Patterns of Structure and Character in Ibsen's Rosmersholm

Abstract

IN HENRIK IBSEN'S FINAL PLAY, When We Dead Awaken, the reader can scarcely escape an impression of careful and conscious arrangement of elements. The progression of the settings from a veranda near the fjords to the high fells, then to the mountain site of the final apotheosis, has the clear symbolic shape of a Strindberg pilgrimage drama. The main characters form complementary and contrasting patterns so consciously balanced that some critics have likened the working out of the play to the construction of a string quartet. Ibsen's last drama, however, merely brings to the surface a concern with the careful patterning of character and situation which can be found throughout the dramatist's work, even in the plays of his middle period, where a basically realistic approach tends to mask its importance. Taking Rosmersholm as an example, I propose to demonstrate how an awareness of the patterns beneath the surface of this play, perhaps the most complex Ibsen ever created, can guide us through much of its dynamic.