Love's Comedy

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Love's Comedy, by Henrik Ibsen, Translated by C. H. HerfordThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online atwww.gutenberg.orgTitle: Love's ComedyAuthor: Henrik IbsenRelease Date: June 22, 2006 [eBook #18657]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOVE'S COMEDY***E-text prepared by Douglas LevyThe Collected Works of Henrik Ibsen, Volume ILOVE'S COMEDYTranslation by C. H. HerfordINTRODUCTION*Koerlighedens Komedie was published at Christiania in 1862. The polite world—so far as such a thing existed at thetime in the Northern capital—received it with an outburst of indignation now entirely easy to understand. It has indeedfaults enough. The character-drawing is often crude, the action, though full of effective by-play, extremely slight, and thesensational climax has little relation to human nature as exhibited in Norway, or out of it, at that or any other time. But thesting lay in the unflattering veracity of the piece as a whole; in the merciless portrayal of the trivialities of persons, orclasses, high in their own esteem; in the unexampled effrontery of bringing a clergyman upon the stage. All these havelong since passed in Scandinavia, into the category of the things which people take ...