Product Description
A guide to reading "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House" with a critical and appreciative mind. Includes background on the author's life and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Henrik Ibsen: An Underlying Theme
A Doll's House is an easy-to-read, interesting play but I was not particularly drawn to it.The dialogue and characters lacked excitement.However, the static setting did showcase an interesting plot.Despite thelackluster personalities and conversations, I was drawn to the conflictIbsen presented: the state of confusedness Nora slipped into in consideringwhether it was right to listen to the blatantly biased society she livedin, which revolved around men or to follow her own natural instincts.Shehad forged with good intentions, but the reality of her action caught upwith her.In Nora's world, a world driven by her husband's needs, desires,and commands, she believes she is helping him by taking out a loan.Thelaws, accusation, judgings are all man made, preventing her from evergetting away with her well-meant deeds.I was thoroughly impressed byIbsen's underlying themes, especially in his time of reservedness andanti-feminism.He accurately depicted the lifestyle of so many women inhis time: as mere playthings, objects of desire, moved about in acookie-cutter dollhouse by manipulative husbands.A Doll's House can beregarded not only as an accurate portrayal of life for women but also as asocial commentary on the wrongs of it.

A DOLL'S HOUSE IS MORE THAN PLAY.
I have aleardy read it more than 6 times ,and Im still feeling that I would like to read it again.Because it makes you release how Ibsen had extraordenary sensetivly.And it learns you how to deal with your wife. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1899.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Patience hardens
This is unmistakeably Hill's _Brand_: the technical grace of his Englishing of Ibsen shows an acute awareness of the responsibility of thetranslator to both the original text and the language into which it is tobe translated. Hill's translation enriches not only the English languagebut the ability of English (and non-Norwegian) speakers to appreciateIbsen's brooding, symbolically charged drama of the challenge of faith inthe midst of common life. Is Brand's fidelity to his "dear Christ hurtwith thorns" obdurate or obstinate? In this play, the repudiation ofsocial morality in the name of higher things is put to the question: whatif devotion to such "higher things" also leads to, or becomes amask for, moral isolation, the cauterization of social feeling?Uncompromising and yet compromised, Brand is a caution, and _Brand_ acautionary tale...

The "Good" Ibsen
Brand is the flip side of Peer Gynt. Ibsenmay well have intended to write heroism into Brand, a charismatic dissenting priest, but could not breathe any life into his protagonist at all. Brand is cold, righteous,merciless, uncompromising. The play is dated, dull, static, but ofhistorical interest toIbsen scholars, since he may have learned plenty bywriting Brand. The rather rigid Norwegian state/church of his time lovedit, granted Henrik a permanent poet stipend for Brand. Modern gentlereaders may roll their eyes.

One of the best books I have read....
This book captures the essence of humanity.I recommend to anyone who wants to find themself. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume contains Isben's two most famous and frequently read, studied and performed plays about women. ... Read more

Product Description
This selection of Henrik Ibsen's most famous works includes: "Hedda Gabler," "Ghosts," "An Enemy of the People," "A Doll's House," "The League of Youth," "The Wild Duck," and "Peer Gynt." ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / General; Drama / General; Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Drama / Continental European; Literary Criticism / Drama; ... Read more

Product Description
"A Doll's House and Other Plays" is a collection of eight of the most popular dramas by Henrik Ibsen. In "A Doll's House" we have the story of Nora Helmer, the wife of the prideful bank manager Torvald. Nora finds herself the victim of a blackmail scheme by Nils Krogstad, a man whom she has borrowed money from in order to save her husband's life. Probably Ibsen's most famous work, "A Doll's House" is accompanied by the following and equally dramatic works: "The League of Youth", "Ghosts", "An Enemy of the People", "The Wild Duck", "The Lady From the Sea", "Hedda Gabler", and "The Master Builder". In this volume fans of Ibsen and the dramatic theater will find a representative selection from one of the greatest dramatists to ever have lived. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not as many plays as I hoped for
The description of this purchase said the volume included about 6 or more of Ibsen's works. However, upon recieving the book I discovered only 3 of Ibsen's works were included. I was buying the book for the main play of "A Doll House" but I was looking forward to having the other plays as well. Nice printing, just not as many plays as expected.

