To what extent can the meaning of a literary work change over time?

A Dolls House is a 19th century play written by Henrik Ibsen, Norways preeminent
dramatist, dealing objectively with the problems confronting everyday people and
exploring these issues without the distortions of romanticism. This essay will examine the
extent to which the meaning of a literary work can change over time.
Ibsen, being a forefather of Realist drama, created characters who were not noble, and
not to be admired. He suggests that the Northern European society in which A Dolls
House was performed was both constricting and unfair, although a Feminist reading of
the play would point out that the characters in the play are mere pawns in a society which
has been the victim of centuries of endemic male dominance. Most translations of the title
in English use A Dolls House, but it is said that the Norwegian itself (and indeed the
Japanese translation) are closer to A Dollhouse. This detail, which may affect an
individuals interpretation of the whole play, suggests that all of the characters, including
Torvald do not have real individual freedom. In Act II, when he comments on knitting,
saying that it just cant help being ugly...theres something Chinese about it, his
personification of knitting as ugly, emphasises his shallowness and preoccupation with
female beauty, but perhaps Ibsen was pointing out that those expectations were as a
result of conditioning of 19th Century European Society. The juxtaposition of this
ugliness and the adjective Chinese would be more likely to cause offense amongst
multicultural modern audiences than those of Ibsens time, but those who object to this
idea ought to remind themselves that Ibsen was not upholding Torvald as a character to be
admired, rather presenting a flawed, opinionated, shallow character, whose blunt dialogue
is responsible for much of the conflict on stage. Torvald is a representation of men in 19th
century European society and is used by Ibsen to draw criticism to the suppression of
female freedom and individual independence by societys narrow-mindedness.
Henrik Ibsen introduces certain feminist ideas through the intentional negative portrayal
of Nora as an unintelligent and simpleminded character with little self-control on her id inner desires. The interrogative simple sentence by the controlling Helmer, Has my little
spendthrift been out squandering money again? connotes once again the idea of Nora, a
representation of women, being irresponsible and highly imperfect. The mindset and
ideologies of society in the 19th century are expressed through this dialogue. Note that
when Nora converses with Mrs. Linde, she takes pride in her acquisition of two hundred
and fifty pounds showing her capabilities and thus allowing Ibsen to indirectly contradict
and challenge the traditional views of society towards women being unintelligent and
inferior to men. This viewpoint is highly ironic as she is the one who saves her husbands
life by funding the trip to Italy. Mrs. Linde then declares her conservative viewpoint in the
simple sentence a wife cant borrow money without her husbands consent which
would clash with modern-day culture, attitudes towards female independence and societal
values. A key event in the play in representing societys attitudes and values is the fancy
dress Christmas party. Nora's fancy dress for the party symbolizes the character she plays
in her marriage to Torvald and the idea of how a womans life should revolve around her
husband and his desires. Another example of the struggle of women and the female
experience is found in the subordinate clause just as you say in Noras dialogue. This
shows the expectation of women to be submissive and adopt the inferior role according to
19th century European society. It can be argued that Ibsens intended meaning of the play
was to explicitly emphasise the patriarchial societys inability to grow and blossom into a

