[PREV - QUIXAND] [TOP]
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" then the
flipside of that,
an assault on the The Button Moulder:
romantic? Betwixt and between, then --
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 Perhaps there are reasons for
a more direct path than the literary worker to feel
traditional custom or uneasy about this issue, eh?
practical invention?
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,
How ever 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? "Till the _third_ satire of
crossroads then..." German
Philosophy.
He had made fun
of the poor See the entrance
Peer's of the of Begriffenfeldt
world, and thought in Act IV.
to slip in some digs
against the rich
variety...
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