Mediocre edition - not worth the price
While "Penguin Classics" are generally reliable when it comes to editions, paper-type, or publications in general, with Ibsen's masterful plays, it falls pitifully short in terms of collection. This collection gives us three plays - one less than the usual four per collection that can be found. While this may overall seem like quite a bit, it is not, in fact, worth much.

Yes, "A Doll's House" is still the intriguing, fascinating play it always is. As a play, "A Doll's House" is highly recommended. Just don't get it HERE. Why? Well, mostly because of what ELSE is offered. The first play here is the strange, confusing "League of Youth". It unfortunately did not reach Ibsen's level of mastery as found in the later plays. Too many characters and nothing particularly interesting just had the play stop and stall.

While all of Ibsen's plays are worth purchasing (if only for study), the problem here is the edition. For the same price (or less), one can get "A Doll's House" with much better plays with four per collection. A personal recommendation is that of Oxford's World Classics, mostly due to the presence of the incredible "Ghosts". Signet Classics also has an edition, for those who want something cheap and easy, though it has "The Wild Duck" (not as good as "Ghosts", but still so much better than "League of Youth"). Both editions also have "Hedda Gabler" and "The Master Builder". When given a choice between four plays or three, four is preferred, especially when they are the better works.

Turn elsewhere.

Doll's house is an interesting play
In this interesting play, Henrik Ibsen sets up a scenario of a marriedcouple with three children that seem to have a good relationship with eachother. This couple is Nora and Helmer (called Torvald by Nora). They alwaysseem to have romantic conversations with each other, but soon, we learnthat years ago Nora had to take a loan from Nils Krogstad, in order to payoff a lifesaving medical treatment for Helmer. He doesn't know this andthinks that the money came from Nora's father, who has passedaway.

Helmer, who has just been named a manager of a bank, is alwaystreating Nora in such a sweet manner, such as "Is that my little larktwittering out there?" or calls by another bird's name. She always getslittle money from Helmer, but never gets large sums because Helmer isworried he thinks she doesn't know how to manage her money wisely. In thebeginning, Nora treats Helmer with overwhelming respect although Nora ishiding her loan that she is paying off on a regulaly with some of the moneyfrom Helmer. Nora doesn't want Helmer to think she took a loan since shethinks it could affect their relationship.

There are three othersupporting characters in this play: Dr. Rank, Nils Krogstad, and ChristineLinde. Dr. Rank is a friend of the family who is seriously ill. NilsKrogstad a worker at the bank, who is about to his job to a friend ofNora's, Christine Linde, a woman who recently moved back to the areabecause her husband died.

At the end of Act II, we find out Nora forgedher father's signature on the loan. Krogstad had written a letter to tellHelmer about the loan. Nora is worried that Helmer will read the letterKrogstad wrote.

This play is about a woman trying to understand hermarriage, and always wanting something wonderful to happen. With Helmer,she finally realizes that she isn't being treated the way she wants, andnothing wonderful seems to happen. Nora had no trouble making the decisionof leaving her family, but perhaps she would have had a hard timerecovering from this rare type of circumstance in this time and age.

Good Book, though not the absolute best...
As I very clearly stated above, this is a read-worthy book, though not my favorite or one of the best books that I have ever read.If you're in the mood for some feminist action or any politics, go ahead, pick up the book. This is, however, NOT a book for anyone who's looking for comedy. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of public speeches and letters of Ibsen, plus an extremely comprehensive chronological, annotated bibliography. Valuable for the light it sheds on Ibsen's relations with other literary figures for the insight it provides into his character. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Norwegian drama; Drama / Continental European; Fiction / General; Drama / General; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

A dramatization of the idea that the majority can be wrong
Henrik Ibsen wrote this play immediately after his play Ghosts was greeted by mass outcries (see my review of Ghosts). Rather than defend himself against charges of immorality, he pointed out that the multitude are wrong.

