What do you think?
Rate this book
Keiser og Galilæer
"This [play] will be my masterpiece," Ibsen declared.
Emperor and Galilean was published in 1873 when Ibsen was at the height of
his creative powers. He saw it as the cornerstone of his entire dramatic
output. He had completed the two great poetic dramas, Brand and Peer Gynt,
and was about to embark on the cycle of twelve modern plays, beginning with
Pillars of Society and concluding with When We Dead Awaken which were to
establish his unrivaled international fame. While the plays of the Realist
Cycle are well-known, Emperor and Galilean still awaits discovery by modern
readers, actors and directors. The major Shakesperean scholar, G. Wilson
Knight has written of the play, "It is certainly the greatest dramatic document of it's century...it is
stageworthy...[It is} conceived dramatically, even theatrically...under a
spectacular production the result could be triumphant."
Dramatizing the tragic career of Julian the Apostate, the play represents
Western Civilization itself at a most crucial point. It is indispensable
for understanding the later plays: themes, situations, and characters from
Emperor and Galilean continually reappear in the modern realist plays.
213 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1873
7 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Henrik Ibsen
2,234 books2,106 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 10, 2021
Auf religiöse Abwege geratener Kaiser wird von einem frommen Jugendfreund, der im ersten Akt des ersten Teils ein wenig rumjammert Dazwischen viel fauler Zauber und noch mehr Namen. In insgesamt 10 Akten treibt Ibsen jeden bekannten Namen aus der Epoche über die Bühne. Das Werk entstand wohl bevor der Autor die Psychologie für sich entdeckt hatte und wirkt wie der Versuch eines Sechstklässlers von Anno 1870 sich in aktiver Shakespeare-Nachfolge zu versuchen.
Unter ganz gewaltigen Defiziten in Sachen Psychologie und allerlei allzu demonstrativen Verbeugungen vor dem frömmelnden Zeitgeist leidet auch der von Felix Dahn und junger Gattin verbrochene Roman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... aber der ist wenigstens zweidimensional, Ibsen liefert nur Pappfiguren.
Bin eigentlich stets Historiker und Literaturwissenschaftler genug, um mildernde Umstände bei allerlei nicht mehr zeitgemäßen Wertungen und Wendungen zu lassen, wenn die gute Absicht dahinter noch erkennbar ist. Aber dieses in schlechtestem Sinne konventionelle Drama wird weder der Epoche noch einem großartigen Außenseiter gerecht, der an sich und vollkommen verfehlten besten Absichten scheitern musste. Nur für Ibsenologen zu empfehlen, , die den Grad der Weiterentwicklung des Autors daran bestimmen können. Ansonsten absolute Zeitverschwendung.
Unter ganz gewaltigen Defiziten in Sachen Psychologie und allerlei allzu demonstrativen Verbeugungen vor dem frömmelnden Zeitgeist leidet auch der von Felix Dahn und junger Gattin verbrochene Roman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... aber der ist wenigstens zweidimensional, Ibsen liefert nur Pappfiguren.
Bin eigentlich stets Historiker und Literaturwissenschaftler genug, um mildernde Umstände bei allerlei nicht mehr zeitgemäßen Wertungen und Wendungen zu lassen, wenn die gute Absicht dahinter noch erkennbar ist. Aber dieses in schlechtestem Sinne konventionelle Drama wird weder der Epoche noch einem großartigen Außenseiter gerecht, der an sich und vollkommen verfehlten besten Absichten scheitern musste. Nur für Ibsenologen zu empfehlen, , die den Grad der Weiterentwicklung des Autors daran bestimmen können. Ansonsten absolute Zeitverschwendung.
October 3, 2021
Emperor and Galilean is a very significant Ibsen work, despite its lack of fame. It is the last of his epic works and his last historical play. It is autobiographical and the clearest summation of his opinions on religion. Ibsen himself said that it was his masterpiece.
For all those reasons, I am disappointed that I don't like it more. However, there is still much of interest within the play.
