Among the masterpieces of world literature, this early verse drama by
the celebrated Norwegian playwright humorously yet profoundly explores
the virtues, vices, and follies common to all humanity -- as represented
in the person of Peer Gynt, a charming but irresponsible young peasant.
Based on Norwegian folklore and Ibsen's own imaginative inventions, the
play relates the roguish life of the world-wandering Peer, who finds
wealth and fame -- but never happiness -- although he is redeemed by
love in the end.
As the play opens the young farmer attends a wedding and meets Solveig,
the woman who is eventually to be his salvation. However, the rascally
Peer then kidnaps the bride and later abandons her in the wilderness.
This dismal performance is followed by a string of adventures (many of
which do not reflect well on Peer) in many lands. After these
soul-chilling exploits, an old and embittered Peer returns to Norway,
eventually finding solace in the arms of the faithful Solveig.
Like other early Ibsen plays, such as Brand (1865) and Emperor and
Galilean (1873), the work is imbued with poetic mysticism and
romanticism, and in Peer we find a rebellious central character in
search of an ultimate truth that always seems just out of reach. In this
sense Peer can be seen as an alter ego of Ibsen himself, whose lifelong
search for artistic and moral certainties resulted in the great later
plays (Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, An Enemy of the People, etc.) upon
which his reputation chiefly rests. This rich, poetic version of Peer
Gynt is considered the standard translation.