harmonious one if it were not to change its attitudes towards women. Thus the meaning
of A Dolls House in this respect remains constant even in the 21st Century.
Certain aspects such as the dominance of men is presented through the text by contrasting
the roles of men and women and the way in which they are treated in the 19th century.
Nora massages Torvald representing her subservient role which is often adopted in
modern day society, especially in less developed regions where women do low-skilled
jobs such as cleaning and massaging. Nora uses the declarative I will sing for you, dance
for you after the exclamatory I will do everything I can think of to please you,
Torvald! in an attempt to flatter Torvald. Note that this behaviour of women was
considered common during the writing of this play where women lived for two main
purposes - to be wives and to raise children. This ideology is still prevalent in lesser
developed regions of the world as men are favoured over women and considered of a
higher standing in society. However, in more developed areas, it is uncommon for
womens skills to be downplayed, especially as more and more women enter the
workforce. Although Noras manipulative mind and behaviour may have been considered
taboo at the time of writing; Ibsens message is clear here - women lacked real freedom
because even though Nora usually managed to obtain what she desired, it was only
through subserviency, lies and deceit. Psychoanalytical theory would proclaim this to be
Noras ego - an aspect on the subconscious mind that attempts to satisfy both opposers
and supporters through compromise. A psychoanalytic reading of the play would point
out the dreams are where a person's subconcious desires are revealed. What a person
cannot express or do because of societal constrictions will be expressed and done in
dreams. The psychoanalysis would also imply the Ibsen satirizes Helmer in an attempt to
imply his dislike towards the male-chauvinistic society he represents. This idea may have
changed due to the liberation of women in modern society. As feminism gains recognition
in the contemporary society, readers interpretation of the text may vary with the their
own established cultural context, for example, those living in very developed western
regions of the world may have a different context of interpretation to those in the middle
east, where women are constricted by societal laws to even show their faces in public.
Thus, male dominance is still prevalent in certain regions whereas almost completely
abolished in others.
One of the primary functions of Ibsens masterpiece was to advocate individual freedom
and subsequently feminist rights. The play criticizes the patriarchal society in that it
satirizes the sense of control men have over women by portraying Torvalds loss of
control in the end of the play. This is where the realist drama departs from the traditional
drama. Ibsen questions the social norms and reveals it through the story of a traditional
husband and wife. The loss of control by Helmer is seen when Nora begins to use
imperatives in the third act and Helmer uses either declaratives or submissive
interrogatives such as what do you mean? and how can you say that?. The
imperatives No, dont interrupt in Noras dialogue Exactly. You dont understand me.
And I have never understood you, either - until tonight. No, dont interrupt. I just want
you to listen to what I have to say. We are going to have things out, Torvald. The
declarative We are going to have things out, Torvald symbolizes assertiveness and
confidence rather than submissiveness. This symbolizes the idea of female liberation and
equality in modern-day society. The declarative Yes, Torvald, Ive changed further
displays a complete change in Noras character and shows her regaining her individual
independence and freedom by answering back to Helmer and standing up for herself
during arguments. Adjacency pairs signify the argument taking place in the last act and

eventually Nora to be standing up for herself, implying Ibsens belief the female
suppression is not the key to a harmonious society. Ibsen is able to promote personal
freedom and individual interests by juxtaposing the more liberal views of Nora with
Helmers Victorian view of womens primary duty being to support the husband and
children. Ultimately the conflict is resolved through Nora facing up to the truth that for
eight years she has been living with a stranger and borne him three children, and when
she subsequently points out that I cant spend another night in a strange mans room the
repetition of the idea strange, underlines the distance between her and her husband, the
reason for her putting on her coat. The play ends with her slamming the door, an act
symbolic of the fact that in order to gain true personal freedom, she must leave their life
and the constraints that the institution of marriage brings, an idea which is arguably more
acceptable to todays society than for Ibsens contemporaries. The rise of feminism has
caused a drastic but positive change the way members of society think and perceive
women for society is now a much more open-minded place.
It can be argued that one of the many meanings of the play Ibsen wished to get across to
his reader are timeless and unchanged over time for greed is deeply embedded in human
nature. The inclusion of the theme of materialism within the 19th century European
society allows Ibsen to present the attitudes and values of society and the members of it.
Torvalds main focus in life is money and material goods. His sense of manhood and
respect arises from his financial strength and independence and is the reason for his
switching of jobs. Torvald is said to have been an unsuccessful barrister due to his refusal
to take unsavoury cases and so changed his profession into a banker - a job that
revolves around money rather than people. Money and materialism plays a key role in the
play as it is shown that ones level of respect in society is dependent upon wealth.
Personalities and traits are ignored and the attitudes of society seem to run counter to the
proverb if wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. But, if
character is lost, everything is lost which argues that ones personality should be the
greatest determinant of his/her social standing and value. Nora too believes in this
opportunistic behaviour, for example, during her conversation with Dr. Rank regarding
how they secretly admire each other, Nora uses the declarative Well, you see, there are
those people you love and those people youd almost rather be with. Ibsen intends to
pass on the idea to readers that everyone in society is opportunistic. Emotional sacrifice is
shown for materialistic gain as seen in the subordinate clause those people youd almost
rather be with. Note that the italic static verb be emphasises the idea of the institution
of marriage being corrupt as it is perceived to be merely a transaction rather than a
bonding of two lives. This can be applied even to modern-day society, as materialism is a
characteristic inherent in human nature. By implying that this attitude is endemic within
society and will always remain prevalent, Ibsen is able to criticise society, its attitudes and
its values. This is relevant even to the modern-day 21st century.
The extent to which the meaning of a literary work changes over time is dependent
upon the cultural conxtent and environment of the individual reader. Attitudes and
values differ greatly and so in certain aspects the meaning of Ibsens masterpiece is still
highly relevant and in others aspects it can be considered irrelevant, i.e. especially in
more developed regions of the world.