The collected works of Henrik Ibsen Vol. 10 (of 11)

In Short

This tenth volume of Henrik Ibsen’s collected works brings together two of his late masterpiece plays, Hedda Gabler and The Master Builder, edited and introduced by William Archer. In the first, a brilliant, bored general’s daughter turns her personal frustration into a quiet reign of manipulation over the men around her, pushing them toward tragic ends. In the second, an aging, obsessed architect clings desperately to his success, driven to self-destruction by a bold young woman who demands he fulfill a forgotten promise. Together, they form an enduring portrait of human ambition, psychological control, and tragic hubris.

The Story

The volume presents two distinct narrative arcs that examine the destructive nature of human desire and the terror of losing control.

In Hedda Gabler, the titular protagonist returns from a long, tedious honeymoon with her academically minded husband, George Tesman. Bored by her marriage, contemptuous of Tesman’s respectable family, and terrified of social scandal, Hedda feels trapped in the suburban villa Tesman bought to please her. Her quiet boredom turns dangerous when her former intimate companion, the brilliant but unstable scholar Eilert Lövborg, reappears in town. Lövborg has reformed his drunken ways with the help of the gentle Thea Elvsted and written a revolutionary manuscript that threatens Tesman’s academic career.

Driven by jealousy of Thea’s influence over Lövborg and a desperate craving for power over another human soul, Hedda begins to orchestrate Lövborg’s ruin. When Lövborg loses his irreplaceable manuscript during a night of drinking, Tesman recovers it. Hedda hides the pages from her husband and secretly burns them in her stove, telling Lövborg that his work is gone forever. She hands him one of her late father’s pistols, encouraging him to end his life "beautifully." However, Lövborg’s death in a scandalous brothel is sordid rather than poetic. The sinister Judge Brack recognizes Hedda’s pistol and uses the secret to blackmail her into becoming his mistress. Unwilling to live as a slave to Brack’s will or endure the public scandal, Hedda retreats to her inner room and shoots herself in the temple.

In The Master Builder, the aging architect Halvard Solness lives in fear of being supplanted by the younger generation, particularly his talented employee Ragnar Brovik. Solness maintains a tight grip on his business and keeps his young office clerk, Kaia Fosli, emotionally attached to him to ensure Ragnar stays under his control. Solness’s domestic life is equally bleak, haunted by a past house fire that killed his infant twin sons and destroyed his wife Aline’s emotional vitality.

Solness’s life shifts dramatically when Hilda Wangel, a vibrant young woman from his past, arrives at his doorstep. Ten years earlier, after Solness had climbed to the top of a local church tower to attach a wreath, he had playfully promised the young Hilda that he would return to make her his "princess" and build her a kingdom. Hilda demands that he fulfill his promise by building her a "castle in the air." Driven by her intoxicating presence, Solness breaks his hold over Kaia and Ragnar, granting the young man his independence. As the community gathers to celebrate Solness’s newly constructed home, Hilda pushes the architect, who secretly suffers from severe vertigo, to climb the high tower himself and hang the ceremonial wreath at the peak. Solness scales the heights, but as Hilda waves her shawl in triumph below, he loses his footing and falls to his death.

How It Unfolds

A return without joy Hedda Tesman arrives at her new home exhausted by her honeymoon, immediately clashing with her husband's well-meaning aunt and making no secret of her deep boredom with her domestic life.

The shadow of the past The arrival of Mrs. Elvsted and the news of Eilert Lövborg’s return disrupt Hedda’s home, rekindling old jealousies and exposing Hedda’s secret past intimacy with the brilliant, unstable scholar.

The temptation of control Hedda maneuvers Lövborg into breaking his vow of sobriety and going to Judge Brack’s wild party, setting off a chain of events that leads to Lövborg losing his masterwork manuscript.

The fatal gift After secretly burning Lövborg's manuscript, Hedda hands him a loaded pistol, urging him to end his life with beauty and courage to satisfy her ideal of tragic grandeur.

The trap closes When Lövborg dies ignominiously and Judge Brack reveals he can link Hedda to the weapon, she realizes she is in his power; refusing to live under his control, she shoots herself.

