A MODERNIST READING OF HENRIK IBSEN’S A DOLL’S HOUSE AND GEORGE BERNARD SHAW’S MRS WARREN’S PROFESSION

Chibuzo Onunkwo, Ugochukwu Prince Ihemegbulam

Abstract


Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs Warren’s Profession, are notable works of great literatures, this is not in the sense of perceived beauty but for their ability to attract serious attention. Aristotle has warned us that the artwork is something more philosophical and worthy of serious attention. Literature reviews on the work have been able to uncover layers of meaning in the work. Some also have been able to locate the work within a literary convention, like ‘postmodernism’, and all of that. The paper under discourse is preoccupied to read both texts in the framework of modernism, exposing the conventionalities of modernity located in the work, like the questioning of authority and the final departure of some characters like Nora in A Doll’s House and Vivie in Mrs Warren’s Profession. It is so that we are able to also establish departure as forming a pattern of structuration in modernist plays.

Keywords


Modernism, Structuration, Questioning, Convention, Departure

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