4 Paid H. Grummann 



for his profession, but does not work on the real problems of 

 architecture after he has become established; he realizes that he 

 has not really deserved his success, therefore accounts for it to 

 himself on the personal ground — he feels that he has hypnotic, 

 supernatural power, that he can accomplish things by willing 

 them; his feeling of guilt is extended to events for which he is 

 not responsible and gives rise to the " sickly conscience " ; the 

 feeling that he does not deserve his success makes him afraid to 

 build churches, for the highest ideal he substitutes an inferior 

 one, but glosses over his act, that is, he hypnotizes himself into 

 believing that the building of homes is better than the building 

 of temples ; so definite does this feeling of guilt become that he 

 fears youth and experiences a physical reaction every time a 

 knock is heard at the door; he sells himself for a business chance 

 and although he is conscious of his guilt, he keeps on sacrificing 

 his wife and himself to the demon of success ; with growing age 

 the old ideals again make themselves felt, but he cannot rise to 

 church building; he constructs a hybrid form — a dwelling with a 

 tower — an architectural monstrosity. 



A figure conceived thus is neither realistic nor probable, but 

 the moment we look upon Solnesz as a type the exaggerations 

 become as natural as they would be in an impressionistic picture 

 or a high grade caricature. These types are then set over against 

 each other as foils. So in Solnesz and Ragnar Brovik, Rubek 

 and Ulfheim, Hedda Gabler and Mrs. Elvsted, Tesman and Lov- 

 borg, Ella Rentheim and Mrs. Borkmann, etc. etc. 



On the whole, the interpreters of Ibsen have erred in looking 

 too closely at details without reference to the basic idea of the 

 play as a whole. " Sie sehen den Wald vor den Baumen nicht." 



The central thought of The Master Builder might be outlined 

 in a few words as follows : A man who forsakes his highest ideals 

 and attempts to find success by unworthy means will come to 

 grief ; he will again be confronted by his former ideals and these 

 ideals will drive him to ruin. This central thought of The Master 

 Builder continued to engage the attention of Ibsen, for we see it 

 reappear in When We Dead Azvaken. Before the last play was 

 written Hauptmann's Sunken Bell had appeared. 



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