Society, Self Image, and Success: Women's Introspection Misguided

"The first function of drama is to represent life and character by means of a story in action; its second and immeasurable higher function is to interpret life by the same means," declared A.H. Jones in March 1904. In an attempt to define modern English drama, Jones presents one of the most domineering factors of late nineteenth century drama. The plays written during this era both represent and interpret the high-society life familiar to the upper-class citizens of the time. The goal of the late nineteenth century dramatists, therefore, was to make some statement about this highly-structured society and the people whom it accepted and excluded. Arthur Pinero's The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, August Strindberg's Miss Julie, Henrick Ibsen's A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler exemplify this modern drama. They form a cluster of plays that represent and interpret society's influence on women. Each of these plays feature a woman as the central character. These women are defined and united most by their ability to examine themselves. This introspection is a powerful attribute for Paula, Julie, Hedda, and Nora. Their view of themselves, their goals, and their obstacles eventually lead them to drastic actions. However, these women's self-images are not solely based on introspection. If modern drama's goal is to represent society life, these characters must also consider their place within it. Each of these women allow society to influence their self-image in different ways. According to Pinero, Strindberg, and Ibsen, a woman cannot live in a healthy existance if she lets society dominate her self-image; tragedy results when society prevents her from achieving her goals. But, she will triumph if she knows herself well and rejects the pressures of society.

Pinero presents a woman's struggle to rid herself of a scandalous reputation through marriage to a respectable man in The Second Mrs. Tanqueray. In the beginning of the play, the audience sees that Paula Tanqueray does not have confidence in her ability to transform into an accepted society woman. She gives Aubrey a letter that will dissuade him from marrying her. Paula, however, is excited about the marriage and tries to ignore her corrupt reputation. Cayley Drummle, a respected man in society and Aubrey's best friend, foretells that Aubrey will not be able to forget about Paula's past. In fact, the passion and vivacity which gave rise to Paula's reputation are what attracted him to her. As the play progresses, both Aubrey and Paula find it increasingly difficult to ignore her past. The harder Paula tries to envision herself as a reformed woman, the more society weighs down upon her. Although she wishes to believe that she belongs in Aubrey's world, she is faced with the reality that she receives no visitors. When married life does not make her as happy as she had envisioned, Paula begins to see herself as "the dreadful person who lives at the top of the hill," (p.55). This exclamation is the first sign that society is pushing its way into Paula's self-image. At this point, however, Paula still has sight of her goals and does not retreat in pursuit of them. She is jealous of Aubrey's love and respect for his daughter, Ellean. In order to gain the same type of respect, Paula feels she must win Ellean's love. Winning the love of a such a pure and innocent person as Ellean becomes a test for Paula. If she succeeds, she will have proven herself a reformed, respectable woman. Once Paula sets this goal, she spends the rest of the play in pursuit of it. At the end of the third act, she stares at her reflection in a little silver mirror. Although she can still examine herself, her image has become small, symbolized by the size of the mirror.

Ellean's final rejection of Paula is the turning point in Paula's process of introspection. Ignorant of Paula's past, Ellean claims that Paula is "unlike the good women" (p. 163). Ellean implies that Paula is transparent and that she can see through her facade. Paula immediately reacts by forcing Ellean down upon her knees and exclaiming: "I'm a good woman! I swear I am! You dare to say I've ever been anything else! It's a lie!" (p.163). At this point, however, Paula is only trying to convince herself; she no longer believes that she is a respectable woman. Pinero uses Ellean to represent society, and as society, she becomes Paula's ultimate judge. Who, therefore, is to blame for Paula's suicide? When Paula tries to obtain her goals by winning Ellean's love, she places herself in a position to be judged by society. Paula lets Ellean's image of her overpower her own self-view. Because Paula cannot live with the dominating image, she commits suicide. Society has power over Paula's fate because she gives it that power. If she had not tried to win Ellean's love, she would not have faced the failure that led to her suicide. Thus, Pinero interprets society as having as much power as its members give it.

