In this In-house seminar, professor Marit Halvorsen and lawyers Caroline Hoff and Lisa Schiøth Wang will talk about the law and literature-movement, the legal-historical context of A Doll’s House (1879) and Hedda Gabler (1890), and the real-life legal consequences women in Nora and Hedda’s situation could face.
In the late nineteenth century in Norway, women’s rights were debated widely. Women’s rights advocates pointed out the contrast in how women were treated regarding rights and freedoms—almost child-like—and when it came to criminal law, like a rational person with full moral responsibility.
In A Doll’s House, Ibsen initiates a debate about how the laws should be, the difference between what is “law” and what is “right,” and the difference in the power of men and women. Ibsen uses legal issues as a point of entry to comment on the human condition. Halvorsen, Hoff, and Wang argue that although Ibsen was not a legal professional, he showcased some of the most controversial legal policy issues of his time through his plays.
In Hedda Gabler, Ibsen portrays a female character who commits breaches of moral norms. The question is whether Hedda also violates legal norms, more specifically the Norwegian criminal code at the time. Has the threshold for what is considered illegal shifted to the present day? And is Hedda regarded as a criminal?
In our upcoming In-house seminar, these questions will be debated through a legal-historical point of view. The presentation is based on the master's theses of Caroline Hoff and Lisa Schiøth Wang at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.
Please note that this seminar will be live-streamed. Please register here before 12th of March and a Zoom link will be sent on the day of the seminar.