Norweigan Context

• The rapid industrialisation in 1884 made a larger gap between rural and urban areas.
• By the mid 1800s, most people had begun to become tired of romantic theatre.
• Naturalistic theatre became popular as coined by Emile Zola. It sought to explain the relationship between the environment and the individual's behaviour.
• Norway is a young nation, being under Danish rule for 400 years, and then in union with Sweden for almost 100 years. National independence was acheived in 1905.
• Women's status becomes measured by outward status symbols such as the personal touch she puts into her surroundings, and the care and feeling she puts into the home and its decor.
• After the release of 'A Doll's House', feminist groups the Norweigan Women's Rights League threw banquets in Henrik Ibsen's honour.