For his last historical play, Ibsen turns away from Norwegian history and back to Roman history, the subject of his very first play, Catiline. Catiline felt like reheated Shakespeare, and Emperor and Galilean clearly owes a debt to Shakespeare too.
There is a scene where Julian uses duplicitous eloquence to win over the soldiers, reminiscent of Mark Anthony's crowd-pleasing speech in Julius Caesar. Julian resembles Hamlet in the early acts, living in fear at a hostile court, before turning into MacBeth by the play's end, the ruler taking power by force and maintaining himself by oppression and tyranny.
However, Ibsen's play is a long way from Shakespeare in other respects. Like Catiline (and Earl Skule), Julian is another rebel who yearns for leadership. Of course, most of Ibsen's heroes are rebellious or iconoclastic. The political rebels are generally marked by vacillation and self-doubt, and perhaps that is why all three of these heroes are doomed to fail. In Julian's case, he does at least become Emperor, but is unable to impose the old Roman religions over his subjects, or to defeat the new Christian religion, finally dying at the hands of a fanatic.
The Wikipedia page provides a link to a rather poorly-written review which suggests that Emperor and Galilean may have influenced Hitler's behaviour. However, the argument is rather tenuous, since it assumes that Hitler was so besotted by the work that he even copied Julian's mistakes.
I mention this only because it does raise a troubling aspect of Ibsen's work. Ibsen often does seem to be enthusiastic about the strong hero who triumphs by an act of will. Weaker characters are pitiful and end up crushed and left by the wayside. I often wonder what Ibsen would have made of Hitler. Would his awe for powerful strong-willed characters have swayed him into unwise sympathy for the Nazi leader, or would Ibsen's more liberal tendencies have alienated him from the Third Reich? I guess we will never know.
However, the political intrigues in Emperor and Galilean are far less interesting than the religious discussions. Julian hesitates between two religions - the Roman religion of the past which promises joy and happiness, though perhaps of a shallow kind, or the new sober Christian religion which is intolerant and celebrates death, rather than life.
This is a debate that Ibsen will be having with himself throughout the rest of his plays. How to balance our sense of duty and seriousness with finding a joy for living? The two aspects are memorably captured in a scene where a procession of revellers from the old religion clash with a procession of prisoners from the new gloomier religion:
Apollo Procession (sings): Blessed to be cooled by a garland of roses/Blessed to be warmed by the light of the sun!
Prisoners: Blessed to die in a blood-filled grave/Blessed to enter the garden of heaven
We are left in no doubt of what Ibsen thinks of Christianity in the first scene where the Christians are seen bullying members of the older religion. Later, Julian is repelled by their humbug when they proclaim miracles from the body of his adulterous wife, and he chooses the older religion. He is doomed to fail. His attempts to live peaceably with the Christians are thwarted by their dogmatic acts of terror, and his attempts to repress them only make them stronger. Ultimately, it is their religion that will triumph.
However, the play discusses the idea of forming a new religion that will replace both. Julian fails because he wishes to return to the infantile older religion based purely on pleasure, rather than seeking to marry the best parts of both religions and form a new kingdom. This appears to be what Ibsen is looking for too.
The double-play is overlong and does not add up to Ibsen's best work, but at this stage of his career, Ibsen was incapable of writing something that was not immensely interesting.
For all those reasons, I am disappointed that I don't like it more. However, there is still much of interest within the play.
For his last historical play, Ibsen turns away from Norwegian history and back to Roman history, the subject of his very first play, Catiline. Catiline felt like reheated Shakespeare, and Emperor and Galilean clearly owes a debt to Shakespeare too.
There is a scene where Julian uses duplicitous eloquence to win over the soldiers, reminiscent of Mark Anthony's crowd-pleasing speech in Julius Caesar. Julian resembles Hamlet in the early acts, living in fear at a hostile court, before turning into MacBeth by the play's end, the ruler taking power by force and maintaining himself by oppression and tyranny.