The architect’s terror Halvard Solness dominates his young assistants out of fear that the rising generation will destroy him, living in a cold, childless home haunted by the memory of a devastating fire.

A voice from the mountain The arrival of Hilda Wangel breaks Solness’s routine as she reminds him of a decade-old promise to build her a kingdom, rekindling his artistic fire and appetite for danger.

The final climb Spurred by Hilda’s vision of majestic greatness, Solness conquers his terrible vertigo to hang a ceremonial wreath on his new tower, only to fall to his death before her eyes.

The People

Hedda Gabler (Hedda Tesman) wants absolute power over her own life and the lives of others, but she is constrained by her terror of social scandal and her empty marriage to George Tesman. Her coldness and need for manipulation lead her to destroy Eilert Lövborg and ultimately end her own life when Judge Brack threatens her independence.

George Tesman wants a cozy domestic life and academic recognition. He is utterly oblivious to his wife’s deep inner turmoil, remaining consumed by his research, his slippers, and his devotion to his elderly aunts.

Eilert Lövborg wants artistic recognition and personal redemption from a ruined past. He relies on Thea Elvsted’s devotion to stay sober and write, but he falls prey to Hedda's psychological traps and meets a sordid end.

Judge Brack wants to be the exclusive male friend in the Tesman household, seeking to control Hedda through his social influence and his knowledge of her secrets.

Halvard Solness wants to retain his supremacy as a master builder while running from the guilt of his tragic past and his fear of youth. Hilda Wangel’s arrival inspires him to reach for the impossible, which leads directly to his downfall.

Hilda Wangel wants romance, mystery, and absolute daring. She demands that Solness live up to the grand heroic image she formed of him a decade earlier, driving him to the top of the tower.

Aline Solness wants the lost world of her childhood and her lost children. She lives a shadow life of duty, crippled by grief over the house fire that destroyed her family's peace.

In Its Own Voice

"I have such a dread of scandal."

Hedda explains to Lövborg why she never used her pistol on him years ago, revealing the paralyzing fear of public opinion that governs her actions.

"Well, my dear Mrs. Hedda, how could you do such a thing? To that excellent old lady, too!"

Judge Brack chides Hedda after she deliberately pretends to mistake Aunt Julia's new bonnet for the servant's cap, exposing her cruel impulse to lash out at the mundane world.

"Have you never noticed, Hilda, how the impossible—how it seems to beckon and cry aloud to one?"

Solness speaks to Hilda about the tragic lure of setting unreachable goals, capturing the obsession that ultimately drives his fatal climb.

What It's Really About

These plays explore the destructive tension between artistic creation, personal freedom, and societal oppression. In Hedda Gabler, the focus centers on a woman granted no constructive outlet for her intelligence and energy, leading her to express power by manipulating others. Hedda's terror of public embarrassment forces her into an internal cage, turning her creative instincts toward destruction.

In The Master Builder, the play probes the burden of success and the toll it takes on human happiness. Solness realizes that his achievements as an architect were bought with his wife’s grief and his own peace of mind. Both plays examine the danger of romanticizing destruction, whether it is Hedda’s yearning for a "beautiful death" or Hilda’s desire to see her master builder stand on the highest spire.

Why Read It Today

This volume presents late-stage Ibsen at the height of his dramatic precision, far removed from simple social satire or moralizing. Readers who enjoy psychological character studies will find these plays gripping. Ibsen dissects complex human motivations—boredom, envy, fear of aging, and the desperate hunger for control—with startling efficiency. The prose flows rapidly, relying heavily on tight dialogue where every line carries weight.

The primary difficulty for modern readers lies in the rigid Victorian decorum that frames the characters' choices. Hedda's extreme fear of scandal or the social boundaries governing married women may feel historical, yet her fundamental alienation remains recognizable. Similarly, Solness's struggle with guilt and his anxiety over the next generation speak directly to modern fears of obsolescence. What stays with you long after reading is the haunting clarity with which Ibsen exposes his characters' flaws. They are flawed, self-destructive, and intensely human figures whose struggles feel as immediate today as when they first stepped onto the stage.

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