A DOLL'S HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE: THE FIRST IBSEN CONTROVERSY IN AMERICA1 BY ARTHUR C.PAULSON AND KENNETH BJ0RK The first Ibsen controversy in America took place, not in the eastern metropolitan press, as one might expect, but in the columns of a Norwegian newspaper of the West.2 We refer to a battle over a Doll's House fought through the columns of Norden, a Chicago immigrant newspaper, in 1880. This controversy, which preceded the first one in English by nine years,3 not only attests to a vigorous intellectual life rarely associated with the frontier, but also brings to focus several of the factors shaping the cultural life of the transplanted Norwegian. For the greater number of Norwegian immigrants in the West in 1880, contact with the world of literature was established through the ministers, the lay critics, the newspaper press,4 and the book dealers. These four elements will be seen to figure in the controversy presented by this study. The controversy over a Doll's House began with an attack 1The first English discussion of Ibsen in the American press did not appear until 1882. Annette Andersen, " Ibsen in America," in Scandinavian Studies and Notes, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 67 (February, 1937). It is interesting to note that the first English performance of a Dou s House in America likewise occurred in the West. On June 2 and 3, 1882, an " emasculated adaptation agreeable to the demands of current taste " was presented in the Grand Opera House at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Einar Haugen, " Ibsen in America: A Forgotten Performance and an Unpublished Letter," in Journal of English and Germanie Philology, 33:396-420 (July, 1934). The next performance took place at Louisville, Kentucky, on December 7, 1883. Robert Herndon Fife and Ansten Ans ten sen, " Henrik Ibsen on the American Stage," in American-Scandinavian Review, 16:218-228 (April, 1928). 8 See Miriam Alice Franc, Ibsen in England, 24-56 (Boston, 1919), and Halvdan Koht, Life of Ibsen, 2:267 (New York, 1931). 4 The influence of the Norwegian newspaper may be deduced from Skandinaven* s estimate, March 3, 1874, that the five leading newspapers had a circulation of at least twenty-five thousand. Estimating five readers to a paper, the total number of readers was one hundred and twenty-five thousand, or sixty out of every hundred Norwegians in America. 1 2 STUDIES AND RECORDS by P. P. Iverslie against the moral and social implications of Nora's words. The author of the article belonged to a group of colorful lay scholars and critics that is rapidly disappearing from the Norwegian-American scene. A voracious reader, a prolific writer, incisive in style, and independent in his views, Iverslie was a product of ministerial training, and was, like the theologians, usually incapable of viewing literature except from a moral or ethical point of view.5 Holding no official position and living alone, he devoted his abundant energies to historical research, writing, teaching, and farming. Eager to do battle with great and small alike, he was unable to understand any point of view but his own. Furthermore, he was innocent of the slightest sense of humor and regarded himself and his work with deadly seriousness.6 Nevertheless , the intellectual life of the Northwest was enriched by his contributions and those of others of his class. A brief recital of the salient facts in Iverslie's life should be given. He was born July 18, 1844, at Auggedalen, in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway. He came with his parents to the Rock River settlement, Wisconsin, in 1847. From 1862-64 he attended Luther College, where he was considered a model student. During the years 1864-1901, he was a farmer in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, and Chippewa County, Minnesota . During the winter months he usually taught in English schools; during spare moments the year around he poured out articles for the Norwegian and English newspapers and worked at the manuscripts of several ambitious studies. He published four books: Events Leading to the Separation of Norway and Denmark, 1898; Nogle af Verdens6 In this respect Iverslie and the Norwegian ministers in America were no different from the critics in Norway. Ibsen complained...
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Sep 28, 2020
Robert Haack 