However, Ibsen's play is a long way from Shakespeare in other respects. Like Catiline (and Earl Skule), Julian is another rebel who yearns for leadership. Of course, most of Ibsen's heroes are rebellious or iconoclastic. The political rebels are generally marked by vacillation and self-doubt, and perhaps that is why all three of these heroes are doomed to fail. In Julian's case, he does at least become Emperor, but is unable to impose the old Roman religions over his subjects, or to defeat the new Christian religion, finally dying at the hands of a fanatic.
The Wikipedia page provides a link to a rather poorly-written review which suggests that Emperor and Galilean may have influenced Hitler's behaviour. However, the argument is rather tenuous, since it assumes that Hitler was so besotted by the work that he even copied Julian's mistakes.
I mention this only because it does raise a troubling aspect of Ibsen's work. Ibsen often does seem to be enthusiastic about the strong hero who triumphs by an act of will. Weaker characters are pitiful and end up crushed and left by the wayside. I often wonder what Ibsen would have made of Hitler. Would his awe for powerful strong-willed characters have swayed him into unwise sympathy for the Nazi leader, or would Ibsen's more liberal tendencies have alienated him from the Third Reich? I guess we will never know.
However, the political intrigues in Emperor and Galilean are far less interesting than the religious discussions. Julian hesitates between two religions - the Roman religion of the past which promises joy and happiness, though perhaps of a shallow kind, or the new sober Christian religion which is intolerant and celebrates death, rather than life.
This is a debate that Ibsen will be having with himself throughout the rest of his plays. How to balance our sense of duty and seriousness with finding a joy for living? The two aspects are memorably captured in a scene where a procession of revellers from the old religion clash with a procession of prisoners from the new gloomier religion:
Apollo Procession (sings): Blessed to be cooled by a garland of roses/Blessed to be warmed by the light of the sun!
Prisoners: Blessed to die in a blood-filled grave/Blessed to enter the garden of heaven
We are left in no doubt of what Ibsen thinks of Christianity in the first scene where the Christians are seen bullying members of the older religion. Later, Julian is repelled by their humbug when they proclaim miracles from the body of his adulterous wife, and he chooses the older religion. He is doomed to fail. His attempts to live peaceably with the Christians are thwarted by their dogmatic acts of terror, and his attempts to repress them only make them stronger. Ultimately, it is their religion that will triumph.
However, the play discusses the idea of forming a new religion that will replace both. Julian fails because he wishes to return to the infantile older religion based purely on pleasure, rather than seeking to marry the best parts of both religions and form a new kingdom. This appears to be what Ibsen is looking for too.
The double-play is overlong and does not add up to Ibsen's best work, but at this stage of his career, Ibsen was incapable of writing something that was not immensely interesting.
October 12, 2022
I read the adapted script by Ben Power staged by the National Theatre in 2011.
Power radically condensed Ibsen’s epic drama to make it stageable. I quite enjoyed it, even if Ibsen’s conception of Julian’s character is very different to mine.
I think this would have been radical for the 19th century - Ibsen places Christianity and Paganism on the same moral level. This play is more interested in exploring how people’s beliefs shape their actions rather than determining which belief system is superior, or seeking to create any suspense about ‘who wins’ - we know that obviously from the start.
Ibsen is quite harsh on Julian, who rapidly becomes a bloodthirsty tyrant on assuming the throne and whose paganism leads him into reckless military decisions.
He begins the play dithering like Hamlet and ends it in epic bloodshed like Macbeth - as in Macbeth, Julian’s fate hangs on an ironically ambiguous prophecy.
I quite liked Ibsen’s indirect method of exploring his themes, and the way he foregrounds intimate personal questioning and debate but punctuates the drama with epic set-pieces - the play gives enormous scope for ambitious & megalomaniac staging.
Power radically condensed Ibsen’s epic drama to make it stageable. I quite enjoyed it, even if Ibsen’s conception of Julian’s character is very different to mine.
