Abstract
Abstract Ibsen’s Peer Gynt holds a unique position in Norwegian culture as a ‘national epic’ that simultaneously satirizes the idea of coherent national and individual identities. This article analyzes the dramatic text’s recent adaptation into a graphic novel, published in Norway in 2014. We argue that this adaptation indicates which aspects of the play seem relevant to modern Norwegian readers. Through close, comparative readings of two key scenes in Ibsen’s text and in the adaptation, we show how the many metaliterary aspects of the former are creatively and irreverently treated in the latter. Moreover, we argue that one of the most striking aspects of Peer Gynt, the graphic novel, is its depiction of postmodern, performative identities, and the ‘liquidity’ of modern Western individuals.
Highlights
Ibsen’s Peer Gynt holds a unique position in Norwegian culture as a ‘national epic’ that simultaneously satirizes the idea of coherent national and individual identities
Myren-Svelstad on a comparative analysis of Ibsen’s text and its recent adaptation into a graphic novel Ibsen/Moen/Mairowitz (2014), we argue that part of the reason why Peer Gynt appeals to postmodern audiences is because it addresses the topical issues of authenticity and performative identities latent in Ibsen’s depiction of an individual’s life experience
Using approaches from social theory as well as adaptation studies, we argue that the graphic novel adaptation highlights a postmodern, or “liquid”, Peer already latent in Ibsen’s text
Summary
As Peer returns from his adventures in North Africa in Act Five, he arrives at an ongoing auction in his home village. As underlined by McCloud, the unexpected transformation of a setting is a device by which comics ensure the reader takes time to examine a panel closely (1993, 99– 103) In this scene, we see Peer Gynt, the trickster and recycler of stories, depicted at the right end of a fantastic stage, gesturing with open hands to the auditorium. These complex layers of references to historical, fictional and anonymous authors in both versions of Peer Gynt direct the reader’s attention to the question of the authorship of a story, including Peer’s own. The graphic novel leaves no room for doubt, as the Button-Molder utters the final words indicating that Peer’s self-seeking journey is not yet over
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