In the Hall of the Mountain King

Henrik Ibsen is born in Skien on March 20th, 1828, the first of five children in a well-off merchant family. But a bad investment puts Henrik’s father’s fortune at risk. Gradually, the Ibsens lose both economic and social capital. By 1843, Henrik decides that 15 is old enough for him to strike out on his own.

He moves to Grimstad and starts apprenticing as a pharmacist. It’s a steady income, but not a passion for him. Instead of pharmacy, he becomes enamored with reading; he is particularly fond of Kierkegaard, Welhaven, Wergeland, and Voltaire. This inspires him to start writing himself and eventually move to Kristiania to try his hand at theater work.

Once in Kristiania, Henrik attends university preparation classes and works as a journalist to make ends meet. He quickly gives up on both, focusing instead on his writing. Though he does manage to publish some of his early works, they can hardly be called successful. Still, he is able to get a position at a newly opened theater in Bergen and even receives a scholarship to study drama in Copenhagen and Dresden. After this, he commits to becoming a playwright and publishes four dramas in quick succession while working at the Bergen theater. He also meets and marries Suzannah Thoresen, who was herself a writer and translator. They move back to Kristiania in 1857 and have their first and only child, a son, in 1859.

Four short years later, the family moves again when Henrik receives an academic stipend. They live first in Copenhagen, then Venice, and finally Rome. Disappointed by work opportunities and disillusioned by life in Norway, Henrik decides that the family will remain in this self-imposed exile even after the money runs out. In total, they will spend 27 years living first in Italy and then in Germany.

It is while living abroad that Ibsen finally breaks through as a playwright and writes the majority of his most successful works. He draws on his personal experiences and dissatisfaction, channeling them into sharp criticism of Norwegian bourgeois society. He publishes Brand in 1866, A Doll’s House in 1879, An Enemy of the People in 1882, The Wild Duck in 1884, Rosmersholm in 1886, and Hedda Gabler in 1890.

Though Ibsen’s writing, with its condemnation of contemporary society, complex characters, moral themes, and truthful depictions of ordinary life, falls firmly in the literary movement of Realism, he is no stranger to symbolism and the occasional use of supernatural elements, especially in his early works. Peer Gynt, which he publishes in 1867, is a shining example. The five-act drama in verse weaves elements of folklore and fairy tales with a deeply satirical narrative that serves as a critique of egoism, nationalism, and superficiality, which Ibsen associates with the contemporary Norwegian. He doesn’t intend for it to be staged, but his growing popularity, support from other cultural figures, and significance to the project of building a uniquely Norwegian national identity eventually awakes interest in a production at the Kristiania National Theater. For this, Ibsen has to make some edits to the text and commission music from a friend and fellow Norwegian expatriate, Edvard Grieg. The play is finally acted out for the first time in 1876.

Ibsen’s work, full of social critique, humanist and feminist ideals, rejection of religion and even statism, makes him a controversial figure. But it also brings him fame and fortune already in his lifetime. So at the age of 63 in 1891, having achieved much success both nationally and internationally, he moves back to Norway with his family. He continues writing, focusing more on introspective and psychological dramas, until he suffers a series of strokes in 1900, the consequences of which will ultimately kill him in 1906. He will be remembered as one of the most influential playwrights of his time and one of the most famous names to come out of Norway.

Edvard Hagerup Grieg is born on June 15th, 1843, in Bergen. His father is a politician and merchant who inherited a large business in the fishing industry, his mother a talented pianist and musician. He is their fourth of five children, and the second son in the family. His older brother, John, is expected to take over the family business, so Edvard is allowed the freedom to pursue the arts. Already at age 5, he starts learning to play the piano from his mother, and he is only 9 when he tries his hand, albeit unsuccessfully, at composing. When he is 15, his uncle, the famous violinist Ole Bull, discovers his musical talent and encourages him to pursue it. With the family’s full support, he enrolls in the music conservatory in Leipzig shortly thereafter. Though he struggles with discipline as he prefers to discover music himself and experiment with his own compositions, he does well when he applies himself and graduates with excellent marks.

With his education completed, he moves back to Bergen in 1862. He spends a year at home, where he also debuts as a pianist and composer. The reception in Norway is much more positive than in Germany, but his hometown doesn’t inspire him much. He moves instead to Copenhagen, the main cultural hub in Scandinavia at the time.