I think this would have been radical for the 19th century - Ibsen places Christianity and Paganism on the same moral level. This play is more interested in exploring how people’s beliefs shape their actions rather than determining which belief system is superior, or seeking to create any suspense about ‘who wins’ - we know that obviously from the start.
Ibsen is quite harsh on Julian, who rapidly becomes a bloodthirsty tyrant on assuming the throne and whose paganism leads him into reckless military decisions.
He begins the play dithering like Hamlet and ends it in epic bloodshed like Macbeth - as in Macbeth, Julian’s fate hangs on an ironically ambiguous prophecy.
I quite liked Ibsen’s indirect method of exploring his themes, and the way he foregrounds intimate personal questioning and debate but punctuates the drama with epic set-pieces - the play gives enormous scope for ambitious & megalomaniac staging.
May 1, 2007
ایبسن در "امپراطور و جلیلی" تلاش دارد نظریه ای را که با "براند" آغاز کرد، و در "پیر گونت" ادامه داد، روشن و بصورت نهایی ارائه دهد؛ جهانی نو که یولیانوس امپراطور، می خواهد از تعلیمات مسیح بسازد. نمایش نامه کمی گنگ و نارسا بنظر می رسد. از آنجا که این نمایش نامه ها مانند آن دو تای دیگر مورد استقبال قرار نگرفت، ایبسن راه نوشتاری و ارائه ی نظریاتش را تغییر داد. بنظر می رسد که خود او نیز از عدم موفقیت نظریه اش آگاه شده بود. پس از براند، پیر گونت و امپراطور و جلیلی، ایبسن دیگر نمایش نامه ی منظوم ننوشت و تلاشی نداشت تا شکسپیر پایان قرن نوزدهم باشد. این نمایش نامه ی ایبسن هم به احتمالی به فارسی برگردانده نشده است.
آثار نمایشی هنریک ایبسن مانند زندگی اش پر از فراز و نشیب اند. برخی منتقدان او را به راستی ستوده اند و برخی هرگز آثارش را نپسندیدند. ایبسن به معنایی که دکتر امیر حسین آریانپور در کتاب "ایبسن آشوب گرای" نوشته، چه در زندگی و چه در آثارش یک آنارشیست جلوه می کند. با وجودی که گفته اند از شکسپیر به این سو دوران تراژدی بسر آمده، برخی از منتقدان بر این اعتقاداند که ایبسن تنها نمایش نامه نویسی ست که برخی از آثارش مانند اشباح و هداگابلر به تراژدی به معنای ارسطویی و شکسپیری آن نزدیک است.
آثار نمایشی هنریک ایبسن مانند زندگی اش پر از فراز و نشیب اند. برخی منتقدان او را به راستی ستوده اند و برخی هرگز آثارش را نپسندیدند. ایبسن به معنایی که دکتر امیر حسین آریانپور در کتاب "ایبسن آشوب گرای" نوشته، چه در زندگی و چه در آثارش یک آنارشیست جلوه می کند. با وجودی که گفته اند از شکسپیر به این سو دوران تراژدی بسر آمده، برخی از منتقدان بر این اعتقاداند که ایبسن تنها نمایش نامه نویسی ست که برخی از آثارش مانند اشباح و هداگابلر به تراژدی به معنای ارسطویی و شکسپیری آن نزدیک است.
June 7, 2011
My first time with this impressive play about the Emperor Julian's rise to power as an apostolate, only to be conquered, he thinks, by the god of Christianity durning his war against the Persians. Involved, dramatized rather than argued, and subtle, Ibsen shows how people find a way to cling to their beliefs to explain life no matter what turns their lives take. Fascinating and great, with some dull passages here and there.
July 15, 2024
i just do not understand how Ibsen considered this his life's major work?!
June 22, 2018
Ανέγνων, έγνων, κατέγνων! Η περίφημη φράση εδώ δίνεται στον Απολλινάριο και όχι στο Μέγα Βασίλειο.
