From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rosmersholm is a play that was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1886. At the time of the play's production, Rosmersholm was seen as a scathing critique of what would be considered the "social norms" of the time period.

In this play the hero is the last of a long line of sternly moralistic landowners. Originally a Christian minister, he has lost faith but hopes to remain firm in the conviction that Christian morality can survive the collapse of its supernatural sanctions. Unfortunately he falls under the influence of Rebecca West, a "new woman" of a type much more advanced and considerable more pretentious than Nora of A Doll's House. Rebecca has abandoned not only what may be called the myth of Christianity but, unlike Rosmer, she has abandoned the whole ethical system of Christianity as well. Possibly she may be taken as Ibsen's answer to the still-disputed question of whether or not Christian ethics can be expected to survive the death of the Christian religion.^[1]

Contents 1 List of Characters 2 Plot Details 3 Ulrik Brendel 4 Imagery 5 Notes 6 External links

• Johannes Rosmer, a former clergyman and owner of Rosmersholm
• Rebecca West, a resident at Rosmersholm"
• Professor Kroll, Rosmer's brother-in-law
• Ulrik Brendel
• Peder Mortensgaard
• Mrs. Helseth, housekeeper at Rosmersholm

Rosmer is a highly respected member of the society where he resides, and he intends to use this to his advantage and publicly show his support for the new government and its reformatory if not revolutionary agenda. However, when Rosmer announces this to his friend and brother-in-law Professor Kroll, Kroll becomes enraged at his close friend's conversion to what he sees as the immoral enemy. Kroll then begins an attempt to sabotage Rosmer's plans to oppose the dogmatic principles of old-fashioned morality, and so he confronts him, notably attacking his relationship with Miss West. What ensues is that Rosmer becomes consumed by his guilt, believing he caused his deceased wife's suicide. He attempts to erase the guilt by erasing the memory of his wife and proposing to Rebecca, in order to clear his conscience in some deranged manner. However, Rebecca rejects him outright and begins to feel guilty herself after Kroll accuses her of using Rosmer as a tool to work on her own agenda in the household. She then admits that it was she who drove Mrs. Rosmer to deeper depths of insanity, and in a way, even encouraged her suicide; all because she was in love with Rosmer. However, because of her past she cannot presently accept Rosmer's marriage proposal.

This leads to an ultimate breakdown in the play where neither Rosmer nor Rebecca can deal with their past crimes, and they can no longer trust each other or even themselves. Rosmer then asks Rebecca to prove her devotion to him by committing suicide the same way his former wife did by jumping off the mill-race. Upon her agreement to do so, Rosmer wishes to join her, as he is still in love with Rebecca, though he cannot conceive of a positive way to confirm his feelings. The play concludes with both characters jumping off the mill-race, and the maid Mrs. Helseth screaming in terror, stating that the haunting memory of Mrs. Rosmer is what killed them.

Ulrik Brendel is a rather obscure character that visits Rosmersholm on two occasions during the play, and offers a little bit of insight into the development of the plot. Upon his first visit, he claims to be full of idealism, and to be on his way to the town to spread his word to others. This occurs when Rosmer and Miss West are in their prime idealistic state and are uncorrupted by Professor Kroll's influence. However, upon Brendel's return near the end of the play, he informs the household that all of his work has been a waste and he achieved nothing on his journey. This is at the climax of the play when both Rosmer and Miss West are shattered by the revelations recently brought to light. Thus, Brendel can be taken to represent the naive idealism of both Rosmer and Miss West, which seemed full of promise at the beginning of the play, but was destroyed by its conclusion.

The central image of the play is the White Horse of Rosmersholm. The white horse is seen or rumoured to be seen by the characters of the play after the suicide of Mrs. Rosmer. The white horse symbolizes the past that revolves around Rosmer's dead wife, and haunts the main characters. The fact that it is the white horse that kills them both shows their incapability to deal with the memories that haunt them. The symbolism of the white horse is similar to the symbolistic ghosts that the character Mrs. Alving refers to in Ibsen's 1881 tragedy Ghosts.

1. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. "Modernism" in Modern Drama: A Definition and an Estimate. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1953. Page 15.

• Rosmersholm, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Rosmersholma Nelinäytöksinen näytelmä, available at Project Gutenberg. (Finnish)

Henrik Ibsen

Works: (1850) Catiline (Catilina) | (1850) The Burial Mound (Kjæmpehøjen) | (1852) St. John's Eve (Sancthansnatten) | (1854) Lady Inger of Oestraat (Fru Inger til Østeraad) | (1855) The Feast at Solhaug (Gildet paa Solhoug) | (1856) Olaf Liljekrans (Olaf Liljekrans) | (1857) The Vikings at Helgeland (Hærmændene paa Helgeland) | (1862) Love's Comedy (Kjærlighedens Komedie) | (1863) The Pretenders (Kongs-Emnerne) | (1865) Brand (Brand) | (1867) Peer Gynt (Peer Gynt) | (1869) The League of Youth (De unges Forbund) | (1873) Emperor and Galilean (Kejser og Galilæer) | (1877) Pillars of Society (Samfundets støtter) | (1879) A Doll's House (Et dukkehjem) | (1881) Ghosts (Gengangere) | (1882) An Enemy of the People (En Folkefiende) | (1884) The Wild Duck (Vildanden) | (1886) Rosmersholm (Rosmersholm) | (1888) The Lady from the Sea (Fruen fra havet) | (1890) Hedda Gabler (Hedda Gabler) | (1892) The Master Builder (Bygmester Solness) | (1894) Little Eyolf (Lille Eyolf) | (1896) John Gabriel Borkman (John Gabriel Borkman) | (1899) When We Dead Awaken (Når vi døde vågner)