Ibsen Plays Collection - (Full Three Volumes)

Author: (Norwegian) Ibsen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The so-called important works primarily refer to a series of famous social problem plays that won the author worldwide acclaim. These include the five-act play Young Alliance (1869), which caused a sensation by satirizing fake liberal politicians; the four-act play The Pillar of Society (1877), which exposes the betrayal of love and character for wealth and social prestige; the three-act play A Doll's House (1879), which celebrates the rights of women, opposes the traditional notion of "a man's word is law," and reveals the hypocrisy of arranged marriages; the three-act play Ghosts (1881), which metaphorically uses congenital venereal disease to critique the moral corruption of a decadent society and was attacked by moralists; the five-act play An Enemy of the People (1882), which defends the author against attacks made during the controversy over Ghosts; the five-act tragicomedy The Wild Duck (1884), which shifts from advocating the danger of lacking "ideals" to emphasizing the danger of forcing others to accept unrealistic "ideals," changing the author's style and filling the play with poignant poetry; and the four-act tragedy Rosmersholm (1886), which calls for true democracy and freedom in Norway and praises "noble qualities of character, will, and soul."
Additionally, there are six late works with Symbolist styles: the five-act play The Lady from the Sea (1888), which the author believed "portrayed real, living people"; the four-act play Hedda Gabler, which emphasizes its characters as "real people"; the three-act tragedy The Master Builder (1892); the three-act play Little Eyolf (1894), in which the protagonist, obsessed with romantic affairs, causes the death of an infant and, in remorse, dedicates maternal love to an orphaned child; the four-act play John Gabriel Borkman (1896), about an ambitious son of a miner who, after embezzling a large sum of money and failing in investments, is imprisoned and falls into ruin; and the three-act tragedy When We Dead Awaken (1899), which depicts a former couple who reunite, regret their past adherence to the creed "art is first, life is second," and easily abandon happiness, hoping to relive their dreams and ascend together, only to be buried in a snowstorm (the play's epilogue).
Furthermore, when studying Ibsen, two exceptional works must be mentioned: one is Brand (1866, translated by Cheng Tian), whose protagonist adheres to the principle of "all or nothing" and dies in an avalanche while fighting for an absolute ideal. This volcanic work is said to have satisfied the transcendental ethical demands of the Scandinavian world, making the author its spiritual prophet. The other is a contrast to Brand, Peer Gynt (1867, translated by Xiao Qian), which tells the story of an opportunistic egoist who tries to reform his ways. This work, which uses the author's compatriots as archetypes, has always drawn mixed reactions from readers in Norway.
These two early masterpieces, though not translated by Pan Shansheng, are included in this book due to their importance in Ibsen studies, allowing readers to understand the author's persistent belief in drama: the form of drama is the natural expression of his inner struggles.