Domestic tragedy became more and more popular throughout the 19th century, as it tackled the problems within society on a domestic level.

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Research Investigation on Domestic Tragedy

        Tragedy is a form of drama based on human sufferings, where the protagonist is unable to achieve his goal due to moral weakness, tragic flaw, or the ability to cope with changed circumstances. In a classical tragedy, this main character used to always be an aristocrat, or of a very high social status. How ever, with the change of social norms and hierarchy, a new type of tragedy developed; domestic tragedy.

        Domestic tragedy became more and more popular throughout the 19th century, as it tackled the problems within society on a domestic level. Previously, the famous theorist Aristotle stated that in tragedy the downfall of the protagonist would be more devastating to the audience if the character was noble, and that comedy was to depict middle-class citizens. In 1880s and 1890s a movement of strong feministic thinking emerged throughout Europe. The 'new woman' evolved. To the dislike of many men, this new profile of a woman changed the traditional order of society. With this change, playwrights did not want to write story lines that were sentimental and sensational, with unrealistic sets and melodramatic acting. They wanted to be realistic, portray the current world they lived in and portray problems of society at that time.

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        First of all, the protagonist is a domestic tragedy is an ordinary person, part of the middle-class or even a lower-class individual. Unlike most other types of tragedy, and especially classical, the main character is an anti-hero. This means that the central character lacks conventional heroic attributes. The protagonist thus is imperfect, making the story be more realistic and easier to identify with. Instead of the beautiful and gentle Juliet and the heroic Romeo who fall in love at first sight, Ibsen introduced the troubled couple of Nora and Torvald Helmer and their relationship ...

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