Social conventions and the dialectics of recognition: Power and culture in Shakespeare and Ibsen

Abstract

A dominant model of social action explains macro outcomes by aggregating a large set of independent actions, while actors’ preferences and plans are explained by cultural background or cultural context. While useful for several purposes, the weakness of this model lies in its simplistic treatment of culture and disregard of power. Not only individual preferences but also the desire for recognition by others determine social action. The locus classicus for this type of recognition is Hegel’s master‐slave dialectics, later reinterpreted by Alexandre Kojève. Moreover, cultural norms and conventions should not be treated solely as given. Actors use them purposively, by breaking, reinterpreting or using them as a weapon against adversaries. Such mechanisms are discussed in connection with three cases from classical dramas: Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Ghosts. The use of literary examples instead of real‐life data has some limitations but also some advantages. Undoubtedly, there are crucial differences between literature and life. But literature offers more nuanced and complex descriptions of social life that are difficult to capture in ordinary data. An indication of the relevance of literary descriptions is the century‐long interest and attention of the critical public.