^#smrgSAHAFHedda Gabler and Other Plays

The Wild Duck

Hedda Gabler

In these three unforgettably intense plays, Henrik Ibsen explores the problems of personal and social morality that he perceived in the world around him and, in particular, the complex nature of truth. "The Pillars of the Community" (1877) depicts a corrupt shipowner's struggle to hide the sins of his past at the expense of another man's reputation, while in "The Wild Duck" (1884) an idealist, believing he must tell the truth at any cost, destroys a family by exposing the lie behind his friend's marriage. And "Hedda Gabler" (1890) portrays an unhappily married woman who is unable to break free from the conventional life she has created for herself, with tragic results for the entire family.

Known as the father of modern drama, Henrik Ibsen is considered one of the world's greatest playwrights. His ability to turn revolutionary philosophical ideas into brilliant social dramas inspired the likes of George Bernard Shaw, while his drive to manifest the truths of the human heart is mirrored in the plays of Anton Chekhov. Ibsen's genius, revealed in these four selections, lies in his startling abiliy to define his characters and their struggles, whih epitomize the inner conflicts that beset all human beings. A chilling play of manipulation and obsession, Hedda Gabler features one of the stage's most unforgettable modern heroines. A delightful early work, Peer Gynt is both a satire on the nature of man and a masterpiece of folklore and fantasy that follows the adventures of an irrepressible youth. Mysterious, lyrical, and tragic, The Master Builder symbolically dramatizes the trajectory of Ibsen's own art as well as the impossible aspirations of the soul. This Bantam Classic edition also includes Little Eyolf, a brilliantly consrtucted psychological study of paternal responsibility and the impact of a child's death on a man torn between two women.