The Master Builder: Analysis of Setting
"The Master Builder: Analysis of Setting" examines the crucial role of the setting in Henrik Ibsen's play, "The Master Builder." The narrative unfolds in a nameless town, likely in the vicinity of Trondheim, Norway, with references to nearby locations such as Størdalshansen and Stranda. This geographical backdrop serves as a canvas for the protagonist, Halvard Solness, whose home reflects his complex relationship with ambition and past achievements. Key locations within the setting symbolize different temporal aspects of Solness's life: Løvstrand represents his aspirations for the future, while Lysanger embodies his past triumphs, including a pivotal moment celebrated for ten years. The interplay of these places underscores Solness's struggle with the pressures of success and the fear of being eclipsed by younger talents. Ultimately, the setting not only grounds the action in a specific locale but also enriches the themes of ambition, legacy, and existential challenge that permeate the play. As Solness attempts to fulfill a promise to the young Hilde Wangel, the physical and emotional landscapes converge, leading to a dramatic climax that resonates with the audience's understanding of ambition and mortality.
The Master Builder: Analysis of Setting
First published:Bygmester Solness, 1892
First produced: 1893 (English translation, 1893)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of work: Nineteenth century
Places Discussed
Solness home
Solness home. The town, or village, in which the home is located is not named but may be envisaged as within the vicinity of Trondheim, which lies on the west coast of Norway. Slightly northeast of Trondheim lies Størdalshansen, which could be the actual setting of the play. West of this town, on the other side of the fjord, is Stranda; and well northeast of this town on the upper part of the fjord is Levanger. Løvstrand, representing the future, is where the master builder wants to build a villa. Lysanger, the past, is the scene of triumph: There, ten years earlier, against extreme odds, he crowned with a wreath the highest point of the tower of a building he had constructed. The thirteen-year-old Hilde Wangel, who witnessed this event with transcendent pleasure, comes to the Solness home to exact from Solness the fulfillment of a promise she claims he made at that time, namely, to make her a princess and build her a castle. The promise is translated into Solness’s wreathing the tower of his newly built home. He wreathes the tower at Hilde’s insistence and to her joy but then falls to his death. The location of the home, below the mountains and below, or south of, the scene of his past triumph, comports with Solness’s situation as a relatively successful man (a master builder but not an architect) who will die attempting the impossible, that is, to repeat his triumph, rather than go on to old age while younger professionals surpass him.
Bibliography
Clurman, Harold. “Fears and flights.” In Ibsen. New York: Collier Books, 1977. A discussion of the last four plays, in which Ibsen abandons social polemics to probe his own failures as a man and an artist. Clurman points out biographical parallels in Ibsen’s life and the character of Solness.
Knight, G. Wilson. “The Ascent.” In Henrik Ibsen. New York: Grove Press, 1962. Knight describes the central symbolic action of The Master Builder as the climbing of a tower—to live one’s art. The play coalesces an external event with spiritual meaning.
Meyer, Michael. “The Master Builder.” In Ibsen: A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971. Discusses the inception and writing of the play, its reception by critics, Ibsen’s deliberate self-portrayal, and theme of an old man’s fear of and longing for youth.
Muir, Kenneth. “Ibsen.” In Last Periods of Shakespeare, Racine, Ibsen. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1961. Discusses how Ibsen’s last four plays are linked in theme; each protagonist is a genius facing conflicting claims of vocation and personal life, each is compelled to recognize his guilt, and each expresses Ibsen’s own personal conflicts.
Shaw, Bernard. “The Master Builder.” In The Quintessence of Ibsenism. New York: Hill & Wang, 1957. Shaw’s classic introduction of Ibsen remains invaluable. Shaw concludes that old gentlemen and poetic young women are apt to build castles in the air.