Dr. Stockmann, a stand-in for Ibsen's views, wants to do the right thing, the moral thing, to tell the truth to the people of his town, a truth that they do not want to hear. He is the medical advisor of the town's health baths, baths that brings wealth to the community. He discovers that the bath water is contaminated because the town officials, against his advice, set the pipes in a wrong place, and the water flowing through the area is causing bathers to become sick. The cost of repairing the pipes is enormous and it would take two years to fix them. The doctor is stopped from revealing the problem to his community by the Mayor, his older brother, who was interested in his health, but not in the health of others, who insisted that the doctor be silent because the community wants the money that the baths will bring, doesn't want to pay the large repair costs, and leaving the baths unused for two years would result in a large financial loss to the community.

Ibsen dramatizes the situation by making Dr. Stockmann somewhat flawed. The doctor naively persues his quest without using persuasive techniques to win over the town.

The town newspaper and the home owners are behind the doctor until the Mayor explains the enormous loss to them. Then, as with Ibsen who described moral problems in Ghosts, the entire town turns against Dr. Stockmann and vilifies him, calling him a lunatic and an enemy of the people. He tries to explain that he is telling the truth, but the town people refuse to see it. The town argues that they are the majority and they determine what is right. This is reminiscent of the Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas, who is not mentioned in the play, who insisted on holding the community and the church above the individual.

Stockmann responds that in matters of right and wrong, the individual is superior to the will of the many. In a memorable line, he says, "A minority may be right; a majority is always wrong."

One of Ibsen's most militant plays!
Ibsen is often revered as the father of modern drama, and his influence has been compared to that of Shakespeare's influence in 16th century England.This particular play is a treatise on Ibsen's ideology.In it Ibsen is putting forth his very liberal ideas and he does not spare anyone.Both liberals and conservatives are blasted in this play that points out clearly that any individual does not stand a chance if he tries to go public with his ideas, especially if those ideas go against the majority opinion.Yes, it is a militant play, but it is also a comedy that shows real pathos and warm humour.

An Enemy of the People
Dr. Stockman is portrayed as the protagonist who champions himself as the herioc individual who makes a bleak discovery about the community.He thunders to announce the new discovery against the wishes of his opposition Mayor Peter Stockman.Dr. Stockman is characterized as the man of nobility at the beginning of the play and as the plot begins to unfold the townspeople denounce him as an enemy of the people.Mrs. Stockman's character is portrayed as submissive.Will she patiently await the distruction of her entire family? Will Dr. Stockman sacrifice his personal beliefs for the welfare of his family?

Ibsen on the conflict between idealism and practicality
Henrik Ibsen is the father of modern drama and his 1882 drama "An Enemy of the People" ("En folkefiende") was one of his more controversial works. In the play Dr. Stockmann discovers that the new baths built in his town are infected with a deadly disease that requires they should be closed until they can be repaired. However, the mayor of the town (the Burgomaster), who is Stockmann's brother Peter, rejects the report and refuses to close the baths because it will bring about the financial ruin of the town. When Dr. Stockmann tries to make his case to the people of the town, the mayor counters by pointing out how expensive it would be to repair the baths and dismisses the doctor for having wild, fanciful ideas. At the public meeting Dr. Stockmann is declared "an enemy of the people" by the Burgomaster.

To really appreciate this particular Ibsen play you have to look at it in the context of his previous dramas, because they all represent a conflict between the playwright and his critics. In 1879 Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" ("Et dukkehjem") was produced, wherein the character of Nora pretends to be a silly little wife in order to flatter her husband, who is revealed to be a hypocritical fraud. The idea that a woman would leave her husband and children was seen as being outrageous and basically obscene. Ibsen upset his audience and critics even more in his next play, "Ghosts" ("Gengangere"), an 1881 drama that again attacks conventional morality and hypocrisy. The topic is of congenital venereal disease but the true subject is moral contamination. Mrs. Alving has buried her husband, a degenerate who has left behind a son dying from syphilis and an illegitimate daughter who is probably going to end up being a prostitute. The play ends with Mrs. Alving having to decide if she should poison her son to put him out of his misery or let his agonies persist.

