Love's Comedy
Encyclopedia
Love's Comedy is a comedy by Henrik Ibsen
. It was first published on 31 December 1862. As a result of being branded an "immoral
" work in the press, the Christiania Theatre
would not dare to stage it at first. "The play aroused a storm of hostility," Ibsen wrote in its preface three years later, "more violent and more widespread than most books could boast of having evoked in a community the vast majority of whose members commonly regard matters of literature as being of small concern." The only person who approved of it at the time, Ibsen later said, was his wife. He revised the play in 1866, in preparation for its publication "as a Christmas book," as he put it. His decision to make it more appealing to Danish readers by removing many of its specifically Norwegian words has been taken as an early instance of the expression of his contempt for the contemporary Norwegian campaign to purge the language of its foreign influences.
The play received its first theatrical production in 1873 (eleven years after publication), opening on 24 November at the Christiania Theatre, with Sigvard Gundersen
as Falk, Laura Gundersen
as Svanhild, Johannes Brun
as Pastor Strawman, and Andreas Isachsen as Guldstad. It became a regular part of the theatre's repertory, playing 77 times over the next 25 years. Its first Broadway
production opened at the Hudson Theatre
on 23 March 1908.
Ibsen adopted a contemporary setting (for the first time since his St. John's Night
of 1853) and a rhymed verse form for the play. Its language is loaded with vivid imagery and Ibsen gives the characters aria
s full of passion and poetry. It dramatises the bourgeois world seen in Ibsen's later naturalistic
prose
problem play
s but Love's Comedy elevates its characters to an emblematic status, more akin to Emperor and Galilean
, Brand
or Peer Gynt
; characters appear to be contemporary types but are given emblematic names such as Falcon, Swan, Strawman and Gold.
Ibsen called Love's Comedy an extension of his poem "On the Heights" ("Paa Vidurne"), insofar as both works explore a need for liberation; both, he suggested, were based on his relationship with his wife Suzanna. In 1870 he wrote that the play was "much debated in Norway, where people related it to the circumstances of my personal life. I lost a great deal of face." Robert Ferguson suggests that it is Ibsen's "greatest love story", adding that "our knowledge that [Falk] is lying, that he and Svandhild voluntarily turn to a future with this act of emotional self-mutilation [...] gives Love's Comedy such extraordinary poignancy". As "the brilliant culmination of a long and awkward apprenticeship," the play is, Brian Johnson writes, Ibsen's first "assured masterpiece".
Falk is liberated by her words and decides to put ideas into action. When Lind is persuaded by Anna’s friends not to leave as a missionary but stay in a cosy existence looking after his wife, Falk denounces the lot of them – saying that their marriages have nothing to do with love. Society is outraged and does not wish to be reminded of the split between ideal and reality. Falk is ostracized but Svanhild admires his courage. They plan to run off together and live the ideal.
The pastor Strawman and the clerk Styver attempt to persuade Falk from his course but the demands of respectability and security cannot assuage him. Finally, the rich businessman Guldstad asks whether their relationship can survive the waning of the first flush of love. Falk and Svanhild admit that it cannot and Svanhild accepts Guldstad’s proposal of a safe, financially secure marriage rather than sully the experience of her love for Falk by seeing it die. Falk leaves to write songs which celebrate an untainted love and Svanhild sits gloomily amongst the world of convention – a housewife who once had passion and now lives on its memory.
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
. It was first published on 31 December 1862. As a result of being branded an "immoral
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
" work in the press, the Christiania Theatre
Christiania Theatre
Christiania Theatre, or Kristiania Theatre, was Norway's finest stage for the spoken drama between October 4, 1836 - September 1, 1899. It was located at Bankplassen by the Akershus Fortress in central Christiania, in Norway...
would not dare to stage it at first. "The play aroused a storm of hostility," Ibsen wrote in its preface three years later, "more violent and more widespread than most books could boast of having evoked in a community the vast majority of whose members commonly regard matters of literature as being of small concern." The only person who approved of it at the time, Ibsen later said, was his wife. He revised the play in 1866, in preparation for its publication "as a Christmas book," as he put it. His decision to make it more appealing to Danish readers by removing many of its specifically Norwegian words has been taken as an early instance of the expression of his contempt for the contemporary Norwegian campaign to purge the language of its foreign influences.
The play received its first theatrical production in 1873 (eleven years after publication), opening on 24 November at the Christiania Theatre, with Sigvard Gundersen
Sigvard Gundersen
Sigvard Gundersen was a Norwegian actor. He was married to actress Laura Gundersen. He made his stage début at Christiania Theater in 1862, and worked for this theatre most of his career, until 1899.-References:...
as Falk, Laura Gundersen
Laura Gundersen
Laura Sofie Coucheron Gundersen was a Norwegian actor, counted as the first native-born tragedienne, and also, in some aspect, as her country's first professional native actress and prima donna.-Biography:...
as Svanhild, Johannes Brun
Johannes Brun
Johannes Brun was a Norwegian stage actor.Brun was born in Verdal. He made his stage debut as the character "Henrik" in Holberg's comedy Den Vægelsindede 2 January 1850, at the first ordinary performance at Ole Bull's Det norske Theater in Bergen. He was married to actress Louise Brun in 1851...
as Pastor Strawman, and Andreas Isachsen as Guldstad. It became a regular part of the theatre's repertory, playing 77 times over the next 25 years. Its first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production opened at the Hudson Theatre
Hudson Theatre
The Hudson Theatre is a former Broadway theater located at 141 West 44th Street, in midtown Manhattan, New York. Today the Hudson functions as a conference center and television studio. It is owned by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.-History:...
on 23 March 1908.
Ibsen adopted a contemporary setting (for the first time since his St. John's Night
St. John's Eve (play)
St. John's Eve, is a play written by Henrik Ibsen in 1853. The play is considered apocryphal, because it never entered Ibsen's collected works...
of 1853) and a rhymed verse form for the play. Its language is loaded with vivid imagery and Ibsen gives the characters aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s full of passion and poetry. It dramatises the bourgeois world seen in Ibsen's later naturalistic
Naturalism (theatre)
Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create a perfect illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies: detailed, three-dimensional settings Naturalism is a...
prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
problem play
Problem play
The problem play is a form of drama that emerged during the 19th century as part of the wider movement of realism in the arts. It deals with contentious social issues through debates between the characters on stage, who typically represent conflicting points of view within a realistic social...
s but Love's Comedy elevates its characters to an emblematic status, more akin to Emperor and Galilean
Emperor and Galilean
Emperor and Galilean is a play written by Henrik Ibsen. Although it is one of the writer’s lesser known plays, on several occasions Henrik Ibsen called Emperor and Galilean his major work...
, Brand
Brand (play)
Brand is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is a verse tragedy, written in 1865 and first performed in Stockholm on 24 March 1867. Brand was an intellectual play that provoked much original thought....
or Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
; characters appear to be contemporary types but are given emblematic names such as Falcon, Swan, Strawman and Gold.
Ibsen called Love's Comedy an extension of his poem "On the Heights" ("Paa Vidurne"), insofar as both works explore a need for liberation; both, he suggested, were based on his relationship with his wife Suzanna. In 1870 he wrote that the play was "much debated in Norway, where people related it to the circumstances of my personal life. I lost a great deal of face." Robert Ferguson suggests that it is Ibsen's "greatest love story", adding that "our knowledge that [Falk] is lying, that he and Svandhild voluntarily turn to a future with this act of emotional self-mutilation [...] gives Love's Comedy such extraordinary poignancy". As "the brilliant culmination of a long and awkward apprenticeship," the play is, Brian Johnson writes, Ibsen's first "assured masterpiece".
Plot summary
Two students – Falk and Lind – are staying at the country house of Mrs. Halm, romancing her two daughters Anna and Svanhild. Lind has ambitions to be a missionary, Falk a great poet. Falk criticises bourgeois society in his verse and insists that we live in the passionate moment. Lind’s proposal of marriage to Anna is accepted, but Svanhild rejects the chance to become Falk’s muse, as poetry is merely writing, and he can do that on his own and without really risking himself for his beliefs.Falk is liberated by her words and decides to put ideas into action. When Lind is persuaded by Anna’s friends not to leave as a missionary but stay in a cosy existence looking after his wife, Falk denounces the lot of them – saying that their marriages have nothing to do with love. Society is outraged and does not wish to be reminded of the split between ideal and reality. Falk is ostracized but Svanhild admires his courage. They plan to run off together and live the ideal.
The pastor Strawman and the clerk Styver attempt to persuade Falk from his course but the demands of respectability and security cannot assuage him. Finally, the rich businessman Guldstad asks whether their relationship can survive the waning of the first flush of love. Falk and Svanhild admit that it cannot and Svanhild accepts Guldstad’s proposal of a safe, financially secure marriage rather than sully the experience of her love for Falk by seeing it die. Falk leaves to write songs which celebrate an untainted love and Svanhild sits gloomily amongst the world of convention – a housewife who once had passion and now lives on its memory.