Topic > Impact of modernism in modern theater - 1189

Ibsen has been described as a modernist for many reasons, his views on feminism, his play structure and his understanding of the modern context. It was well known for its feminist views shown through the opinions, attitudes and beliefs of its main female character, showing their unhappiness and discomfort with their stereotypes of being submissive and dependent on their significant others being forced to put them in their social "place". . Ibsen was also known for his solid and well-displayed use of the Well Made Play structure, explicitly following the six steps: Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Complaint, and Resolution. An example of not only his use of the Well Made Play structure, but also his understanding of the modern context, is one of his most famous plays, "A Doll House", written in 1879 (Gwynn, p. 264). After the introduction of the main character(s), the inciting incident quickly follows. Exposition follows in the form of a kind of confrontation between Nora, a housewife, and a banker, Krogstad. The scene encapsulates the title of "Inciting Incident" as it shows a vision of Nora being approached directly by Krogstad with accusations of forgery in which he questions whether Nora sent a letter for a loan of four thousand eight hundred crowns to her father. to secure the loan (Gwynn, pages 221-222, lines 776-829). The moment Nora confesses the inciting incident is revealed and left out in the open, naked and shocking to the audience. This confession left the public stunned, not only because Nora was hiding from her husband the fact that she was in debt to Krogstad, but because she committed a forgery, a criminal act, such an act was unheard of from a woman without her.