Chapter 24 - Biographies

Summary

Throughout his life, Ibsen managed his career in a very advantageous way with help from a wide range of friends, colleagues and institutions. That contributed to his outstanding success, both artistic and financial. Ibsen biographies, however, have preferred to propagate a myth about the poor, unsuccessful and deeply misunderstood artist and his struggle to get ahead in life despite all the resistance he encountered. They have argued that it was only when he went into ‘exile’ in Italy and Germany that his artistic abilities were unleashed, and that it was outside Scandinavia that he eventually attained success and was recognized as the great creator of modern tragedy for ordinary people. The chapter addresses some of the most important critical and scholarly biographers such as Henrik Jæger, Edmund Gosse, Gerhard Gran, Halvdan Koht, Michael Meyer, Robert Fergusson and Ivo de Figueiredo. It highlights how they have portrayed Ibsen’s childhood, his upbringing, education, career, economy and rising success.