There are various types of Drama that have been written through the years. One of the most significant is the drama of Realism. Henrik Ibsen was one of the first dramatists to start writing the realistic play.
Ibsen is considered the father of modern Drama. His lasting influence can be easily seen in the cinema today. No topic is considered too realistic in drama today .
Dramatists have not always been so free and limitless in their dramatic expression. Ibsen was one of the first to struggle for free dramatic expression. He explored realistic topics such as syphilis, the rejection of a child be a parent and as in A Doll's House, a woman's rejection of a traditional protective marriage . .
the political climate in Europe influenced his work towards realistic topics. When Ibsen was twenty in 1848, the overthrow of the French king and the publication of Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx occurred. His own country, Norway, was busy ridding itself of domination by Sweden .
Ibsen dramatizes human beings who are trying to free themselves from things in their life that are holding them back. .
They are trying to become free from restriction. His characters find internal and external forces that get in their way of trying to find freedom. His plays are kind of pessimistic because their characters fall short of their goal . .
A Doll's House is a good example of realistic drama. Nora is searching for freedom but must sacrifice her children to gain freedom. This is an example of realism in drama because in real life women often must make a choice between family and freedom that sometimes ends in divorce. Nora expresses this when she says "I must stand on my own feet if I am to find out my life." . She makes a decision to leave the comfort of her home and family. "The curtain descends just as Nora, the wife and mother, turns her back upon her husband and children, and passes, by her own free choice, nay, in accord with her relentless insistence, out from her doll home into the night.
