Abstract

Ibsen's apparently inexhaustible capacity for contradicting himself has sorely tried the patience of commentators and critics. Take, for example, the most characteristic of all Ibsen themes: the right of the individual to realize his self-so characteristic, that it has practically become synonymous with the name Ibsen. Yet just what is Ibsen's conviction on this question? Brand, written in 1866, is a vigorous denunciation of self-sacrifice and a plea for self-realization. Peer Gynt, which appeared the very next year, exposes the villainy of self-realization. A Doll's House, Ghosts, Rosmersholm advocate self-realization. But Pillars of Society, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck and Hedda Gabler preach self-sacrifice.

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