Again, Ibsen was attacked for outraging conventional morality. The following year after "Ghosts" the playwright responded with "An Enemy of the People" and the character that is most identified with representing Ibsen on stage in Dr. Stockmann. The allegory is quite plain when the play is considered within the context of Ibsen's work during this period, although while Stockmann is portrayed as a victim there is a sense of destructiveness to his behavior. At the end of the play Stockman has decided to leave the town, but then changes his mind to stay and fight for those things he believes are right.

As is the case with most of Ibsen's classic works, "An Enemy of the People" speaks to larger issues than those in conflict in the play. The debate is over the bad water pipes at the new baths, but the true conflict is over the clash of private and public morality. Dr. Stockmann is by far the most idealistic of Ibsen's characters, and that fact that he is opposed by his own brother, the Burgomaster, harkens back to Genesis and the fight between Cain and Able. As was the case with "Ghosts," there is an ambiguous ending where what happens next can be seen as going either way given your own inclinations as a member of the audience.

Both of the Stockman brothers are flawed. Dr. Stockman's idealism is at odds with the practical realities of the world in which he lives while the Burgomaster ignores ethical concerns. Ultimately, Ibsen is not forcing us to choose between the two but rather to reject both in terms of some middle ground. The Burgomaster is certainly old school, believing those in authority get to make all the decisions and that the people must subordinate themselves to the society. But he was the one who made the mistake of putting the new water pipes in the wrong place, so even his claims that he is looking out for the welfare of the community are dishonest. Dr. Stockman argues for individual freedom and the right of free expression, but his attempt to fix the problem ignores any effort at persuasion or building public support. He also seems to take pleasure in be able to show that his brother made a mistake. Still, in the end we have to favor the doctor over the mayor because his integrity is clearly stronger, while still recognizing that his idealism is tragically flawed.

I Cannot Lie - I Didn't Understand It...
Have you ever watched a movie or play, and at the end of it you say, "I don't get it"? ---> But everyone around you says it was the greatest thing they have ever seen... well, I will not pretend to be a pseudo-intellectual.Ibsen was way over my head with this book.

Superficially the book was extremely interesting from the standpoint of: will one man be willing to stand up to a city when he knows what is right?In our story, the protagonist has discovered that the Norwegian baths are filled with a poisonous organism.However, when he voices this, the entire town goes against him because it will cost them economically, and they put the pressure on him to refute that which he knows is correct.From that standpoint - the book is excellent... and we are held to find the outcome.

Where it lost me personally was when Ibsen went on his political diatribe.He further alienated me via his pages of discussion on liberalism in a manner that seemed conservative to me.Nevertheless, I enjoyed these speeches as well, and they admittedly felt more contemporary Republican than Liberal Democrat.

In the end, I would have to recommend this book, but say "Feel free to not understand."It is okay to embrace that not everything is clear, and at times his points are lost on minds as dull as mine.Embrace your ignorance, and enjoy it for what it is ... Read more

Product Description
Works of Ibsen ... Read more

Product Description
Ibsen's last work to use poetry as a medium of dramatic expression, Peer Gynt carries the marks of his later, prose plays.Its literary antecedents include Faust and Hans Christian Andersen, but the play draws on Ibsen's own childhood and character.He wrote that he derived many features of Peer Gynt from "self-dissection," creating a self-centered and irresponsible, but ultimately forgiveable, rogue. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Large Format for easy reading. Play that examines the realities that lay behind the many facades of victorian society from the norwegian playwright largely responsible for the rise of the modern realistic drama ... Read more

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Provided in Spanish only ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

PIEZA DESCRIPTIVA
La obra de casa de muñecas se me hizo una obra con un gran mensaje; tristemente, siento que la sociedad en la que vivimos actualmente es muy semejante a la de aquellos tiempos, la gente se preocupa más por el quedirán que por lo que en verdad siente.

Yo creo que Nora encontró eldescriptivo perfecto su vida: era una muñeca, y más que una muñeca de supadre y su marido lo era de la sociedad, y eso indirectamente ya que alserlo de su esposo necesariamente lo era de todo mundo por interesarse delo que decían y pensaban.

