Pillars of Society

by Henrik Ibsen

Overview

"Pillars of Society" is the story of Karsten Bernick, a prominent businessman in a small Norwegian coastal town. Karsten comes from a wealthy shipping and shipbuilding family yet he has aspirations for an even greater enterprise. When he begins secretly buying up land in the valley between the town and the main rail line, which he is backing a new rail connection to, his scandalous past suddenly comes back to him in the form of Johan Tonnesen, his wife's younger brother, who has just returned from America. Written in 1877, Ibsen's "Pillars of Society" predates a string of masterpieces by the dramatist that would ultimately secure his place in literary history. While criticized for its ending, the play accurately portrays the power of the rich to often rise above the power of the law.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412169554
Publisher:	eBooksLib
Publication date:	04/21/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	125 KB

About the Author

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright who thrived during the late nineteenth century. He began his professional career at age 15 as a pharmacist’s apprentice. He would spend his free time writing plays, publishing his first work Catilina in 1850, followed by The Burial Mound that same year. He eventually earned a position as a theatre director and began producing his own material. Ibsen’s prolific catalogue is noted for depicting modern and real topics. His major titles include Brand, Peer Gynt and Hedda Gabler.