Historical Context
Realism
In the late nineteenth century, playwrights moved away from the perceived artificiality of melodrama, shifting their focus to the ordinary aspects of everyday contemporary life. They discarded the flat characterizations and unmotivated violent actions typical of melodrama. Their works, alongside much of the experimental fiction of the period, embraced the principles of realism, a new literary movement that seriously examined believable characters and their often problematic interactions with society.
To achieve this goal, realistic drama concentrates on the commonplace and avoids the unlikely coincidences and excessive emotionalism of melodrama. Playwrights like Henrik Ibsen abandoned traditional sentimental theatrical forms to document the strengths and weaknesses of ordinary people facing tough social issues, such as the restrictive conventions that nineteenth-century women endured. Writers who adopted realism employed settings and props reflective of their characters’ daily lives and used realistic dialogue that mimicked natural speech patterns.
In her overview on Ibsen for the Reference Guide to World Literature, Anna-Marie Taylor remarks that the author's realism centered on middle-class manners. She contends that his plays effectively deflated ‘‘bourgeois self-confidence’’ by suggesting that even the ‘‘cosiest and best-furnished drawing rooms could harbor grim secrets, dissatisfaction, and despair.’’ The exposure of deception and restrictions became a central theme of his social dramas, especially in A Doll House and Pillars of Society. Later in his career, as his plays grew more experimental, Ibsen integrated realistic techniques into a more symbolic framework.
Expressionism
In the early twentieth century, dramatists adopted techniques from another emerging literary movement: expressionism. This movement rejected the realists’ focus on verisimilitude, instead employing experimental methods to objectify the inner experiences of human beings. Influenced by Freudian theories, playwrights like August Strindberg used nonrealistic devices that distorted and sometimes oversimplified human actions to delve into the complexities of the human mind.
Ibsen’s extensive career mirrored the evolving styles of theatre from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth. His early social dramas realistically depicted interactions between family members and between men and women. Later, he experimented with more symbolic forms of drama, most notably in The Master Builder and When We Dead Awaken. In The Master Builder, the action revolves around the consciousness of the central character. Viewers often question whether Solness’s life is shaped by his dreams and desires, particularly in his relationship with Hilda, who serves as a muse figure in the play.
Literary Style
Realism and Expressionism Ibsen blends elements of realism and expressionism in the play. While most of Ibsen’s works fall under the realist movement, which dominated the latter part of the nineteenth century, The Master Builder sees him exploring expressionism, a burgeoning new movement. These realist and expressionist techniques converge in his character portrayals. As Ibsen narrates the rise and fall of master builder Halvard Solness, he closely examines cause-and-effect dynamics. In typical realist fashion, the protagonist is faced with a moral decision—in this case, whether to let his ambition go unchecked. When Solness resolves to let nothing hinder his quest for professional supremacy, he must confront the ensuing destructive consequences. Ibsen realistically depicts the pain Solness’s choice inflicts on his wife and, ultimately, himself.
Ibsen’s expressionistic methods become evident in Solness’s assertion that he is controlled by devils and trolls. When Solness tells the long-suffering Aline that these devils were responsible for his house burning down and for Kaja seeking employment with him, it is implied that they are manifestations of his own guilt. Ibsen also uses expressionism in his portrayal of Hilda, who reignites Solness’s creative spirit and self-confidence, giving him the resolve to climb the tower once more. Her mysterious arrival at the precise moment...
(This entire section contains 312 words.)
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when Solness needs to rejuvenate his creativity, along with her inexplicable obsession with him, hints that she might be a figment of his imagination.
Symbolism
The central symbol in the play is the tower that Solness climbs twice, a
phallic structure representing his authority and sexuality. Hilda is mesmerized
each time he ascends these vertical structures, exhilarated by the power and
bravery he exhibits as he rises above the town. Her intense observation of
Solness’s physical prowess leads to her obsession with him, to the extent that
she is willing to end his marriage to the long-suffering Aline.
