How did Henrik Ibsen expose social problems through ordinary middle-class characters?

Henrik Ibsen exposed social problems by placing ordinary, middle-class characters in realistic settings to reveal the hypocrisy, greed, and corruption hidden beneath the surface of respectable society. By utilizing a technique known as "analytic exposition," Ibsen would introduce a secret or past deception into a seemingly stable domestic arrangement, forcing the truth to unravel and exposing the moral failings of his characters.1234

Through these realistic problem plays, Ibsen challenged contemporary conventions:

• A Doll’s House: Portrays a woman’s rejection of her subservient role in a bourgeois marriage after her husband prioritizes his social reputation over her well-being.245
• Ghosts: Attacks the societal pressure to maintain the appearance of happy marriages, even when they are loveless or morally corrupt.24
• An Enemy of the People: Reveals the expedient morality of provincial townspeople who prioritize economic prosperity over public safety.24
• The Wild Duck: Examines the destructive consequences of forcing idealistic truths upon families living under the protection of necessary, albeit delusive, comforts.24

Ibsen’s work was fundamentally committed to the ethical principle of self-knowledge, demanding that individuals be true to themselves rather than conforming to hollow social expectations.4