REVIEW:
A stimulating collection of texts, Four Major Plays is a thorough introduction to some of the most successful works written by 19th-century Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen. Including an Introduction by one of the translators, alongside Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder, this edition promises to entertain Modernist theatre enthusiasts and curious newcomers (like me) alike.
Though an instrumental forerunner in theatrical realism, Ibsen was by no means an expert in psychology or mental illnesses, and this does seep through every now and then in his characterizations. (The Master Builder is one of the more ambiguous offenders, for me at least. What exactly is wrong with those two??)
Nevertheless, themes of mental health, identity and fulfillment are prominent and influential elements in all of the protagonists’ journeys. The plays certainly raise more questions about society than they commit to advocating for absolute truths, which I think the euphemistic and often ambiguous dialogue-style compliments appropriately. Okay, sure, it would have been nice if some of the characters spoke in anything other than fluent metaphors. But considering the morality strictures on theatre at the time, I’m just happy that taboo themes/occurrences were discussed at all in the worlds of the plays. Good on you, Ibsen – you flout those societal norms.
Another thing I found pleasantly surprising was the unusually well-rounded portrayal of women seeking to escape abusive relationships (or the Ghosts of them, wink wink) or to push back against the restrictive roles of the female domestic sphere. A Doll’s House was my favourite in that regard. That infelicitous, reluctant alternative German ending must have pained him to have to write. ‘Barbaric outrage’ indeed, Ibsen. You may have squirmed at the term ‘Feminist’, but there’s no denying your work pushed some strong female-sympathies.
One thing a reader can’t really fault Ibsen for is the level of detail in his stage-setting. Hedda Gabler is one of his better examples of this. It’s funny how much of a playwright’s personality can be communicated through their stage directions. Ibsen’s fussy, paragraph-long descriptions of exactly where each little piece of furniture should be positioned and his precise itinerary of the characters’ clothing can be amusingly endearing. It speaks of a playwright who had clearly poured a lot of consideration into his writing. In a new age of dawning literary laziness, bolstered along by ChatGPT and AI slithering into our everyday lives, such little touches as these can be refreshing.
-Niamh Bennett