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junggi's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ez a történet kompaktabb volt, mint a vadkacsa, de hasonló élményt nyújtott, úgyhogy ez jobban tetszett. biztosan olvasok még Ibsentől
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
So the original title (in Norwegian) is "Bygmester Solness," i.e., bygg (building) + mester (master), and "Solness" is the eponymous protagonist's surname. I have no idea why the English translation changed the title; it's one of my pet peeves, when a translation changes something as crucial as the title of a work. Not all translations of the play change the title, although most do to at least some extent: the translation from Norwegian to French changed the title to "Solness le Constructeur," which must be a bit of a blow to poor Mr. Solness's ego, but then again, the French are also quite difficult to please. (Case in point: yours truly.) Anyway, the play itself was fine.
eely225's review against another edition
4.0
Big ideas in a little play. The characters seem to represent more than they know. Discussions of fate, trolls, will, youth, love, and everything else seem to have a broader application than the story itself. So most of how you read this play has to do with what you think those words mean and whether you find Solness relatable or reprehensible.
opal360's review against another edition
5.0
*The translation I read was from this edition: [b:Four Major Plays: A Doll's House / Ghosts / Hedda Gabler / The Master Builder|80521|Four Major Plays A Doll's House / Ghosts / Hedda Gabler / The Master Builder|Henrik Ibsen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924485s/80521.jpg|3058500]
lektorstrikk's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
msand3's review against another edition
4.0
The Master Builder is a drama about a man trapped between duty and desire, as symbolized by his wife and Hilda, respectively. But he is also trapped between the dreams of his past as a young man and his reality in the present. He stifles the success of his apprentice due to his ego's inability to grapple with his own failings. When Hilda arrives, promising to deliver the "castles in the air" he desires--success, youthful vitality, strength to climb the tower (metaphorically, but also literally), and the possibility of children (either with Hilda, or represented by Hilda herself as his "princess")--his fantasy overwhelms reality, leading to his inevitable downfall.
As with just about every other Ibsen drama, I feel a strong sense of connection to the protagonist. Ibsen dramatizes the psychological struggle of coming to terms with one's life in middle age, when we realize that our lives will never fulfill the potential we possessed (or imagined we possessed) in youth.
And how do we escape? Do we simply repress the failure, like the builder's wife does when the house burns down and everything goes to hell? Do we never again even try to climb up to the top, displacing our aggression onto others, as the builder does with Ragnar and Kaja? Or do we foolishly try to construct our castles in the air? Ibsen doesn't offer any answers because we can't really escape the existential crisis of a conflicted psyche. We will either keep climbing or fall, no matter which path we take.
As with just about every other Ibsen drama, I feel a strong sense of connection to the protagonist. Ibsen dramatizes the psychological struggle of coming to terms with one's life in middle age, when we realize that our lives will never fulfill the potential we possessed (or imagined we possessed) in youth.
And how do we escape? Do we simply repress the failure, like the builder's wife does when the house burns down and everything goes to hell? Do we never again even try to climb up to the top, displacing our aggression onto others, as the builder does with Ragnar and Kaja? Or do we foolishly try to construct our castles in the air? Ibsen doesn't offer any answers because we can't really escape the existential crisis of a conflicted psyche. We will either keep climbing or fall, no matter which path we take.