{"id":1619,"date":"2015-11-16T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T17:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/repeatright.com\/engine\/?p=1619"},"modified":"2018-10-06T22:25:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-06T22:25:02","slug":"ibsen-henrik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/ibsen-henrik\/","title":{"rendered":"IBSEN, Henrik"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453315804311{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531588223-e020d87d-f7dd094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cA community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

An Enemy of the People<\/em> (1882) trans. R. Farquharson Sharp, Act I,\u00a0character \u2018Billing\u2019; online via Project Gutenberg, eBook #2446, 27 February 2010 [updated 28 February 2014],\u00a0www.gutenberg.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Play dialogue. \u2018Billing\u2019 addressing group, including \u2018Horster,\u2019 \u2018Hovstad,\u2019 \u2018Dr. Thomas Stockmann\u2019 & \u2018Mrs. Stockmann]\n

“Billing. But do you not take an interest in public affairs?<\/p>\n

Horster. No, I don\u2019t know anything about politics.<\/p>\n

Billing. All the same, one ought to vote, at any rate.<\/p>\n

Horster. Even if one doesn\u2019t know anything about what is going on?<\/p>\n

Billing. Doesn\u2019t know! What do you mean by that? A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531589797-29580b31-8c50094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: An Enemy of the People<\/em> (1882) online via Project Gutenberg: https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/2446\/2446-h\/2446-h.htm<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315829087-ce67c619-0fbc5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cIf only I could master that demon of procrastination that goes about like a roaring lion and devours all my good intentions, I should become the most punctual man in the world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

Letter to friend & editor Paul Botten-Hansen (5 Aug 1853) in Letters of <\/em>Henrik Ibsen,<\/em> trans. John Nilsen Laurvik & Mary Morison, New York: Fox, Duffield & Co., 1905 edition, p. 56; online via The University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315829475-7c82a017-1e625381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to friend & editor Paul Botten-Hansen] \u201cMy Dear Friend, – I write these lines I the greatest haste; you ought to have heard from me long ago, but – . If only I could master that demon of procrastination that goes about like a roaring lion and devours all my good intentions, I should become the most punctual man in the world<\/span>.\u201d (p. 56)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315829682-63e8fade-cf4c5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

 <\/p>\n

Source link<\/span><\/strong><\/em>: Letters of Henrik Ibsen<\/em> (1905 Fox Duffield & Co., edition) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=litcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA56&lpg<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cRob the average man of his life-illusion and you rob him of his happiness at one stroke.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

The Wild Duck<\/em> (1884) Act V, character \u2018Relling\u2019; in The Works of Henrik Ibsen: An Enemy of the People; The Wild Duck<\/em>,\u201d Viking edition, Vol. IX, trans. Mrs. Frances E. Archer, New York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, 1911, pp. 433-434; online via University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Play dialogue. \u2018Dr. Rellling\u2019 to \u2018Gregers\u2019]\n

Gregers. Do you think the two things are related?<\/p>\n

Relling. Yes, just about as closely as typhus and putrid fever.<\/p>\n

Gregers. Dr. Relling, I shall not give up the struggle until I have rescued Hialmar from your clutches!<\/p>\n

Relling. So much the worse for him. Rob the average man of his life-illusion, and you rob him of his happiness at the same stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source note<\/em><\/strong>: The cited version of The Wild Duck<\/em> includes the publisher\u2019s 1907 introduction & background of the play. The introduction can be found on pages 221-232<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: The Works of Henrik Ibsen: An Enemy of the People; The Wild Duck<\/em> (1911 Charles Scribner|Viking edition) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=3D0PAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA433&dq=Rob+the+average+man+of+his+life-illusion+and+you+rob+him+of+his+happiness+at+one+stroke<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThe costliness of keeping friends does not lie in what one does for them, but in what one, out of consideration for them, refrains from doing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

Letter to George Brandes (6 March 1870) in Letters of Henrik Ibsen,<\/em> trans. John Nilsen Laurvik & Mary Morison, New York: Fox, Duffield & Co., 1905 edition, p. 183; online via The University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to George Brandes]\n

