Ibsen and Nietzsche: A Reading of The Master Builder
- Ibsen and Nietzsche:A Reading of The Master Builder
Michael Hinden: Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin. His field is modern drama and he has published articles on the plays of E. A. Robinson and on Poe.
Notes
1. G. Brandes, Friedrich Nietzsche, London, 1914, p. 95.
2. See Kaufmann's extended note to section 86 of his edition of Nietzsche's The Will to Power, New York, 1967, pp. 52-54.
3. Nietzsche's comments on Ibsen similarly are scanty and indicate but a shallow acquaintance with his works. Ibsen is mentioned briefly only three times in Nietzsche's writings: in sections 86 and 747 of The Will to Power, and in Part III, section 5 of Ecce Homo. In these short, off-hand remarks, Nietzsche comments unfavorably on Ibsen's moral idealism, liberalism, and his concept of the "emancipated woman," although he mentions no specific works. Indeed, to Kaufmann, "It seems plain that Nietzsche did not know most of Ibsen's plays." (Walter Kaufmann, trans. Ecce Homo, New York, 1967, III, 5, n. p. 267.)
4. Twilight of the Idols in The Portable Nietzsche, trans. Walter Kaufmann, New York, 1954, p. 524.
5. Murray Krieger, "Tragedy and the Tragic Vision," Tragedy: Vision and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan, New York, 1965, pp. 19-29, pp. 30-31.
6. As a rule the Greek hero, in contrast to his modern counterpart, does not appear to act in conscious rebellion against the values of his ethos: more often he betrays those sanctioned communal values which it is his will to consecrate. (The most prominent exception to this rule would appear to be Prometheus; yet his rebellion is directed against Zeus in behalf of the community. Similarly, Antigone upholds communal values although she acts in rebellion against Creon.) But I would suggest that this general pattern holds true for the majority of Sophocles' heroes (Ajax, Heracles, Deianira, Electra, Oedipus) and for a large proportion of Euripides' (Phaedra, Hippolytus, Theseus, Heracles, Pentheus, Orestes and Electra). As for Aeschylus, Pelasgus in The Suppliants conscientiously considers what is best for the community, but is torn between conflicting choices. Agamemnon professes the same goal, but hybris distorts his vision. So, too, Xerxes in The Persians. Orestes, the most fully developed of Aeschylus' heroes, similarly is no rebel, but in attempting to enact communal mandates he uncovers contradictions within the value system itself; and this necessitates a revaluation of the ethical framework as a whole.
7. Henrik Ibsen, The Master Builder, trans. Michael Meyer, Garden City, New York, 1960, II, p. 176. All subsequent references to the play are drawn from this edition and will be cited parenthetically in the text.
8. On the Genealogy of Morals, trans. Walter Kaufmann, New York, 1967, II, 23, p. 93.
9. Ibid., III, 14, p. 121.
10. Ibid., II, 19, p. 89.
11. Ibid., II, 22, p. 92.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid., II, 2, p. 58.
14. The Birth of Tragedy, trans. Walter Kaufmann, New York, 1967, 12, p. 82.
15. The Will to Power, pp. 52-53.