Δύσκολο για ανέβασμα θεατρικό, επειδή είναι εκτενές και πολυπρόσωπο.
" Όλη μου η ζωή ήτανε ένας αδιάκοπος φόβος για τον Αυτοκράτορα και για το Χριστό. Ώ, είναι φοβερός αυτός, ο αινιγματικός, αυτός ο ανελέητος θεάνθρωπος! Παντού όπου πήγαινε, μπροστά! Μού 'φραζε το δρόμο μου μεγάλος κι αυστηρός... με την αδιάλλακτη και αλύγιστη αξίωση του!...
Όταν η ψυχή μου μαζευότανε πληγωμένη και συντριμμένη από το μίσος μου για το φονιά της γενιάς μου, αμέσως άκουγα την προσταγή του: Αγαπάτε τους εχθρούς ημών! Όταν το πνεύμα μου μαγεμένο από την ομορφιά, διψούσε συνήθειες και ινδάλματα του περασμένου ελληνικού κόσμου, τότε και πάλι ξεχώριζα την προσταγή του Χριστού που μου αξίωνε να μη γυρεύω παρά μονάχα ούτινος χρεία εστίν! Όταν ένιωθα τις ηδονικές επιθυμίες της σάρκας κι αποζητούσα το ένα ή το άλλο, τότε και πάλι ο ηγεμόνας της απάρνησης με τρομοκρατούσε με την προσταγή του: πέθανε εδώ, ίνα ζωήν αιώνιον κληρονομήσεις!.... Ότι είναι ανθρώπινο έγινε απαγορευμένο, από τη μέρα που ο προφήτης της Γαλιλαίας πήρε στα χέρια του το πηδάλιο του κόσμου!"
"Τότε τι είναι αυτό που το μισείς και το κατατρέχεις; Δεν είναι εκείνος, είναι η πίστη σου για εκείνον! Σάμπως δεν είναι ζωντανός μέσα στο μίσος σου και στους διωγμούς σου, όμοια όπωε είναι μέσα στην δική μας τηναγάπη;"
Δύσκολο για ανέβασμα θεατρικό, επειδή είναι εκτενές και πολυπρόσωπο.
" Όλη μου η ζωή ήτανε ένας αδιάκοπος φόβος για τον Αυτοκράτορα και για το Χριστό. Ώ, είναι φοβερός αυτός, ο αινιγματικός, αυτός ο ανελέητος θεάνθρωπος! Παντού όπου πήγαινε, μπροστά! Μού 'φραζε το δρόμο μου μεγάλος κι αυστηρός... με την αδιάλλακτη και αλύγιστη αξίωση του!...
Όταν η ψυχή μου μαζευότανε πληγωμένη και συντριμμένη από το μίσος μου για το φονιά της γενιάς μου, αμέσως άκουγα την προσταγή του: Αγαπάτε τους εχθρούς ημών! Όταν το πνεύμα μου μαγεμένο από την ομορφιά, διψούσε συνήθειες και ινδάλματα του περασμένου ελληνικού κόσμου, τότε και πάλι ξεχώριζα την προσταγή του Χριστού που μου αξίωνε να μη γυρεύω παρά μονάχα ούτινος χρεία εστίν! Όταν ένιωθα τις ηδονικές επιθυμίες της σάρκας κι αποζητούσα το ένα ή το άλλο, τότε και πάλι ο ηγεμόνας της απάρνησης με τρομοκρατούσε με την προσταγή του: πέθανε εδώ, ίνα ζωήν αιώνιον κληρονομήσεις!.... Ότι είναι ανθρώπινο έγινε απαγορευμένο, από τη μέρα που ο προφήτης της Γαλιλαίας πήρε στα χέρια του το πηδάλιο του κόσμου!"