\u201cYou say that you have no friends at home. That is what I have fancied for a long time. When a man stands, as you do, in an intimately personal relationship to his life-work, he cannot really expect to keep his \u201cfriends.\u201d But I believe that it is better for you that you go without leaving friends at home. Friends are an expensive luxury; and when a man\u2019s whole capital is invested in a calling and a mission in life, he cannot afford to keep them. The costliness of keeping friends does not lie in what one does for them, but in what one, out of consideration for them, refrains from doing. This means the crushing of many an intellectual germ.\u201d (p. 183)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

 <\/p>\n

Source link<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: Letters of Henrik Ibsen<\/em> (1905 Fox Duffield & Co., edition) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=litcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA183&lpg<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThe worst that a man can do to himself is to do injustice to others.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

Letter to Bj\u00f8rnstjerne Bj\u00f8rnson (28 Dec 1867) in Letters of Henrik Ibsen, <\/em>trans. John Nilsen Laurvik & Mary Morison, New York: Fox, Duffield & Co., 1905 edition, p. 149; online via The University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to Bj\u00f8rnstjerne Bj\u00f8rnson]\n

\u201cThe thought of the cargo of nonsense which I shipped to you in my last epistle had not left me at peace with myself for an hour in the interval. The worst that a man can do to himself is to do injustice to others. Thank you, noble-minded man that you are, for taking the matter as you have done.\u201d (p. 149)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Letters of Henrik Ibsen<\/em> (1905 Fox Duffield & Co., edition) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=litcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA149&lpg<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cTo live is to war with trolls.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

\u201cA Verse\u201d (c. 1877) book inscription to reader; published version originally in Digte<\/em>, K\u00f8benhavn: F. Hegel & Son, 1886; English translation in \u201cHenrik Ibsen: His Men and Women,\u201d The Westminster Review<\/em>, Vol. CXXXI [January \u2013 June 1889 Inclusive] Philadelphia: Leonard Scott Publication Co., 1889, p. 628; online via University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-ban” add_icon=”true” title=”Re-quote” tab_id=”1449531589281-1a7ccd5f-aa59094f-cf635381-89e5e1b9-b5f0″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Re-quote notes<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n

Ibsen repeated his \u201cA Verse\u201d lines in a June 1890 letter to German translator Ludwig Passarge<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that I have written is most minutely connected with what I have lived through, if not personally experience; every new work has had for me the object of serving as a process of spiritual liberation and catharsis; for every man shares the responsibility and the guilt of the society to which he belongs. That was why I once inscribed in a copy of one of my books the following dedicatory lines:<\/p>\n

To live is to war with trolls in heart and soul. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To write is to sit in judgment on oneself<\/strong>.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

[Re-quote source<\/em>: Henrik Ibsen, Letter to German translator Ludwig Passarge (16 June 1890) Ibsen Plays: Six Six [Peer Gynt & The Pretenders] trans. Michael Meyer [R. Clay Ltd, Suffolk: England] 1987 edition, p. 28<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Poem, cited in an English-language essay about Ibsen & his work] \u201cA single verse, placed at the end of Ibsen\u2019s collected volume of minor poems runs thus:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo live is \u2013 to war with trolls in the chamber of the heart and the brain.<\/p>\n

To write poetry \u2013 that is to hold judgment-day over oneself.\u201d (p. 628)<\/p>\n

Norwegian text<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u201cA leve er – krig med trolde<\/strong><\/p>\n

i hjertets og hjernens hv\u00e6lv<\/strong>;<\/p>\n

at digte, \u2013 det er at holde<\/p>\n

dommedag over sig selv.\u201d (p. 203)<\/p>\n

[Norwegian source: <\/em>Henrik Ibsen, \u201cEt vers.\u201d (c. 1877) Digte<\/em>, K\u00f8benhavn: F. Hegel & Son, 1886, p. 203; online via Harvard University & HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

