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Rosmersholm (1886)

   

Brief description

From the beginning of June until the end of September 1885 Ibsen was in Norway for the first time in 11 years. He spent more than half of the time in Molde. His first plans for Rosmersholm came into being before his stay in Norway, during the winter of 1884/85. However his experiences and impressions stemming from seeing his mother-country again, were of great importance in shaping the play.

In a letter to Carl Snoilsky, the Swedish poet with whom Ibsen had spent a few days in Molde, posted from Munich and dated 14 February 1886, Ibsen wrote:
«I am also fully occupied with a new play, which I have been thinking about for some time and in which connection I carried out some close studies during my stay in Norway last summer.» [read the letter in HISe]
Snoilsky – a truly «noble person» in Ibsen's opinion – was the chief model for Johannes Rosmer.

The original title of Rosmersholm was «White Horses». In a note probably made around New Year 1885/86, Ibsen writes:

«White Horses»
He, a man of fine, distinguished character, who has adopted liberal views and been deserted by all his former friends and acquaintances. A widower; has been unhappily married to a melancholy, mentally disturbed wife who finally drowned herself.
She, responsible for bringing up his two daughters, liberal, warm-blooded, somewhat inconsiderate but not unpleasantly so. Is regarded by her surroundings as the evil spirit of the house and is the object of misinterpretation and backbiting. [see the note in original handwriting]

Ibsen wrote three drafts of the play before being satisfied. The first draft – undated – only covers part of the first act. A second draft was started on 25 May 1886 but laid aside in the middle of June. He had drafted part of the third act by then.
In the third draft, the title had been changed to «Rosmersholm».

On August 6th Ibsen began to write the fair copy, but some changes were made, and it was not until 27 September 1886 that the manuscript was completed. Rosmersholm came out on 23 November 1886 at Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag (F. Hegel & Søn) in Copenhagen and Christiania. The first edition was composed of 8 000 copies.
The reviewers were even more confused by Rosmersholm than they had been by The Wild Duck two years previously. In Norway the reviews were almost exclusively poor, while in Sweden and Denmark they were slightly better. The lukewarm reviews affected sales, which were poor, and the play was not reprinted until Ibsen's collected works were published (1898–1900).

Rosmersholm had its very first performance on 17 January 1887 at Den nationale Scene in Bergen. Gunnar Heiberg directed it, while Didi Heiberg and Nicolai Halvorsen played the parts of Rebekka West and Johannes Rosmer. The audience received the production rather coolly. The play was then staged in Gothenburg on 18 March, at Christiania Theater on 12 April and in Stockholm on 15 April. The first performance in Germany was in Augsburg on April 6th. Det Kongelige (Royal) Teater in Copenhagen turned the play down, much to Ibsen's annoyance. Most of these productions were total failures.

(From ibsen.net)

Plot summary

Johannes Rosmer, the owner of Rosmersholm, is the last of a long and influencial line of clergy, officers and senior civil servants. Formerly a vicar, he has resigned from office. Before the opening of the play, his wife Beate had drowned herself in the mill-race. She was thought to have become mentally ill through sorrow at being childless and unable to ensure the continuance of the Rosmer line.

When young, Rosmer was greatly influenced by his tutor Ulrik Brendel, an atheist and an idealist. A young woman, Rebekka West, has gained admittance to Rosmersholm through Beate's brother, Kroll. She sees Rosmer's potential, and believes she can help him to realize his dream of creating a world of «happy, noble people». Without admitting it to himself, Rosmer has fallen in love with Rebekka. His conversations with her strongly influence his view of life, and for a while he believes himself ready to go out into the world and actively take part in left-wing politics. An open conflict breaks out between him and the conservative headmaster Kroll, who puts every effort into redeeming him from the «lapsed souls».

In the course of the play Rosmer discovers that Rebekka has manipulated Beate and tricked her into believing that she, Rebekka, was pregnant by Rosmer. He realizes now that it was this that caused Beate to take her own life, and he is filled with doubt and self-accusation.

Rebekka, in turn, discovers in a confrontation with Kroll that Doctor West; who she thought was her foster father, was actually her father. After this she confesses that she was indirectly the cause of Beate's suicide, because she wanted to become mistress of Rosmersholm herself. Yet when Rosmer asks her to marry him she refuses, and the two of them throw themselves into the mill-race at the same place as Beate.

(Source: Merete Morken Andersen, Ibsenhåndboken, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1995.)

Read Rosmersholm (in Norwegian)

In the online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe), you can read Rosmersholm in various formats. This content is currently only available in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read the play:

Introduction to the work (in Norwegian)

The online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) offers extensive information about Rosmersholm in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read about various aspects connected to the play. 

Reviews

Here you can find reviews in full text and an overview of registered reviews in various languages. 

Translations

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Published July 10, 2023 1:36 PM - Last modified July 26, 2023 2:09 PM
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