Little Eyolf

Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 122K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Little Eyolf by Henrik IbsenAuthor: Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906,Language: English, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Apr 1, 2005

Editor's review

Little Eyolf is an often underrated work among Ibsen's late plays. Unlike the social-problem drama of A Doll's House, this play turns inward, focusing on a family's psychological upheaval and reckoning of responsibility after the loss of a child. Eyolf is not a tragic protagonist in the conventional sense but a casualty of his parents' relationship, desires, and ideals. Ibsen handles themes of marriage, guilt, self-knowledge, and redemption in a highly symbolic manner, with restrained yet resonant language. Reading this play, one can trace Ibsen's shift from social critique toward psychological and philosophical inquiry. It is best read in one sitting in a quiet setting, then revisited in key dialogues to sense the inner fissures gradually exposed through seemingly trivial conversation. Readers interested in dramatic writing, psychological portrayal, and family ethics will all find something to inspire them.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Theater readers interested in Ibsen's late plays and psychological realism
Students and scholars studying Nordic literature and the development of modern Western drama
General readers concerned with ethical themes such as marriage, bereavement, and family responsibility

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer tightly plotted social-problem plays with intense conflict
Beginners with no experience of reading drama who want a light, easy read

Reading tips

Read the whole play first, then reread the passages of quarrel and monologue between the parents, noting recurring symbolic images
As you read, record how Eyolf is shaped in dialogue by each parent's desires
Understand it in the broader context of Ibsen's late plays rather than judging the characters' good and evil in isolation

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this play suitable as an introduction to Ibsen?

Not really as a first Ibsen. It is a late work, heavily symbolic, and lacks the clear social conflict of A Doll's House; it suits readers who have already read his major works and want a deeper look at his artistic transformation.

Are there language difficulties in reading it?

This is an English translation. The play is mostly dialogue with short sentences, but the characters often convey multiple layers of meaning through everyday speech, so attention to subtext is needed. Read key dialogues slowly and, if necessary, compare other translations to understand the characters' psychology.

Does the child figure carry symbolic meaning?

The child is not merely a plot trigger but also carries the parents' respective expectations and guilt. While reading, note how the parents talk about the child and project themselves onto him; this helps in understanding the play's theme of family ethics.

Comments

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About the author

Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906 Author

Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was a Norwegian playwright best known for his problem plays on social issues. His works often center on marriage, family, gender roles, and individual freedom, exposing the contradictions beneath respectable surfaces through tight dialogue and steadily unfolding plots. The collection holds 51 of his works, including A Doll's House, The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, and Rosmersholm, as well as dramatic collections and translations into Finnish and Esperanto. Written in a realistic style, these plays probe their characters' inner lives, with spare dialogue rich in subtext, and helped shape modern European drama; they are still staged worldwide. Because public information is limited, biographical details are omitted here.