The plays of Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen, one of the most famous Scandinavian writers, nevertheless spent twenty-seven years living outside Norway and channelled his bitterness towards his native country into scathing portrayals of small-town folk devoid of ideals. Admired throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was regarded by the Symbolists as the author of ‘art theatre’—a space for thought and dreams devoted to the ghostly apparitions of evanescent characters—whilst the Naturalists saw him as the ‘Zola of the North’ and celebrated his bourgeois dramas, which gave pride of place to the defence of women’s emancipation and the denunciation of corrupt politicians.
It is all these facets and contradictions that this book seeks to capture: a multifaceted Ibsen, who continues to surprise us. A feminist yet a conservative, a patriot yet critical of Norway, the inventor of modern drama yet faithful to the model of the ‘well-made play’ of Scribe and Augier. More relevant than ever, he continues to inspire theatre directors around the world.

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