Compare and Contrast
1890s: In the late 19th century, realism emerges as the leading literary movement in the Western world. During the final decade of this century, symbolism and naturalism also become significant movements.
Today: Musicals such as "The Producers" and reality-based plays like "Rent" dominate Broadway.
1890s: The Klondike gold rush starts in 1896 in northwest Canada. News of the gold discovery attracts thousands of people to the area, eager to find their fortune.
Today: Eastern nations criticize what they perceive as pervasive materialism in the Western world.
1890s: Samuel Clemens dubs this era "The Gilded Age," largely due to the industrialization of the West. During this time, a few large industries come to dominate the U.S. economy. Industrialists see their fortunes rapidly increase, while the working class endures low wages and hazardous working conditions.
Today: Public awareness of major companies exploiting foreign workers has grown. Many are concerned that the current push for economic globalization will exacerbate the disparities between the wealthy and the poor.
Setting
The stage is set in the shadow of the Solness home, an edifice steeped in ambition and memory. Though the town is unnamed, clues suggest it might be near Trondheim, on Norway's west coast. This imagined locale lies close to Størdalshansen, with notable landmarks like Stranda to the west and Levanger further northeast, dotting the landscape around the fjord. The play's geographical backdrop reflects the broader themes of ambition and nostalgia that drive the narrative.
The Solness home serves as both a literal and symbolic cornerstone. It embodies the life and aspirations of its master builder, Halvard Solness. Yet, it also harbors the shadows of the past, particularly a decade-old triumph in Lysanger. There, Solness, defying expectations, placed a victor's wreath atop a tower he constructed. This achievement looms large, not just in his mind, but also in the memory of Hilde Wangel, who witnessed the event as a child. Her return to Solness's life ten years later is steeped in expectation and the fulfillment of a whimsical promise: to make her a princess and build her a castle.
Hilde's arrival catalyzes a chain of events culminating in Solness's attempt to recapture past glory by wreathing the tower of his new home. Her insistence and joy become the impetus for this reenactment. The act, initially meant to symbolize a new beginning, tragically concludes with Solness's fatal fall. Positioned below the mountains and the scene of his previous success, Solness's home becomes a poignant metaphor for his career—a master builder but not quite the architect of his destiny. His endeavor to transcend the inevitable passage of time, to defy the younger generation poised to overtake him, ends in catastrophe. The setting, with its intricate interplay of past and present, underscores the relentless pursuit of dreams and the perilous heights to which they can drive a person.
Bibliography and Further Reading
SOURCES
Barnet, Sylvan, "Introduction," in Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe, Signet, 1969, pp. vii—xix.
Brandes, Edvard, Review of The Master Builder, in Politiken, December 22, 1892.
Brinckmann, Christian, Review of The Master Builder, in Nyt Tidsskrift, 1892-1893, pp. 272-81.
Göthe, George, Review of The Master Builder, in Nordisk Tidskrift, 1893, pp. 153-57.
Jaeger, Henrik, Review of The Master Builder, in Dagbladet, December 27, 1892.
Review of The Master Builder, in Daily Telegraph, February 1892.
FURTHER READING
Bentley, Eric, The Playwright As Thinker, Harcourt Brace, 1987.
This work explores the philosophical perspectives in Ibsen's plays.
Egan, Michael, Ibsen: The Critical Heritage, Routledge, 1972.
Egan documents the evolution of critical responses to Ibsen's dramas.
Haugen, Einar, Ibsen's Drama, University of Minnesota Press,
1979.
Haugen provides an in-depth analysis of the themes and structure found in
Ibsen's plays, including The Master Builder.
Meyer, Michael, Ibsen: A Biography, Doubleday, 1971.
Meyer delivers a detailed examination of Ibsen's life, tracking "his
development as a man and as a writer" and evaluating his work, "both
intrinsically and historically." He also delves into Ibsen's influence on
theatre.
