Peer Gynt: Analysis of Setting
"Peer Gynt" is a play by Henrik Ibsen that explores the journey of its titular character through a combination of realistic and fantastical settings. Predominantly set in the far north, likely inspired by Norway, the play features a variety of locations such as farms, towns, and woodlands. These settings serve a dual purpose: they are realistic environments where the plot unfolds, while also reflecting Peer Gynt's inner imaginative world, populated by trolls, elves, and other mythical beings. This blending of reality and fantasy symbolizes Gynt's ambitions and state of mind as he seeks success and recognition.
The narrative also ventures into North Africa, particularly Morocco and Egypt, during the fourth act. Here, Gynt encounters other powerful figures and grapples with deeper existential questions, such as the meaning of life embodied in the riddle of the Sphinx. This shift in setting underscores the epic nature of Gynt's journey and highlights the absurdity of his grand aspirations, culminating in a dramatic confrontation with his own identity and desires. Overall, the settings in "Peer Gynt" play a critical role in illuminating the protagonist's quest and the themes of personal ambition and self-discovery.
Peer Gynt: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1867 (English translation, 1892)
First produced: 1876
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Satire
Time of work: Mid-nineteenth century
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*North Country
*North Country. Four of the five acts of the play are set in various locations in the far north, presumably Norway and surrounding regions. Ibsen is intentionally vague about setting, however, in order to suggest the fairy-tale quality of his drama. Farms, towns, and woodlands serve a dual purpose. They are realistic locations in which much of the action takes place, but they are simultaneously places where Peer Gynt’s imaginative life is realized. Trolls, elves, and other fantastic creatures populate these regions. Thus, setting comes to symbolize the state of mind of the hero as he strives to become successful, respected, and powerful.
*North Africa
*North Africa. The fourth act of Peer Gynt is set principally in Morocco and Egypt, where the hero’s wanderings take him and give him opportunity to interact with other tycoons and attempt to solve the modern riddle of the Sphinx on the meaning of life. Gynt’s astute answer to that riddle lands him in a Cairo madhouse. Through this radical shift in locale, Ibsen further suggests the epic nature of his play, emphasizing the foolish dreams of his hero to become emperor of the world.
Bibliography
Fjelde, Rolf. “Peer Gynt, Naturalism, and the Dissolving Self.” The Drama Review 13, no. 2 (Winter, 1968): 28-43. Explores a rhetorical perspective on Peer’s identity, concluding that Peer is an example of the uncentered self who can achieve wholeness only through a relationship with others.
Groddeck, Georg. “Peer Gynt.” In Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Rolf Fjelde. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965. A psychoanalytical exploration of Peer Gynt, this book chapter emphasizes Peer’s relationships to the women in his life.
Johnston, Brian. To the Third Empire: Ibsen’s Early Drama. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980. A detailed and insightful survey of Ibsen’s early dramatic production, the volume includes a major section devoted to Peer Gynt. Points out that the drama, which has a moral purpose, owes its appeal to the same playful strategies for dealing with reality that Ibsen argues against.
McFarlane, James. Ibsen and Meaning: Studies, Essays and Prefaces, 1953-87. Norwich, England: Norvik Press, 1989. In a major contribution to Ibsen criticism, his play Brand (1866) is compared to and contrasted with Peer Gynt. Unlike the protagonist of Brand, says McFarlane, Peer Gynt is a man who lives entirely in his illusions.
Shapiro, Bruce G. Divine Madness and the Absurd Paradox: Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” and the Philosophy of Kierkegaard. Westview, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990. An in-depth discussion of the relationship between the character of Peer Gynt and Kierkegaardian philosophy, particularly his theory of the contrast between the aesthetic and the ethical spheres of existence.