2.1 Ibsen's life and major works

Henrik Ibsen, born in 1828 in Norway, revolutionized theater with his realistic plays that tackled social issues. From early works like Brand to later masterpieces like A Doll's House, Ibsen's career spanned decades and left an indelible mark on modern drama.

Ibsen's plays often featured complex characters grappling with societal expectations and personal desires. His innovative use of realistic dialogue and symbolism, along with his exploration of taboo subjects, challenged audiences and paved the way for future playwrights to push boundaries on stage.

Ibsen's Life and Career

Family Background and Early Influences

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• Born in 1828 in Skien, Norway to a wealthy family
• Family went bankrupt when Ibsen was a child, an event that shaped his portrayal of financial struggles and middle-class hypocrisy in his plays (A Doll's House, Pillars of Society)
• Worked as an apothecary's apprentice and studied to enter university as a young man, but did not pass the entrance exams
• Began writing plays and took a job as a theater director and playwright in Bergen from 1851-1857, gaining practical experience in the theater world

Marriage and Family Life

• Married Suzannah Thoresen in 1858 and they had one son together named Sigurd
• Suzannah was a strong supporter of Ibsen's work throughout his career, providing emotional and practical support
• Their marriage lasted until Ibsen's death in 1906, a span of nearly 50 years
• Ibsen's relationship with his son Sigurd was sometimes strained, as reflected in father-son conflicts in plays like The Wild Duck and Little Eyolf

Literary Breakthrough and International Recognition

• Received a state grant to travel abroad in 1864 and spent the next 27 years living in Italy and Germany, gaining perspective to critique Norwegian society from a distance
• Critical breakthrough came with the verse drama Brand in 1865, establishing him as a respected playwright in Scandinavia and providing financial independence to write full-time
• Although often associated with realism, Ibsen's early plays like Peer Gynt (1867) drew on romantic traditions and Norwegian folklore before he turned to more realist social dramas in the late 1870s
• Became an international figure with the success of A Doll's House (1879) and Ghosts (1881), which sparked controversy and debate across Europe for their radical social criticism

Later Years and Legacy

• Suffered a series of strokes in 1900 that ended his literary career after a remarkably productive period in the 1890s that produced some of his most symbolic and psychological works (The Master Builder, Little Eyolf)
• Died in 1906 in Kristiania (now Oslo) at the age of 78, widely recognized as one of the most important playwrights of the 19th century
• Ibsen's innovations in realistic dialogue, characterization, and plot structure influenced the development of modern drama and helped pave the way for later playwrights like Chekhov, Shaw, and O'Neill
• His plays remain frequently performed and adapted around the world and his social critiques continue to resonate with contemporary audiences

Ibsen's Major Plays

Early Plays and Historical Dramas (1850-1873)

• Catiline (1850) - Ibsen's first play, a verse drama about the Roman politician Catiline, not performed in his lifetime
• The Burial Mound also known as The Warrior's Barrow (1850) - Ibsen's second play, also written in verse, set in the Viking Age
• Lady Inger of Ostrat (1855) - Historical drama in prose inspired by Shakespeare and Schiller, about a 16th-century Norwegian noblewoman
• The Feast at Solhaug (1856) - Romantic historical drama in verse set in medieval Norway
• Olaf Liljekrans (1857) - Romantic folk comedy in verse incorporating elements of Norwegian folklore
• The Vikings at Helgeland (1858) - Historical tragedy in prose inspired by the Icelandic sagas, about a love triangle and family feud
• Love's Comedy (1862) - A satirical comedy that portrays the tension between art and love, foreshadowing Ibsen's later critiques of romantic idealism
• Brand (1865) - Verse drama about a clergyman's uncompromising idealism that established Ibsen's reputation as a major Scandinavian writer
• Peer Gynt (1867) - Sprawling verse drama that combines folkloric fantasy with satirical realism to depict an individual's quest for self-realization
• Emperor and Galilean (1873) - Historical epic in two parts about the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, Ibsen's longest play and the culmination of his early period

Realist Social Dramas (1877-1882)

• The Pillars of Society (1877) - Contemporary realist drama criticizing the hypocrisy and moral corruption of bourgeois society, considered the first of Ibsen's realist cycle
• A Doll's House (1879) - Groundbreaking realist social drama about a woman who leaves her family, controversial in its time for its criticism of traditional gender roles and marriage norms
• Ghosts (1881) - Realist family drama that deals with taboo subjects like venereal disease, incest, and euthanasia, showcasing Ibsen's willingness to tackle provocative social issues
• An Enemy of the People (1882) - Realist drama about an individual in conflict with his community, exploring themes of truth, integrity, and the tyranny of the majority

Late Plays and Symbolist Dramas (1884-1899)