"Τότε τι είναι αυτό που το μισείς και το κατατρέχεις; Δεν είναι εκείνος, είναι η πίστη σου για εκείνον! Σάμπως δεν είναι ζωντανός μέσα στο μίσος σου και στους διωγμούς σου, όμοια όπωε είναι μέσα στην δική μας τηναγάπη;"
September 11, 2025
Endelig ferdig med dette langtekkelige stykket. Keiser og Galilæer er et «verdens historisk skuespill» i 10(!) akter, og var Ibsens egne favoritt. Det tror jeg han var alene om. Det er også det lengste stykket, med veldig god margin. Akkurat som med de fleste stykkene til Ibsen fra denne perioden (Kjærlighetens komedie, Brand, Peer Gynt) blir på en måte tanken og filosofien så enorm og tar så mye plass at det går på bekostning av handlingen. Replikkene er til tider så lange og konstruerte at de har innrykk for å markere avsnitt, noe jeg mener snakker for seg selv. Tanken bak er likevel spennende, og kanskje langt mer aktuell 150 år senere enn det Ibsen hadde forestilt seg.
October 31, 2021
This is my second time reading this play and it is almost as confounding as the first. Some passages of this play are absolutely electric and I love Maximus and Julian is fascinating . . . but I just feel like there's something I'm missing here or some themes I'm not grasping. If only this play was more popular and I could look up what others thought. I don't really agree with any of the analysis Johnson puts forth in the introduction, I know that much.
May 29, 2017
A fascinating play that really codifies Ibsen's artistic ideals but it's just a little bit too long for my tastes.
July 22, 2020
Una obra sublime, impresionante, erudita y que debería ser de culto, una obra donde Henrik sale de su zona de confort, es compleja y entretenida.
December 27, 2023
Kanskje egentlig litt i lengste laget, men samtidig var dette eit svært spennande stykke å lese!
November 6, 2019
In the midst of Ibsen’s transition from highly expressionistic poetic dramas (Brand and Peer Gynt) to his tightly naturalistic prose plays (The Pillars of Society, The Dolls House, etc.), he completed this play – a sprawling, philosophical history play.
The two plays that make up the book are based on the life of Emperor Julian, that last non-Christian emperor.
The Apostasy of Caesar *** -- The first play is a rambling story of Julian’s survival as heir-apparent to the unstable Emperor Constantius.
Much is made of Julian’s attempts to find authentic religious inspiration and revelation. He explores the troubling nature of trying to live authentically Christian (love thy enemy, etc.) in the real world.
At least that’s what I think happens. The long play (just the first part), probably around four hours in performance, covers a lot a theoretical ground. Although the play gets into rather weedy philosophical ramblings, Julian is a mildly interesting character. He is a searcher like Brand and Peer. The play/poem, however, doesn’t have the focus or the other interesting characters of these two great plays.
This is for the Ibsen enthusiast only, particularly if you enjoyed Peer and Brand. I don’t know if I’ll make it through the second part.
P.S. I wouldn’t get too excited about Ibsen once referring to this as his “best” play. This has the feel of an off-hand remark, uttered once and never repeated.
The two plays that make up the book are based on the life of Emperor Julian, that last non-Christian emperor.
The Apostasy of Caesar *** -- The first play is a rambling story of Julian’s survival as heir-apparent to the unstable Emperor Constantius.
Much is made of Julian’s attempts to find authentic religious inspiration and revelation. He explores the troubling nature of trying to live authentically Christian (love thy enemy, etc.) in the real world.
At least that’s what I think happens. The long play (just the first part), probably around four hours in performance, covers a lot a theoretical ground. Although the play gets into rather weedy philosophical ramblings, Julian is a mildly interesting character. He is a searcher like Brand and Peer. The play/poem, however, doesn’t have the focus or the other interesting characters of these two great plays.
This is for the Ibsen enthusiast only, particularly if you enjoyed Peer and Brand. I don’t know if I’ll make it through the second part.
P.S. I wouldn’t get too excited about Ibsen once referring to this as his “best” play. This has the feel of an off-hand remark, uttered once and never repeated.
