In what ways would Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House have created a sensation in the world of theater when it was first performed?
*NB: I thought this topic would potentially be interesting to pursue for an IO at the end of the play so I did my personal research on this...*
Perhaps the greatest impact was due to the fact that the play was written and produced at a time of cultural constructivity in Europe, especially in Scandinavian countries. It it not because of the playwright himself that the play received so much attention: no production of Ibsen's had been so widely challenged as A Doll's House had been. Europe at the time collectively harbored borderline archetypal vies on women in general; many hubands forbade their wives from going to see the play explicitly so the women 'wouldn't get any ideas', while also implicity because they were truly scared of the impact A Doll's House would have had on their marriages and ultimately their family lives. Here, it is also important to consider the playwright. Henrik Ibsen was what most Europeans considered progressive: he had up-to-date opinions on the role of women in and outside of the household and he was also well traveled and well read. The publication of A Doll's House also marked the beginning of a new era of realist plays. Ibsen used a method of playwriting where the internal motivations of the personalities in the play were explored within a specific social context--therefore sparkling contemporary realism in many European playwrights to come. Ibsen also pioneered the juxtaposition of expressing personal sentiments in not-so-personal settings, which was considered mildly heretical in the field of literature at the time.
The play, when first published, was and came across as direct criticism of present day social standings and establishments in Europe. The published book was a huge success with the first editions selling out in less than a month. The play subsequently came under scrutiny of the public (and private) eye, and was Ibsen's first internationally acknowledged success. For most people, the ending of the play (where Nora leaves the house) was considered the most upsetting and heretical of all, with much traditionalists saying that 'Ibsen is immoral' (many Europeans considered the ending 'scnadalous and inconceivable'. The audience saw Nora as a self-centric monster who put her own desires above those of her husband's and children's, and her actions as downright unnatural. Critics also, much like the husbands, thought that such behavior 'set a dangerous example for women' at the time. Interesting aside: even the Earl of Jersey, Governor of Australia and his wife refused to see A Doll's House. Despite this, 'the play was staged at all the main theaters in the Scandinavian countries within the first two months of its publication'. Because of the widespread criticism especially in Germany, Ibsen was forced to amend the ending of the play into something more 'acceptable' for the public's eye. In Ibsen's word the altered ending was 'a barbaric act of violence towards the play'. Commoners must have thought likewise, as productions of the play with the new ending was not well received throughout Germany; some even began rioting to have the actors stick to the actual adaptation.
