A transplanted Doll's house

Ibsenism, feminism and socialism in late-victorian and edwardian England

Ian Britain

pp. 14-54

in: Ian Donaldson (ed), Transformations in modern European drama, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1983

Abstract

How does a dramatist begin to make an impact in a foreign country? While the processes involved doubtless vary from dramatist to dramatist, and from country to country, any explanation of these will need always to demonstrate the relationship between the nature of the dramatist (or reputed nature) and the predilections of his early supporters and critics (their tastes, sensibilities, world-view). The social history of drama — especially modern drama — is still in a relatively primitive state, partly because of the very limited, often perfunctory, attention which social historians have chosen to give to the arts in general and their audiences. Many inadequacies will remain, owing to basic inadequacies in the evidence itself. It is difficult enough, for instance, trying to work out how a dramatist makes an impact in his own country. The level and distribution of applause at performances, even if there were any regular or reliable records of these, would tell little about the particulars of an audience's response, and the casual snatches of foyer chat may tell us more about the social pressures of theatregoing (interesting in themselves, admittedly) than about genuine feelings regarding a play and the ways in which it evoked those feelings in individuals.