In Miss Julie, August Strindberg argues that society is only one of many elements that make up a character. The many factors that define the character of Miss Julie make it difficult for her to examine herself and her objectives in life. She is battling with somewhat of an identity crisis. The most revealing image she has of herself is the one that society has given her- that of an aristocrat. She knows how to play the role of an aristocrat, yet she is not satisfied with it as her entire being. Miss Julie's interaction with Jean during the course of the play enables her to explore the depths of her character that she has never seen. Miss Julie begins to discover the woman underneath the aristocrat when she examines her subconscious. She recalls a dream: "I am longing to fall, and yet I don't fall. But there will be no rest for me until I get down, no rest until I get down, down on the ground. And if I did reach the ground, I should want to get still further down." (p.9). This vivid dream reveals to Jean and Miss Julie that she cannot bear the high-society life of an aristocrat. At this point, Miss Julie is faced with the tragic realization that her inner self cannot tolerate the only life that her conscious self knows how to live. Because Julie is struggling to discover her true identity, she experiments with falling. The further she falls, the more she learns about herself. Once Julie has fallen to Jean's level by sleeping with him, she tells him about her upbringing: "Then my mother wanted to bring me up in a perfectly natural state, and at the same time I was to learn everything a boy is taught, so that I might prove that a woman is just as good as a man." (p.21). At this point, Julie focuses her introspection on the beliefs she was taught as a child. She sees herself as superior to the opposite sex- superior to Jean. But, her subconscious self wants to fall below Jean's level. This internal conflict complicates her feelings towards Jean. For the remainder of the play, Julie wavers between hating Jean and loving him. She exclaims to Christine: "Help me against this man! You are a woman, Christine, and you are my friend. Beware of that scoundrel!" (p. 30). But, in the next moment, Julie wants to run away and live with Jean. Throughout the course of the play, Julie examines her entire being. Her strong feelings towards Jean invoke this self-exploration. Her discoveries confuse her and upset her peace of mind. So many elements have influenced her character that Julie has lost her identity. "Why, I have nothing that is my own. I haven't a thought that didn't come from my father; not a passion that didn't come from my mother," realizes Julie (p.34). The revelation that Julie is not her own person causes her to commit suicide. She has uncovered pieces of herself that she does not know how to handle. Up until this moment of the play, Miss Julie has let society shape her self-image.
The prospect of breaking free from this image terrifies her, but she cannot retreat to being the aristocrat she was at the start of the play. She is trapped in a life where she cannot find total satisfaction, so she escapes it. In Miss Julie, Strindberg argues that a woman must explore all aspects of her personality. However, she must find balance between her self-image and her defined place in society to live a sincere and peaceful life.

Hedda Tesman never obtains this sort of peace. In Hedda Gabler, Ibsen presents a reckless, domineering, detestable, and psychologically ill woman whom society acclaims. Unlike Julie, Hedda is a very powerful woman with strong, clearly defined motives. It is apparent from the play's beginning that Hedda has a colorful personality with strong likes and dislikes. She questions everything from the location of the piano to the position of the curtains. Because Hedda knows herself so well from the start of the play, she does not experience a change in self-image like Paula and Julie do. A well-respected and powerful general raises Hedda and acts as her role model. In the eyes of society, she is The General's beautiful and astounding daughter. Before the audience even meets Hedda, Juliana Tesman comments on her prominent position in society: "General Gabler's daughter! Think of the sort of life she was accustomed to in her father's time. . . The beautiful Hedda Gabler! Only think of it- she, that was so beset with admirers!" (p.2&4). Because Hedda is so secure with the image that society has given her, she overextends it. As General Gabler's daughter, she has the respect of the people and can easily influence them. But, she takes this power to a higher level. She believes that she can control the fate of other people. Hedda distorts society's impression of her to the extent that she becomes detached from reality. In place of reality, she exists in her own aesthetic world- a world in which she is the artist. Hedda's objectives therefore seem illogical to the audience and to the other characters in the play. Hedda desires to control other people's destinies in a way that will enhance her own aesthetic world. Ibsen thus presents a woman whose place in society misleads her to lose touch with reality. He uses the character of Hedda to interpret life on an aesthetic level.

Hedda envisions a beautiful scene that she desires to place in her aesthetic world. Her subject is Eilert Lovborg, a brilliant writer whom Tesman admires. By choosing him, she also gains power over Mrs. Elvstead. When she discovers that this "pretty little fool has had her fingers in a man's [Lovborg's] destiny," (p.58), Hedda needs to prevent Mrs. Elvstead from having any further impact on him. Hedda must be the only artist, and she must be true to her vision. In order to gain ultimate control over Lovborg's fate, she gives him a pistol and begs him "to do it beautifully" (p.59). She hopes to create a beautiful suicide in which a man takes his life because he cannot bear the guilt of losing a child. This scene appears terrifying and illogical outside of Hedda's world, especially considering that the child is actually a manuscript. Although such a suicide seems mortifying, Hedda needs it to occur. When she first learns of Lovborg's death, her reaction is shocking to the audience and to the other characters. She exclaims: "Beauty! Fancy that! . . .Eilert Lovborg has himself made up his account with life. He has had the courage to do- the one right thing." (p.66). This is the only moment in the play where Hedda has achieved success and is truly satisfied with herself. Hedda's suggestion to Lovborg has created courage and beauty. However, her ecstasy abruptly turns to agony when she learns the truth about Lovborg's death. Her vision of a beautiful and carefully orchestrated suicide is destroyed when she discovers that he was shot in the bowels and not in the temple. Furthermore, it is Lovborg's confrontation with Mademoiselle Diana that causes the gun to fire; Hedda's suggestion has nothing to do with it. Realizing that she has failed as an artist, Hedda laments: "Oh, what a curse is it that makes everything I touch turn ludicrous and mean?"(p.68). This incident reveals to Hedda that she cannot control other people's destinies. She realizes that her influential position in society does not give her such power. This revelation leaves Hedda without a self-image. Because she had depended on society to tell her who she was, she is not able to examine the depths of her character on her own. This sudden loss of identity and disgust for her attempted creation causes her to kill herself. Thus, Hedda Tesman is Ibsen's example of a woman who fails because of society's impact on her introspection.

