The Critique of Bourgeois Life: Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Nora Helmer

Abstract

On Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1973 film "Nora Helmer", an adaptation of Ibsen's "A Doll's House". "In this article, I first dissect the various criticisms of Fassbinder’s film in order to show the grip that the feminist interpretation has on the reception of the adapted work. I then set up the context of the film by discussing the status of bourgeois life in West Germany in the 1970s. Finally, I analyze several elements in the film that supports my interpretation: Nora Helmer is ostensibly not about femi- nism, but is rather an insightful critique of bourgeois society in that time."