Female Characters as Parameters for Social Reform in Ibsen’s Works

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the role of Henrik Ibsen as a social reformer through synthesizing the interdisciplinary factors between his drama and society. Henrik Ibsen is a nineteenth century Norwegian playwright. The study will focus on two of his plays Doll House and Ghosts. The methodology of the research is divided into two parts; the first part used the survey method to present Ibsen philosophy as a social reformer; in the second part of the research, critical analysis method was used to analyze the two plays under review to see Ibsen philosophy in work. Reviewing the playwright’s life and illustrating the happenings and hardship which constituted the wealth of his philosophy; applying this on the two plays the researcher reached some findings. The most important finding was that through the analysis of his works the researcher found that Ibsen’s philosophy of social reform was valid and accurate; its result is seen in the advancement of his countrymen. Also, Women were the best canvas for his drawing because the patriarchal society has [purposefully] left them blank. So in his scripture Ibsen stated that ‘women are the pillars of the society’ and if society were to advance it should provide for healthier and far wealthier mothers. Finally, an individual is a partial unit of society so it must have its finger-prints in each and every one.