• The Wild Duck (1884) - Tragicomedy incorporating symbolist elements that examines the dangers of idealism and the comforting illusions people construct
• Rosmersholm (1886) - Psychological and political drama with supernatural elements about an ex-clergyman and his housekeeper, reflecting Ibsen's interest in the inner lives of his characters
• The Lady from the Sea (1888) - Symbolist drama about a woman torn between duty and freedom, using the sea as a central metaphor for the unknown and the subconscious
• Hedda Gabler (1890) - Realist psychological drama about a general's daughter trapped in a dissatisfying marriage, one of Ibsen's most complex and enigmatic female characters
• The Master Builder (1892) - Symbolist tragicomedy about an aging architect grappling with ambition, guilt, and mortality, inspired by Ibsen's relationship with a younger woman
• Little Eyolf (1894) - Symbolist family drama that reflects on questions of guilt, responsibility, and the difficulty of human connection
• John Gabriel Borkman (1896) - Drama with symbolist elements about a disgraced banker seeking redemption, showcasing Ibsen's sustained interest in the interplay of past and present
• When We Dead Awaken (1899) - Ibsen's last play, a deeply personal and symbolic drama about an artist and his muse that revisits many of his recurring themes and motifs

Themes and Style in Ibsen's Works

Idealism and Its Discontents

• Ibsen's early plays like Brand and Peer Gynt examine the nature of idealism, whether in the form of uncompromising moral conviction or egocentric individualism
• These verse dramas often focus on larger-than-life protagonists who pursue their ideals to the point of self-destruction or absurdity (Brand's demand for "All or Nothing," Peer Gynt's shapeshifting adventures)
• In his later, more realist plays, Ibsen continues to explore the dangers of idealism but on a more intimate scale, showing how characters' adherence to abstract principles can lead to personal and familial ruin (Gregers Werle in The Wild Duck, Rosmer and Rebecca in Rosmersholm)
• Ibsen's recurring interest in the tension between idealism and reality reflects his own struggle to reconcile his artistic ambitions with the practical demands of the theater and the expectations of his audience

Social Criticism and the Individual vs. Society

• Ibsen's realist plays of the 1870s and 1880s are known for their trenchant criticism of bourgeois society and its institutions, especially marriage and the family
• Plays like A Doll's House and Ghosts expose the hypocrisy and oppression lurking beneath the surface of respectable middle-class life, using the family as a microcosm of broader social ills
• Ibsen's realist works often pit strong-willed individuals against the stifling conventions and expectations of their communities, dramatizing the conflict between personal freedom and social conformity (Nora in A Doll's House, Mrs. Alving in Ghosts, Dr. Stockmann in An Enemy of the People)
• This theme of the individual vs. society continues in Ibsen's later, more symbolic plays, though the conflicts become more internalized and psychological (Ellida in The Lady from the Sea, Solness in The Master Builder)

Women and Gender Roles

• Many of Ibsen's most famous and controversial plays feature complex female protagonists who chafe against the limitations placed on them by traditional gender roles and societal norms
• Characters like Nora in A Doll's House and Hedda in Hedda Gabler struggle to find fulfillment and self-realization in a world that expects them to be obedient wives and mothers
• Even when his plays center on male protagonists, Ibsen often includes strong female characters who challenge or subvert gender stereotypes (Lona Hessel in Pillars of Society, Mrs. Alving in Ghosts, Hilde Wangel in The Master Builder)
• Ibsen's nuanced and sympathetic portrayals of women's inner lives and social predicaments made him a pioneering figure in the representation of gender on stage, even as he sometimes faced criticism for his unconventional female characters

Symbolism and Psychological Depth

• In his later plays of the 1880s and 1890s, Ibsen increasingly incorporated symbolist elements and shifted his focus to the inner lives and psychological conflicts of his characters
• These post-realist works frequently use symbols and metaphors to explore existential questions and universal human struggles (the wild duck as a symbol of illusion and self-deception, the sea as a symbol of freedom and the unknown)
• Ibsen's symbolic plays are characterized by a greater degree of ambiguity and open-endedness than his earlier realist dramas, inviting multiple interpretations and reflecting his characters' psychological complexity
• The use of symbolism and poetic language in plays like The Master Builder and When We Dead Awaken also allowed Ibsen to express more personal and autobiographical themes, such as the nature of creativity and the relationship between art and life

Mastery of Dramatic Form and Technique

• Throughout his career, Ibsen showcased his mastery of dramatic structure, dialogue, and characterization, becoming a pivotal figure in the development of modern realistic drama
• Ibsen's realist plays helped popularize the "well-made play" formula, with its careful exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution, as well as its emphasis on causality and continuity between acts
• At the same time, Ibsen subverted and challenged many of the conventions of 19th-century theater, such as the use of asides and soliloquies, the reliance on coincidence and contrivance, and the demand for a clear moral message
• Ibsen's innovative use of stage directions, off-stage action, and pregnant pauses added new dimensions of realism and psychological depth to his plays, influencing later playwrights like Chekhov and Strindberg
• Even as he experimented with new symbolic and poetic techniques in his later plays, Ibsen remained committed to the fundamental dramatic principles of action, conflict, and character development, cementing his reputation as a master craftsman of the stage