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Ibsen: 4 Major Plays, Vol. 2: Ghosts/An Enemy of the People/The Lady from the Sea/John Gabriel Borkman (Signet Classics) by Ibsen, Henrik (August 1, 2001) Mass Market Paperback
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About the author
Henrik Ibsen
2,263 books2,108 followersHenrik Johan Ibsen was a major Norwegian playwright largely responsible for the rise of modern realistic drama. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama." Ibsen is held to be the greatest of Norwegian authors and one of the most important playwrights of all time, celebrated as a national symbol by Norwegians.
His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family life and propriety largely held sway in Europe and any challenge to them was considered immoral and outrageous. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many facades, possessing a revelatory nature that was disquieting to many contemporaries.
Ibsen largely founded the modern stage by introducing a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. Victorian-era plays were expected to be moral dramas with noble protagonists pitted against darker forces; every drama was expected to result in a morally appropriate conclusion, meaning that goodness was to bring happiness, and immorality pain. Ibsen challenged this notion and the beliefs of his times and shattered the illusions of his audiences.
His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family life and propriety largely held sway in Europe and any challenge to them was considered immoral and outrageous. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many facades, possessing a revelatory nature that was disquieting to many contemporaries.
Ibsen largely founded the modern stage by introducing a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. Victorian-era plays were expected to be moral dramas with noble protagonists pitted against darker forces; every drama was expected to result in a morally appropriate conclusion, meaning that goodness was to bring happiness, and immorality pain. Ibsen challenged this notion and the beliefs of his times and shattered the illusions of his audiences.
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August 2, 2024
This is the second volume of the Signet Classic edition of Ibsen, with the modernized translations of Rolf Fjelde. It contains a very good introduction and afterword by Terry Otten, which put Ibsen in the political and economic context of his time, following the 1848 revolutions throughout Europe and the rapid rise of the industrial bourgeoisie to power both in the French Second Empire and elsewhere including Norway, and how that influenced Ibsen's plays. There are four plays; two I skipped, having just read them in another translation (Ghosts and An Enemy of the People). The two I read in this version were The Lady from the Sea (1888) and John Gabriel Borkman (1896).
The Lady from the Sea is about a married woman who has previously been in love with a sailor and made a commitment to him, which haunts her until he finally shows up. For nearly the whole play, it seemed like a Norwegian version of Wuthering Heights, but at the end it becomes another play about freedom of choice.
John Gabriel Borkman is one of Ibsen's last plays. It is about a disgraced former bank president, and about his wife and her twin sister who compete for the affections of his son. In the end it is also a play about gaining independence and freedom from the past.
The Lady from the Sea is about a married woman who has previously been in love with a sailor and made a commitment to him, which haunts her until he finally shows up. For nearly the whole play, it seemed like a Norwegian version of Wuthering Heights, but at the end it becomes another play about freedom of choice.
John Gabriel Borkman is one of Ibsen's last plays. It is about a disgraced former bank president, and about his wife and her twin sister who compete for the affections of his son. In the end it is also a play about gaining independence and freedom from the past.
Displaying 1 of 1 review