There, he reunites with his first cousin Nina Hagerup, a successful musician in her own right. In total, they spend a little over three years living in Copenhagen. In 1866, while traveling in Rome, Edvard meets Henrik Ibsen, and they strike up an unlikely friendship maintained largely through letters, as Edvard, unlike Henrik, prefers living in Scandinavia and is planning to return home. In 1867, he and Nina marry in Copenhagen before moving to Kristiania. Their daughter Alexandra is born in 1868, but sadly passes away from meningitis the following year.

Grieg finds success in his homeland. He loves its nature and culture, finds inspiration in its art and history. And his homeland loves him back: drawing inspiration from Norwegian nature and incorporating Norwegian folk music into his pieces makes him popular with his audiences, and his work for the National Romantic goal of establishing the Norwegian national and cultural identity means he is sought after by the elites.

In 1874, he is commissioned to write the music for Peer Gynt by his old friend, Henrik Ibsen. Though the collaboration is strained due to creative differences and delays in payment, the result is ultimately a huge success for both. But its popularity is a double-edged sword. The fame and fortune are welcome, but the hectic life on the concert scene drains Grieg and leaves him with little time to dedicate to composing. In 1880, he and Nina move to Bergen and in 1885, he buys the villa Troldhaugen outside the city, and this becomes the couple’s permanent home.

Though Grieg has been receiving an artist’s pension from the government since 1874 and achieved great success with his music, the purchase of Troldhaugen has taken a toll on the family’s economy. So starting in 1885, he performs extensively and tours all over the world, often accompanied by his wife.

But constant travel takes a toll on Grieg’s already failing health. In 1903, his lungs start giving out, and his condition declines rapidly from there. Following a prolonged illness, he dies of heart and lung failure on September 4th, 1907, at the Bergen hospital. He will be remembered as one of the best composers of his time and the most famous Norwegian composer in history.

Peer Gynt is a young man with a little too much time on his hands. He dreams of a life greater and more exciting than what his widowed mother and their small Norwegian village can provide. But dreaming is all he is willing to do: putting too much effort into achieving something does not appeal to him. So he invents stories of exaggerated adventures he wishes he had. Sometimes, he even believes these stories; those who know him, however, don’t.

He shows up uninvited at a local wedding, where he meets a young woman who goes by the name Solveig. Solveig intrigues him with her innocence, gentleness, and patience: she treats him with kindness even when others only see him as an arrogant, boastful liar. But this is not enough for Peer, who whisks the tempestuous bride away instead, an act for which he is banished from the village.

As he is wandering through the forest, Peer trips over a branch and falls, hitting his head. When he comes to, he is not alone. A green-clad woman stands before him. She seduces him into following her into the normally unseen world of trolls, where he meets her father and the king of trolls, the Old Man of Dovre. The Mountain King approves of the match between Peer and his daughter, not least because Peer lies that he is a nobleman. However, there are certain conditions. Peer must adapt to the lifestyle of trolls if he is to one day rule them: he must eat, dress, act, and see as trolls do, which requires him to irreversibly damage his eyesight. Peer is willing to adopt the majority of the troll habits, especially the adage trolls have about living selfishly for themselves. He considers his options, but the commitment to a permanent change ultimately scares him off. He runs away.

At the exit of the cave, he encounters the Great Boyg: a mysterious creature that advises him to go around obstacles in his way, rather than trying to go through them. This advice, Peer will follow for the rest of his life.

He retreats to the forest where he builds a makeshift shelter. Solveig, who has been asking after him, eventually abandons her family and joins him in the woods. Their humble but happy life is interrupted by the Green-Clad Woman, who visits them with a deformed troll child in tow, which she claims is Peer’s. Unwilling to face the possibility of fatherhood and scared into regret, Peer runs away again.

He finds his mother, who has paid off his debts, destitute and sick. He comforts her with his stories until she dies. With no friends left in the village, Peer sets out to sea. He travels the world, experiencing diverse cultures and making money from the trade of, among other things, slaves. But his penchant for exaggeration and fancy never wanes: he boasts about his wealth, pretends to be a nobleman, a prophet, a king. His lies leave him with no true friends and lead him into troubles that cause him to lose any wealth he manages to accumulate. All the while, Solveig faithfully waits for him in their hut, unaware of his misadventures.

Peer returns to Norway an old man with little but dubious stories to show for all he’s done. He is finally ready to settle down and live a regular life. But it’s too late. He is cut off by the Button-Moulder, a mysterious creature that melts down and recycles souls of those who haven’t done anything particularly good or particularly bad with their lives. Peer is forced instead to face his selfishness and lack of purpose. The only thing that comforts him is finding Solveig and begging for her forgiveness. His story ends in her arms with the Button-Moulder’s promise to return hanging over his head and his ultimate fate uncertain.