Chapter 63 father of modern drama ibsen

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), a drama master whom the Norwegian people are proud of and the founder of a new era of modern European drama, enjoys the same immortal reputation as Shakespeare and Molière in the history of drama. Ibsen's father, a lumber merchant, went bankrupt when he was a child, which gave the green light to a genius.At the age of 15 Ibsen began to earn his own living, working as an apprentice in a pharmacy.In his spare time, he often read the works of Shakespeare, Goethe, and Byron, and then wrote poems and plays by himself, and studied Latin.The six years of arduous apprenticeship tempered his fighting spirit and at the same time cultivated his interest in creation, which was an important stage in his life.

In 1850, Ibsen went to the capital Christiania (now Oslo) to take the medical university entrance examination.He was not admitted due to poor grades in Greek, mathematics and oral Latin.Agitated by the torrent of bourgeois revolutions sweeping across European countries, Ibsen made friends with progressive ideas in the literary and art circles, actively wrote articles for publications such as the Workers' Association, and participated in the Strane led the labor movement, and cooperated with two friends to publish the satirical weekly "Andrimana".He also wrote a set of sonnets titled "Awaken, Navians of Sjo", calling on Norway and Sweden to send troops to support Denmark and fight against the Prussian invaders.In his first historical drama "Catirina", he turned over the old case and wrote the "traitor" in Roman history as an outstanding character who fought for civil liberties.The script not only reflects the revolution of 1848, but also shows his personal spirit of rebellion.The play was published by a friend of his. In the autumn of 1851, he wrote an overture for the Bergen Theatre, which was appreciated by the founder of the theater. He was hired as a boarding playwright, and also acted as a director, agreeing to create a new play every year. In 1852 he was sent to visit theaters in Denmark and Germany.Among his plays at the Bergen Theater are Midsummer Night, Tomb of the Warrior, Lady Inger of Estero, The Banquet at Solhoug, Olaf Lilekrone .During this period, Ibsen participated in writing and directing no less than 145 plays.His practical experience in drama creation is comparable to that of Shakespeare and Molière.

Themes of the rebellious protagonist and his pernicious mistress captivated Ibsen throughout his life, from writing plays for the Bergen Theatre.However, when Ibsen finally made his mark in the theater and was entitled to write and direct himself frequently in the Bergen theater, he found himself in another kind of trouble.He has to take into account both empty and hypocritical traditions and a boring and unappreciative audience.Fortunately, the theater closed down in time, and Ibsen made up his mind to emigrate to Italy. This exile lasted 27 years, and he returned to Oslo in his later years.Representative works including "Pierre Gynt" and "A Doll's House" were completed and staged during the period of exile.Ibsen made European theater out of the state of providing entertainment and playthings for people, and restored it to the ancient Greeks, that is, as a powerful instrument of judgment on the soul, thus fulfilling his promise: "To have everything or to have nothing .”

Ibsen wrote more than 20 plays in his life, except for those romantic lyric plays in the early stage, they are mainly realistic prose plays, that is, dramas.Most of these prose dramas are based on familiar and important social issues, and are often called "social issue dramas". "Pillars of Society", "A Doll's House", "Ghosts" and "An Enemy of the People" are some of the most famous masterpieces. Ibsen's entire creative career coincides with the second half of the 19th century.It is natural that the images of the European bourgeoisie in his works are more rotten, uglier and more hated than those in Shakespeare and Molière's works.His sharp pen is full of angry enthusiasm, piercing the masks of the bourgeoisie in morality, law, religion, education and family relations, and exposing the hypocrisy and absurdity of the entire capitalist society. "A Doll's House" is a just and eloquent indictment of the marriage relationship under capitalist private ownership and the patriarchal ideology of the bourgeoisie.

Nora, the hostess of "A Doll's House", is an unsophisticated young woman on the surface. She is always called "little bird" and "little squirrel". In fact, she is kind and strong, and she is dedicated to her husband and family. He did not hesitate to bear the burden of humiliation, and even prepared to sacrifice his reputation.In order to save her husband's life, she once borrowed a debt from someone without telling him; at the same time, she wanted to save her dying father from trouble, so she signed a false name.It is because of this reasonable behavior that the "unreasonable laws" of the bourgeoisie forced her into a corner.What made her even more distressed was that after the truth came out, when she needed her husband the most to help her in the same boat and bear the crisis, she found that the husband she sacrificed for was actually a hypocritical and despicable philistine.She finally woke up and realized that she was just her father's doll before marriage and her husband's doll after marriage, and she never had an independent personality.So, she resolutely abandoned her husband and children, and ran away from the cage-like family.

But what happens after Nora leaves?This is a question that drama readers have always cared about.Ibsen was born in a country where the petty bourgeoisie was the main body, surrounded by the philistine atmosphere inherent in the petty bourgeois society, who was capable of compromise and speculation.He hated this kind of vulgar and hypocritical politics and politicians, and even, as he himself said, he did not hesitate to "be in a state of open war" with them.But here, too, comes the pessimism of the Norwegian petty bourgeois Ibsen, which cannot really liberate Nora.If Nora wanted to truly liberate herself, of course she couldn't just walk away.The first prerequisite for women's emancipation is the economic independence of all women.Nora was subject to Helmer before her awakening, precisely because Helmer first ruled her financially.Therefore, if Nora wants to break free from Helmer's control, she must not rely on a little rebellious spirit, but must first strive for an independent personality economically.The emancipation of bourgeois women she represented must be premised on a radical change in socio-economic relations.The "miracle of miracles" she dreams of, that is, both she and Helmer "change so that we live together as husband and wife", is only possible in a socialist society that transforms people by transforming the social environment.