Furthermore, Ibsen argues that a woman will flourish if society does not influence her self-image. In A Doll's House, Nora Helmer struggles between satisfying her own needs and satisfying the needs of her husband. After eight years, Nora finally realizes that her marriage to Torvald is preventing her from being her own person. Torvald controls every aspect of her life from the way she dances to the candy that she eats. He refers to her as his "little songbird" who will always sing a pleasant tune. Nora is becoming increasingly aware of her position in the marriage. In the first act Nora plays the role of Torvald's "little featherhead" so that he will give her the money she needs to pay off a debt. At this point, Nora sees herself as her own person, yet acts as Torvald's puppet to get what she wants from him. This inner independence is evident when she eats macaroons against her husband's wishes. As the play progresses, her attitude towards her role in the marriage becomes increasingly sarcastic. In the second act, when she begs Torvald not to dismiss Krogstad from his job at the bank, she pleads: "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice and do what she wants. . . Your skylark would chirp, chirp about in every room, with her song rising and falling," (p.34). She placates him with these statements, but is not satisfied with her role. However, this dissatisfaction is not the ultimate cause of her leaving Torvald. Her discovery of a fundamental difference between Torvald and herself makes her unable to remain married to him. When he violently reprimands her for forging a signature, she realizes that he judges her character based on society's standards. He exclaims: "All these eight years- she who was my joy and pride- a hypocrite, a liar- worse, worse- a criminal! The unutterable ugliness of it all!" (p. 62). For Torvald, self-image and introspection are worthless in comparison to society's image of a person. Nora, however, wishes to examine her character without the influences of society. She does not understand the society in which "a woman has no right to spare her old dying father or to save her husband's life," (p. 68). Society is Torvald's ultimate judge of character. Nora fears that if she stays married to him, her self-image will also be influenced by society. Her need to become her own person and explore the depths of her character motivate her to leave Torvald. Although she desires to understand society, she will not let it influence her process of introspection. As she slams the door behind her, Nora begins a life in which she will obtain her own identity and know herself at an entirely new level.

Nora's future seems promising and successful because she does not allow society to impact her self-image. If Paula Tanqueray, Miss Julie, and Hedda Tesman were able to overlook the views of society, they too could have flourished. Nineteenth century dramatists represent society as a powerful force, having detrimental effects on the way that women see themselves. How, then, does society impact men? Pinero, Strindberg, and Ibsen argue that it does not have the extreme that it does on women. Torvald Helmer exemplifies a man whose self-image is shaped by society. He believes he will be destroyed if people knew about the forged signature. But, he does not kill himself at this prospect. Jean also does not commit suicide in the face of social disgrace at the end of Miss Julie. Torvald and Jean illustrate that society does not weaken men. They have the strength to live with themselves, even when society rejects them. Thus, these nineteenth century dramatists consider women more fragile than men, more susceptible to the pressures of society. The plays' titles reveal how women's identities can be shaped by society's impressions of them. After her marriage, Paula is no longer Paula. She is "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray". Because her efforts to live up to this name fail, she kills herself. Similarly, Julie is "Miss Julie". Her only defined identity is that of a Miss, that of an aristocrat. When she finally discovers her inner self, she cannot be true to it; she does not know how to live without the "Miss". Society perceives Hedda Tesman to be "Hedda Gabler," the powerful General's daughter. Hedda overextends this perception to a point where she cannot see herself Hedda Tesman. So, she joins the ranks of The Second Mrs. Tanqueray and Miss Julie to commit suicide. Ibsen does not entitle A Doll's House "Nora Helmer". Society's image of her as Nora Helmer does not affect her self-image. Therefore the title "Nora Helmer" would not capture the essence of the play. Although they represent society as a powerful force, these modern dramatists interpret society as having only as much power as individuals give it.