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PEER_GYNT

                                              March 23, 2006


  "'Go round about', said the Boyg. So I must."
                 -- middle of Act III


Ibsen distinguishes between
being true to yourself
and living for yourself.          This is almost obvious.
                                  But where else is the
                                  point made?
  "Long live...
   the Emperor of Self!"
                                                     "What an incredible
Ibsen's take in this                                  number of layers...
fable of a fabulist                                   Don't we get to the
is that Peer Gynt is                                  heart of it soon?"
purely a liar, only
in it for himself and
good to no one
including himself.

My understanding
was that Ibsen is         (Just going by
primarily known as        reputation, often an
an advocate of            unreliable judge.)
realism...
   
Is the play "Peer    
Gynt" (1867) then              The Button Moulder:
the flipside of      
that, an assault               Betwixt and between, then --
on the romantic?                  half and half,
                               Nowadays one so seldom meets
    The central                a sinner on an imposing scale.
    question of                Sinning demands a strength of purpose,
    works like                 there's a lot more to it than dabbling in dirt.
    "Peer Gynt" or                              (Act V)
    "Don Quixote":

    Is the way of imagination
    useless, or does it
    (sometimes) turn out to be
    a more direct path than         Perhaps there are reasons for
    traditional custom or           the literary worker to feel
    practical invention?            uneasy about this issue, eh?

                                              Realism and relevance
Quixote is weak to                            provide an out: the
my eye because it                             author of the bitter
comes down so                                 pill can at least not
heavily on the side                           be accused of shirking...
that imagination           QUIXAND
equals madness.                                  It is serious business
                                                 with serious intent,
                However strong                   no mere entertainment.
                the need for some
                to perceive that
                story otherwise...        The Strange Passenger:
                                                 
                                              You'll be opened right up,        
                                              and have daylight let in.         
                                              -- What I'm trying to find        
There is one point at                         is the place where dreams lurk...    
which Peer Gynt uses                          I'd go carefully into each        
his imagination to                            one of your crannies --  
good effect: At the                                                  
close of Act III, he                       (Act V)
fabricates a tale to
comfort the dying.

   The play might very
   well be stronger if        Which is not to say
   it ended at that point     that there isn't good
                              material later in the     Some of the
     And I would guess        play.                     graduate
     that was the                                       students in the
     original plan.                                     audience might
     So why did Ibsen                                   enjoy the broad
     push on?                                           satire of
                                                        German
     He had made fun of                                 Philosophy.
     the poverty-stricken
     Peer's of the world,                               See the entrance
     and thought to slip                                of Begriffenfeldt
     in some digs against                               in Act IV.
     the rich variety...



                         "Till the _third_
                          crossroads then..."


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