy is a form of drama that illustrates and portrays seriousness and dignity thus involving a fictional person who experienced failure due to another persona’s doing, flaw in the personality as well as conflict with characters that are of higher power like fate, law, gods and social norms and standards. Comedy in drama on the other hand, are works that when [publicly viewed solicit amusement among the audiences. If tragedies result to devastation and other negative fate or catastrophe within a dramatic play, a comedy eludes happiness and other positive outlook from the story (wikipedia.com). However, there are dramas and plays that are characterized as tragicomedy in its combination of the aspects of devastation and happiness in a single story. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is one of the popular tragicomedies that have been witnessed in the theater industry as a story that deal with serious issues with happy ending.
Speaking in relation to the era of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, women are considered to be mere subordinates to men. Women are treated with restrictions due to the existing culture that time. As stated by Ibsen, ‘a women cannot be herself in contemporary society’ because all the existing and operating laws are made by men and applied in a masculine point of view. For instance, in Nora and Torvald’s case, the traditional view of marriage during those times is the basis of their relationship as husband and wife. Marriage is very sacred and is characterized by the man (Torvald) as the master of the house and the woman (Nora) as just a mere wife. It is the duty of the man to serve as the head of the family where all major decisions are created and implemented according to his orders while the woman is just a follower and ought to obey the man’s decisions. As Nora claimed: “I’ve been your doll-wife just as at home I was Papa’s doll child” ().
Ibsen noted that during the Victorian era, women are subordinates. They are not free and liberated as the current women population. Again, this is attributed to the presence of laws of the land that were plotted by men and applied in their own patriarchal perspectives. As for the case of the Helmer’s, they did comply with the standards of society particularly on their setup in married life. However, Nora tried to seek liberty that prompted her to recognize her real situation as a “doll” that is trapped on a “doll’s house”. The couple did not change their marital setup because Torvald’s view was in congruence to the society they are mingling with. Still, Nora remained as the mere wife while Torvald, the master. Torvald believed that any act of female dominance is considered as “taboo” or a contradicting belief to the preexisting views.
Ibsen’s play open up the mind of people to the concept of freedom and gender equality. With the exposition of this play, the idea of feminism came profusely to serve as the moderating agent. Issues on gender such as biases, discrimination, and equality have always existed ever since the early ages. The recognition of this issue flared up the debate and the battle of sexes. Centuries ago, it has been a fact that men and women are defined as two totally different existent beings. But today, with the advent of contemporary ideologies on gender issues, the position of man and woman on the current society are no longer the same as before.
The above quotation is the underlying premise behind Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, one of the world’s most controversial, socially relevant and critically acclaimed plays. It apparently deals with motherhood and the context of marriage during the Victorian era, in which patriarchy is dominant in the society. The plot focuses on Torvald and Nora Helmer’s marriage while the controversy was centered when Nora decided to abandon her children and gain her freedom from his husband. Nora is the protagonist who served as the “doll” to Torvald’s “doll house” and was referred as his “squirrel” and little “starling”. All people are unique. It is the law of nature and the universe that every person is created differently in order to have a sense of identity. When one realizes that he/she differs from another, it only means that each living and thinking individual is one-of-a-kind and totally exceptional. The only thing that each one can do is to acknowledge such differences in a manner that will not discriminate or show arrogance against the other.
In this light, behind Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House portrayed the two meanings of tragicomedy. First, the play is a clear indication of a character’s downfall as brought about by the social norms and conditions that govern the lives of the people during the time and setting of the play. Nora Helmer was beset in a community that does not uphold her ambitions and individual thinking. But her quest to freedom through the abandonment of her own family brought her happy ending, thus concluding a tragicomedy characteristic of the play. Lastly, Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece successfully tackled serious issues regarding gender discrimination and the overly patriarchal society during the Victorian era highlighting the confounding social issues that restrict the relatively more meaningful existence of women that time. The play gave justice to women’s search for equality, independence and freedom putting into light significant social matter that is worthy of examination.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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