Inflamed by what he saw as his Norwegian homeland’s shocking betrayal of Denmark after the Prussian invasion of Danish territory, Ibsen wrote “Brand” as an indictment of human complacency and rigidity of mind. Composing this “dramatic poem” from his self-imposed exile in Italy, Ibsen had long agonized over the stodgy provincialism of his countrymen, but the abandonment of Denmark took on the dimensions in his imagination of a human tragedy far surpassing his own personal experiences. Brand is a priest who refuses to compromise, at the cost of great suffering to others, and who lives by unrealizable ideals. The play revolves around a cast of remarkable characters, such as Gerd the mad peasant girl with delusions of God; Ejnar the complacent artist; and Agnes the devoted lover. Ibsen’s breakthrough work, “Brand” could be seen as the true beginning of Ibsen’s career, and although (or because?) it was at the time the most fiercely-debated work of literature in Scandinavian history, it always remained one of the playwright’s favorite productions. The true genius of the work lies in the judicious balance of its indictment of philistine complacency and its warning against intolerant zealotry. The ambiguous character of Brand himself, principled and heroic while flawed, was seen by Ibsen as representing himself at his best. “Give Nothing, or give All,” said Brand, over and over, with stirring consequences.. ( Expatriate)     [chương_files]  

Halvard Solness is a master architect who has ruthlessly forged a preëminent career without regard for the feelings of those around him. In spite of this unscrupulous path of life, his conscience is still painfully alive, burdening him with guilt for past choices. He lives a tormented existence, fearful not only that he is going mad but also that he has unconsciously been in league with demonic powers in order to reach his present status. His long-suffering wife and his mistress try to deal with him in his fragile state while not being destroyed themselves. Into this fraught situation suddenly arrives the dangerous Hilda Wangel, an eldritch young woman claiming a special relationship with Solness from his past. One of the five great plays of Ibsen’s final period, “The Master Builder” is laden with layers of symbolic significance. Like most Ibsen works, it begins quietly with dialogue between quite ordinary people and only gradually reveals its depths of meaning and power. Summary by Expatriate     [chương_files]  

Hedda Gabler has just returned from her honeymoon. She has married out of ennui, and is already heartily sick of her husband, who is a plodding, pedantic academic. Upon moving into her new Christiania home, she soon discovers that Thea Elvsted, an old schoolmate whom she always envied and despised, has boldly left her marriage in order to be with Eilert Lövborg, a former lover of Hedda who is trying to overcome a past life of debauchery and alcoholism by creating a revolutionary new work of philosophy and returning to respectability. Another old flame, Judge Brack, tries to wheedle his way back into Hedda’s life by any means possible. Yearning to exercise power over someone, anyone, to “mould a human destiny,” Hedda begins callously to manipulate the people around her to devastating effect. Written at the height of Ibsen’s mature period, this play has endured as one of the most-performed and most powerful of all Ibsen’s works. Hedda is both perpetrator and victim, a psychologically-complex, frustrated woman trying to assert some control over her world. ( Expatriate)     [chương_files]  

The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen’s finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals’ apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the “Summons of the Ideal”. Among these truths: Gregers’ father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary “invention”, his wife is earning the household income. Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina’s daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers’ insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the […]