December 4, 2024
La última obra histórica de Ibsen, su obra siguiente fue Los pilares de la sociedad, la primera de sus doce obras "contemporáneas" por las que es más conocido y se convierte en la columna vertebral del teatro naturalista y de espíritu social.
Esta obra larga, escrita en dos partes cada una de 5 actos, es sin duda irregular, pero se lee con completo interés, de cabo a rabo. Nos cuenta la ascensión de Juliano, su apostasía y conversión al paganismo, sus intentos de ser justo y de que su reino sea tolerante, y la oposición de los cristianos, de los galileos, que se empeñan de forma intransigente en sofiocar ese aire de libertad de Juliano. Eso oposición lleva a la represión que el emperador ejercerá sobre ellos, a la ausencia de diálogo, y a la locura del emperador. Sin embargo, hay un punto que no creemos, el que por negar el cristianismo se dé la caída de Juliano. Quizá el ambiente de la çepoca hace que Ibsen frente en ese retrato de, de nuevo, un personaje idealista que topa con una sociedad que le rechaza, como ocurría en Brand, como ocurrirá en El enemigo del pueblo y en muchas más.
Pese a ello, una tragedia rica y sugerente.
Esta obra larga, escrita en dos partes cada una de 5 actos, es sin duda irregular, pero se lee con completo interés, de cabo a rabo. Nos cuenta la ascensión de Juliano, su apostasía y conversión al paganismo, sus intentos de ser justo y de que su reino sea tolerante, y la oposición de los cristianos, de los galileos, que se empeñan de forma intransigente en sofiocar ese aire de libertad de Juliano. Eso oposición lleva a la represión que el emperador ejercerá sobre ellos, a la ausencia de diálogo, y a la locura del emperador. Sin embargo, hay un punto que no creemos, el que por negar el cristianismo se dé la caída de Juliano. Quizá el ambiente de la çepoca hace que Ibsen frente en ese retrato de, de nuevo, un personaje idealista que topa con una sociedad que le rechaza, como ocurría en Brand, como ocurrirá en El enemigo del pueblo y en muchas más.
Pese a ello, una tragedia rica y sugerente.
July 16, 2014
This epic tale of Julian, Caesar turned Roman Emperor, Christian turned pagan, is Ibsen's masterpiece, however clocking in at nearly 7 hours it has never been performed. Yes, this was written in the late 1800's and only a few years ago a Broadway producer cut it down for it's inaugural performance over 125 years after it's publication. There are mystics, the clash between the Romans and the Christians, the expansion of the Roman empire at the detriment of the Persians, Gauls, Africans, and Arabs, men and women who vacillate between paganism and Christianity, as well as those who are firmly camped on one side or the other. There is murder and intrigue, love and death, heroes and fools. This has everything. (Emperor = Roman Emperor, Galilean = Jesus/Christians)
July 26, 2015
I read this in preparation for an essay on Julian the Apostate and his historical reception and I have to say it wasn't an easy read. I think that if I had seen it performed, it would have been easier to relate to but sadly this is rarely performed. If I get the chance to go, it is currently running at the National Theatre in London (heavily edited), but until then I must make do with what I can. I can only give it three stars for that reason, but I intend to re-read it properly when I don't have to study it and maybe my rating would change.
August 17, 2012
The first Ibsen I've read in quite some time and the first that I remember covers a historical Roman figure. It is a delight to see how Ibsen's modern approach to story telling works on the historical figure of Emporer Julian. Having recently travelled to Pergamon and Ephesus, the story brings to life these places in a way that I haven't experienced with another text.
For a proper review, this is my favorite: http://www.ibsenvoyages.com/translati...
For a proper review, this is my favorite: http://www.ibsenvoyages.com/translati...
January 6, 2010
Lies, intrigue, all the sins of today... only set in yesterday. I guess some things never change.
September 20, 2011
A good read. Kind of long with some dull passages
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews