Reviews for The Works of Henrik Ibsen

The average rating for The Works of Henrik Ibsen based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-08-13 00:00:00 Rhonda Gilbert HELMER. Hello, my sweet! My little squirrel, my little turtledove! NORA. Will you cut it out? HELMER. Cut it out? Why? What's the matter? NORA. This is hardly the time or the place. HELMER. In the bosom of my own home, with my lovely darling wife? NORA. You are mistaken. We are not at home. HELMER (looks around). Oh my God, you're right! Nora, where are we? NORA. We're in a review. HELMER. A review, but… does that mean…? NORA. Yes; some second-rate hack on the internet is writing us now. HELMER. Just my luck! Oh, why does this always happen to me? First I'm passed up for a promotion; and now this! NORA. Stop whining; we have a job to do. HELMER. What, pray? NORA. To review the book, of course. HELMER. You mean, the collection of Ibsen's plays? NORA. What else? HELMER. But I don't want to. NORA. You don't have a choice. HELMER (irritated). Can't a man choose for himself anymore? NORA. Not when he's fictional. HELMER (stamping his feet). This is intolerable! I won't stand it! NORA. Oh, come, come. Real people don't get to choose, either. They're just as subject to outside forces as we are. So don't be upset. HELMER. Alright, I suppose you're right. I'd just feel better if I could see the children. Do you happen to know where they are? NORA. They don't exist in this universe. HELMER (almost falling down). What? Don't exist?! What happened? NORA. They never existed. We exist in a blank white room created by the reviewer. He has decided to omit our children, which is just as well, if you ask me. HELMER. I need a drink. Did the reviewer include those? NORA (pulling out a wine bottle). As a matter of fact… HELMER. Thank God! (They poor themselves a drink, clink their glasses, and swig it down.) HELMER. That's much better. So, er, you said we have a job to do? NORA. That's right. We have to discuss Ibsen's plays. HELMER. Well, how am I supposed to do that? Ibsen is my father, after all'and yours too, if you don't mind my saying so. NORA. Quite so; nonetheless, we must. I'll go first. I think Ibsen's plays… HELMER. What's this business with reviews, anyway? It seems to be such a ridiculous custom. NORA. But isn't it nice to have conversations about books? HELMER. Very occasionally. But so often it's just egotism and nonsense. Yes, that's right, egotism and nonsense. Consider this review right here. Somebody sitting at a laptop is, at this very moment, writing a review of one of the greatest dramatists of all time. And who is he? A nobody! The arrogance! NORA. But, criticism has such a long and noble tradition… HELMER. Hmph! Long and noble tradition my tuckus! That's all nonsense. And wasn't this Ibsen's whole point? Wasn't his goal to question society's assumptions and to critique its values and traditions? NORA. I suppose… HELMER. So if we are to be true to the spirit of Ibsen, I contest that we must flout the tradition of reviewing. Yes, that's the only way. We must take part in a vicious critique in the culture of Goodreads. That's what Ibsen would have done. NORA. But how would we do that? HELMER (smiling). Like this. (He walks to the door, opens it, and walks outside.) NORA. Helmer, you can't! HELMER. Ah, Nora, don't you see? It has to be so! (With a resounding thud, the door slams shut.)

Review # 2 was written on 2019-03-23 00:00:00 Petra Hartmann Ghosts- Lots of amazing lines, especially, "It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life." But it leaves everything a depressing mess... just like real life I guess. The Wild Duck- Oh boy, Ibsen is dark. This one was too dark for me- everyone is the worst. An Enemy of the People- Unless I'm missing something deeper, it appears to just be about the ugliness of politics. The locals don't seem to understand the science of the local baths making people sick and they are so involved in their own power struggles that they don't care. We see this frequently in American politics. I still didn't connect to this play that well. Perhaps it was my particular translation that made the language or scenes seem somewhat awkward, but I didn't enjoy it. A Doll's House- The actual plot in the story is a little overwrought, but I like the characters, their experiences, and Nora's moment of realization. I'm also impressed with such early feminist perspectives.