Original source note<\/em><\/strong>: Ibsen\u2019s Digte<\/em> was published in 1871<\/u> \u2013 and extended versions in 1875<\/u> & 1879<\/u> – but \u201cEt. vers\u201d did not<\/u> appear in these early editions.<\/p>\n

Alternative translation<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u201cHence I once wrote the following dedicatory lines in a copy of one of my books:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo live \u2013 is to war with fiends<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That infest the brain and the heart<\/strong>;<\/p>\n

To write \u2013 is to summon one\u2019s self,<\/p>\n

And play the judge\u2019s part.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Alternative translation source: <\/em>Henrik Ibsen, Letter to Ludwig Passarge (16 June 1890) Letters of Henrik Ibsen,<\/em> trans. John Nilsen Laurvik & Mary Morison, New York: Fox, Duffield & Co., 1905 edition, p. 334; online via The University of Michigan & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf635381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

 <\/p>\n

Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: [Featured <\/strong>English translation<\/span>]: \u201cHenrik Ibsen: His Men and Women\u201d (1889) The Westminster Review<\/em>, online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=2jGgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA628&dq=henrik+ibsen+%2B+A+Verse+%2B+war+with+trolls<\/a><\/p>\n

Source<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>[Ibsen 1890 Re-quote<\/span>]: Ibsen Plays: Six <\/em>(1987 Methuen) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-413-15300-2<\/p>\n

Source link<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>[Norwegian text<\/span>]: Digte <\/em>(1886 edition) online via HathiTrust https:\/\/babel.hathitrust.org\/cgi\/pt?id=hvd.hwww7l;view=1up;seq=215<\/a><\/p>\n

Source link<\/span> <\/em><\/strong>[Alternative translation<\/span>]: Letters of Henrik Ibsen<\/em> (1905 Fox Duffield & Co., edition) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=litcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA334&lpg<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cYou should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Henrik Ibsen<\/strong>, Norwegian playwright<\/p>\n

An Enemy of the People<\/em> (1882) trans. R. Farquharson Sharp, Act V, character \u2018Billing\u2019; online via Project Gutenberg, eBook #2446, 27 February 2010 [updated 28 February 2014], www.gutenberg.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Play dialogue. \u2018Dr. Thomas Stockmann\u2019 to \u2018Mrs. Stockmann]\n

\u201cDr. Stockmann. Are you suggesting that I should stay here, where they have pilloried me as an enemy of the people \u2013 branded me \u2013 broken my windows! And just look here, Katherine \u2013 they have torn a great rent in my black trousers too!<\/p>\n

Mrs. Stockmann. Oh, dear! \u2013 and they are the best pair your have got!<\/p>\n

Dr. Stockmann. You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. It is not that I care so much about the trousers, you know; you can always sew them up again for me. But that the common herd should dare to make this attack on me, as if they were my equals \u2013 that is what I cannot, for the life of me, swallow!\u201d<\/p>\n

Original Norwegian title<\/em><\/strong>: En folkefiende<\/em><\/p>\n

Original Norwegian text<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Doktor Stockman. En skulde aldrig ha\u2019 sine bedste buxer p\u00e5, n\u00e5r en er ude og strider for frihed og sandhed. Ja, jeg bryr mig ikke s\u00e5 stort om buxerne, sk\u00f8nner du; for de kan du altid snurpe sammen for mig.\u201d (p. 179)<\/p>\n

[Norwegian source: <\/em>Henrik Ibsen, En folkefiende<\/em> (1882) K\u00f8benhavn: F. Hegel & S\u00f8n, p. 179; online via Harvard University & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5984b-8605″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

 <\/p>\n

Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: An Enemy of the People<\/em> (1882) online via Project Gutenberg: https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/2446\/2446-h\/2446-h.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

Source link <\/em><\/strong><\/span>[Norwegian tex<\/span>t]: En Folkefiende<\/em> (1882) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=asUOAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

Resources<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”Wrapper-Author-Resources”]Learn more about Henrik Ibsen<\/strong><\/span>| Here are a few good places to find out more –<\/p>\n