What happens after Nora leaves home

In his speech, Lu Xun evaluated the ending of A Doll's House by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, where the heroine Nora leaves home to search for her selfhood.

Lu Xun takes a pessimistic view on Nora's departure, stating that her follow-up options are either prostitution or a humiliating return because of her economic incapability.

As his critique of Nora furthers, Lu Xun expands to discuss the general political and economic oppression facing Chinese society.

He believes economic independence is the foundation of a liberated mind, and could only be achieved through radical social revolution, which will free China from all forms of enslavement.

[1] Lu Xun's emphasis on economic independence and its connection with political liberation shows his insightful observation on contemporary Chinese society.

[2][3] However, as later academics point out, his argument is still flawed as it overlooks the story's other characters, overemphasizes material needs over internal change and marginalizes women's issues for nationalistic purposes.

When a scandal breaks out that threatens the livelihood of the Helmers, Torvald accuses Nora of ruining his life, contrary to his earlier promise to take on everything himself as the man of the family.

On 4 May 1919, students gathered to protest against the signing of Versailles Peace Treaty and imperial Japan's 'Twenty-one Demands', which quickly culminated into the rise of public awareness of China's national identity.

[3][2] The character of Nora, especially, sparked discussions on marital freedom as many considered her as the symbol of individuality, and a refusal to the repressive Confucian traditions.

Inspired by her spirit, many young Chinese rebelled against their family and left home for the sake of individual liberation, a phenomenon coined by some as the 'Nora Compulsion' (or 'Ibsen-fever'/'Chinese Nora-ism').

[2] Hu Shi incorporates Ibsen's revolutionary ideals into his critique against traditional Confucian values, denouncing 'immoral' feudal practices which hinder the liberation of individuality.

[10] Inspired by A Doll's House, Hu wrote a play named The Greatest Event in Life (1919), deemed by some as the Chinese iteration of 'the Nora-problem', with the same emphasis on individual autonomy over familial oppression.

[2][3] Different from Hu Shi and Ibsen, Lu Xun highlights external factor (money) over internal awakening, expanding his argument from individual emancipation to general political liberation.

[1][11] In Lu Xun's opinion, Nora's departure is a show of fascination in the patriarchal eyes of the Chinese society, an actual spectacle the 'thrill-seeking masses' will eventually grow weary of.

Lu Xun's take on Nora, as Eileen Cheng argues, is 'tempered by a deeper reflection on the implications of promoting such public visibility for women in light of Chinese social realities and the continued currency of traditional gender norms'.

[2][4] Moreover, some note that a role model already exists in the play: Nora's old friend Mrs. Linde, whose self-reliance proves a life of independence is possible in the contemporary social climate.

[2] Like Hu Shi and many other May Fourth male writers, his criticisms on gender oppression are framed within the nationalistic presumption that women need to find their own agenda in order for China to advance.

[2] Therefore, both Lu Xun and Hu Shi's interpretation suffers from a gendered nationalistic appropriation, making their Nora results of 'sympathetic male intuition'.

[2][5] Instead of focusing on unequal marital relationship like Ibsen did, Lu Xun addresses the evil of Chinese feudal family system and emphasizes on the importance of economic independence.

[2] As Stephen Chan points out, the heroine Zijun in 'Regret for the Past' is the empty 'other' that exits only to be objectified for the male self's(her husband Juanshen's)reflection, as 'no authentic discourse for the other is represented'.