A mí en lo personal me llegó mucho ya quevivimos así y no nos damos cuenta, estamos preocupados más en el que diránque en lo que de verdad sentimos o pensamos y muchas veces actuamos según aesos estatutos marcados por la sociedad sin necesariamente haberreflexionado antes.

En cuantoa la forma de escribir del autor mepareció muy interesante la forma del mismo de transmitir las sensaciones,me refiero específicamente al momento en el cual Nora estaba muy nerviosatratando de evitar que Helmer checara el buzón, en esas líneas, yo creíasentirme de la misma manera que ella o si no tanto así por lo menos estabamuy tensa.

En general me gustó mucho la obra y disfruto mucho leerobras teatrales ya que las considero menos confusas al no ser narradas ypor lo tanto me entretienen más. ... Read more

Product Description
Translation and Introduction by William Archer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent play
Ibsen's plays are classics. They are enjoyable, intelligent, engrossing, dramatic comments upon society. They are relevant today as they were in the 1890s.

The nineteenth century John Gabriel Borkman, like the twenty-first century's Bernie Madoff, bilked his friends of their life savings. Both were highly respected until they were caught and sent to jail, and both had lived well. Ibsen examines the impact that Borkman's nefarious acts have upon him, his wife, her sister, his son, and his friends.

Borkman spent three years in detention, then five years in jail, then, after his release, eight years in the upper story of his sister-in-law's house, for he had no money any more. For eight years he walked back and forth in his room, like a caged rat, waiting for the day that he was certain would come when he would rise again.

Ibsen focuses especially on three episodes.Borkman wanted so strongly to obtain wealth and power that he gave up what was important to him. Without realizing what he was doing, in a Faustian fashion, he gained power and wealth, but destroyed his own life and the life of another. What prompted his need for power? What did he give up? Who was involved? Who did he especially hurt?

Borkman's wife hates him. During the eight post-prison years, she refuses to meet with him although they live in the same house. Why?

Borkman's sister-in-law helps him for Borkman did not squander her funds. Why? Why also did she raise his son? What affect did all of this have on her and his son?

Danse Macabre
The subject of John Gabriel Borkman (1896) makes it seem like a companion piece to some of the writer's earlier dramas The Pillars of Society or Enemy of the People, dealing with the subject of corruption, or at least an act of guilt in the past on the part of an individual that is to have a profound effect on the wider community. It's the aftermath of such a situation that is viewed here but, as one of Ibsen's latter plays, the subtext of John Gabriel Borkman is that of an act of corruption by an artist, who has forsaken the truth and love for more material gains, a theme that is borne out by Ibsen's next and final drama, When We Dead Awaken (1899), where the subject is made even more explicit.

In the case of John Gabriel Borkman, the figure at the centre of the intrigue is a disgraced bank manager who has served five years in prison for financial irregularities that brought about the collapse of the bank and the savings of many people in the community. Borkman has served a further three years locked in the upstairs apartment of the house leased to the disgraced family by his sister-on-law Ella Rentheim. Borkman's failings however go deeper than his mere failing as a banker - in the past he renounced his love for Ella in order to become a successful and powerful businessman. Now, both his wife and her twin sister are seeking restitution for the losses they have suffered and hope to achieve it through his son, Erhart. Erhart however is unwilling to join in the "Danse Macabre" that has erupted around him and wants to take off and find happiness for himself.

The hints that there is a rather more autobiographical context to the drama are found to some extent in the suffering of most of the characters associated with Borkman. Nearly all of them however have to share responsibility for their own failings - a complication that makes the role they play rather richer and more complex - but the purity of the artistic endeavour that has been lost or corrupted can be seen in Borkman's former assistant Fodal, an aspiring writer who doesn't have self-belief, or who has rather sacrificed his art for the people around him, perhaps foolishly. Borkman doesn't lack in confidence, aware that the keys to the kingdom were once in his grasp, but that his ability to retain them has long since passed and he is now "dead" to the world. The question that arises is whether the dead can awaken and redemption be achieved, a subject that Ibsen also approaches in his last drama, and to which the answer here would seem to be an equally bleak and dispiriting one. ... Read more