"Pillars of Society" by Henrik Ibsen is a four-part play set in a small Norwegian coastal town during the late 1800s. It follows Karsten Bernick, a shipbuilder living a life of apparent success, whose past returns to haunt him in the form of returning family members and a surfacing scandal. Themes of morality, what society expects vs. reality, and the heavy impact of personal decisions on public image are put center stage. The play starts in the Bernick household, where Mrs. Bernick is holding a gathering of local women doing charity work; this event is interrupted by Aune, one of the shipyard workers. At the same time, conversations about a possible railway project and a scandal that involves Bernick's brother-in-law create space for the main drama to happen. As the characters reference past events and talk about morality, the tension between personal desires and what society expects of them becomes something important to follow. The stage is set to explore how complex human relationships can get and the "masks" people wear to be seen as respectable.
Pillars of Society
By Henrik Ibsen
In a small town, a respected man's carefully built life begins to crumble as secrets from his past threaten to destroy his reputation and expose the lies that hold his community together.
Summary
About the AuthorHenrik Johan Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and the most influential playwright of the 19th century, as well of one of the most influential playwrights in Western literature more generally. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, and When We Dead Awaken. Ibsen is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare, and A Doll's House was the world's most performed play in 2006.
Henrik Johan Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and the most influential playwright of the 19th century, as well of one of the most influential playwrights in Western literature more generally. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder, and When We Dead Awaken. Ibsen is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare, and A Doll's House was the world's most performed play in 2006.
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