Three Comedies | Page 3

in 1874 and En Fallit

(A Bankruptcy) in 1875. The latter especially was hailed as the earliest
raising of the veil upon Norwegian domestic life, and as a remarkable
effort in the detection of drama in the commonplace. Before he wrote
these, Björnson had again been for some years out of Norway; and, as
in the case of Ibsen, who began the writing of his "social dramas" when
in voluntary exile, absence seemed to enable him to observe the
familiar from a new standpoint and in the proper perspective.
After his first successes in this line, when his plays (and his poems and
tales to an equal extent) had made him popular and honoured among
his own people, Björnson settled at Aulestad, which remained his home
for the rest of his life. He also became a doughty controversialist in
social and religious matters, and the first outcome of this phase was his
play Leonarda (the second in this volume), which was first performed
in 1879, to be followed by Det ny System (The New System) later in
the same year. These works aroused keen controversy, but were not
such popular stage successes as his earlier plays. Moreover, about this
time, on his return from a visit to America, he plunged into the vortex
of political controversy as an aggressive radical. He was a vigorous and
very persuasive orator; and in that capacity, as well as in that of writer
of political articles and essays, was an uncompromising foe to the
opportunist theories which he held to be degrading the public life of his
country. The opposition he aroused by his fearless championship of
whatever he considered a rightful cause was so bitter that he was
eventually obliged to retire from Norway for two or three years. So
much did this temporarily affect his literary reputation at home, that
when, in 1883, he had written En Hanske (A Gauntlet--the third play
here translated) he found at first considerable difficulty in getting it
performed. Later, however, he became a political hero to a large section
of his compatriots, and by degrees won back fully the place he had
occupied in their hearts. He enthusiastically espoused the cause of the
projected separation from Sweden, though when that matter came to a
crisis he exercised an invaluable influence on the side of moderation.
For the remainder of his life he continued to be prolific in literary
production, with an ever increasing renown amongst European men of
letters, and an ever deepening personal hold upon the affections of his

fellow-countrymen. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel prize for
literature. During his later years he, like Ibsen, was a determined
opponent of the movement to replace the Dano-Norwegian language,
which had hitherto been the literary vehicle of Norwegian writers, by
the "Bonde-Maal"--or "Ny Norsk" ("New Norwegian"), as it has lately
been termed. This is an artificial hybrid composed from the Norwegian
peasant dialects, by the use of which certain misguided patriots were
(and unfortunately still are) anxious to dissociate their literature from
that of Denmark. Björnson, and with him most of the soberer spirits
amongst Norwegian writers, had realised that the door which had so
long shut out Norway from the literature of Europe must be, as he put it,
opened from the inside; and he rightly considered that the ill-judged
"Bonde-Maal" movement could only have the result of wedging the
door more tightly shut.
He died, in April 1910, in Paris, where for some years he had always
spent his winters, and was buried at home with every mark of honour
and regret, a Norwegian warship having been sent to convey his
remains back to his own land.
He was a man of very lovable personality and of the kindest heart;
easily moved by any tale of oppression or injustice, and of wide-armed
(albeit sometimes in judicious) generosity; more apt, in the affairs of
everyday life, to be governed by his heart than by his head, and as
simple as a child in many matters. His wife was an ideal helpmate to
him, and their family life very happy.
The Newly-Married Couple (1865) offers a considerable contrast to the
other two plays here presented. It belongs to the school of Scribe and
the "soliloquy," and the author avails himself of the recognised
dramatic conventions of the day. At the same time, though the
characters may be conventional in type, they are, thanks to Björnson's
sense of humour, alive; and the theme of the estrangement and
reconciliation of the "newly-married couple" is treated with delicacy
and charm. It is true that it is almost unbelievable that the hero could be
so stupid as to allow the "confidante" to accompany his young wife
when he at last succeeds in wresting her from her parents' jealous

clutches; but, on the