Ibsen and Feminism

Abstract

In an age of mandarin critical theory, Joan Templeton ignores the basic principle of literary discussion: keep your eye on the text. In her essay on A Doll House (“The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen,” 104 [1989]: 28–40), she tells us much about Ibsen and his critics but little about his play. She should have followed, at the very least, the advice she enjoins on others and examined ‘“the hierarchical oppositions on which … [the work] relies‘” (34). Since “the moral center of A Doll House ” in her view is the “conflict … between masculine and feminine,” Templeton should herself have “risen to … [the] challenge” (35, 34) and explained the many forms that the conflict takes.