361:, which is dangerously unseaworthy. He orders his yard foreman to finish the work by the next day, even if it means sending the ship and its crew to certain death because he wants Tønnesen to die on board. That way he will be free of any danger in the future. Things do not work out like that. Tønnesen runs off with Dina on board another ship which is safe, leaving word that he will be back. And Bernick's young son stows away on the
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353:), who once loved and was loved by Bernick. He rejected her and married his current wife for money so that he could rebuild the family business. In the years since Tønnesen left, the town has built ever greater rumours of his wickedness, helped by Bernick's studious refusal to give any indication of the truth.
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It is all set up for a tragic conclusion, but suddenly Ibsen pulls back from the brink. The yard foreman gets an attack of conscience and rows out to stop the Indian Girl from heading to sea and death; Bernick's son is brought back safely by his mother; and
Bernick addresses the community, tells them
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This mixture only needs a spark to explode and it gets one when Tønnesen falls in love with Dina Dorf, a young girl who is the daughter of the actress involved in the scandal of 15 years ago and who now lives as a charity case in the
Bernick household. He demands that Bernick tell the girl the truth.
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Suddenly his past explodes on him. Johan Tønnesen, his wife's younger brother, comes back from
America to the town he ran away from 15 years ago. At the time it was thought he had run off with money from the Bernick family business and with the urge to avoid scandal because he was having an affair
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Karsten
Bernick is the dominant businessman in a small coastal town in Norway, with interests in shipping and shipbuilding in a long-established family firm. Now he is planning his most ambitious project yet, backing a railway which will connect the town to the main line and open a fertile valley
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with an actress. But none of this was true. He left town to take the blame for
Bernick, who was the one who had actually been having the affair and was nearly caught with the actress. There was no money to take since at the time the Bernick firm had been almost bankrupt.
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Ibsen had great trouble with the writing of this play. The ending is the most criticized feature, since
Bernick is clearly guilty of attempted murder but gets off unscathed, but successfully illustrates that the rich and powerful are often selfish and corrupt.
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Bernick refuses. Tønnesen says he will go back to the US to clear up his affairs and then come back to town to marry Dina. Bernick sees his chance to get out of his mess. His yard is repairing an
American ship, the
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Bernick discovers that his plot has gone disastrously wrong on the night the people of the town have lined up to honour him for his contribution to the city.
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most of the truth and gets away with it. His wife greets the news that he only married her for money as a sign there is now hope for their marriage.
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325:, in which it was immediately well received. In December 1880 in London it became the first of any of Ibsen's plays to be performed in
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Ibsen first planned a contemporary drama at the end of 1869 but did not begin writing until
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With Tønnesen comes his half-sister Lona (whom Ibsen is said to have modelled after
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The home of the
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The cover of the first edition of Pillars of Society by Henrik Ibsen
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Townsfolk and visitors, foreign sailors, steamboat passengers, etc.
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on 30 November. By this date, the play had been translated into
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in Copenhagen. The first performance in Norway was at
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283:) is an 1877 play written by Norwegian
342:which he has been secretly buying up.
30:For the films based on the play, see
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388:Olaf, their son, thirteen years old.
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32:Pillars of Society (disambiguation)
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492:"Facts about Pillars of Society"
412:Vigeland and Sandstad, tradesmen
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382:Karsten Bernick, a shipbuilder.
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630:Norma, or A Politician's Love
516:"English first performances"
567:public domain audiobook at
424:Hilda Rummel, her daughter.
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309:and on 18 November at the
202:14 November 1877
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847:The Death of Little Ibsen
836:International Ibsen Award
430:Netta Holt, her daughter.
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27:1877 Play by Henrik Ibsen
804:Centre for Ibsen Studies
656:The Vikings at Helgeland
478:Cornell University Press
406:Rørlund, a schoolmaster.
82:"The Pillars of Society"
385:Mrs. Bernick, his wife.
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696:The Pillars of Society
546:The Pillars of Society
272:The Pillars of Society
137:The Pillars of Society
870:Plays by Henrik Ibsen
831:Norwegian Ibsen Award
726:The Lady from the Sea
463:" in Modern Drama: A
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641:Lady Inger of Ostrat
311:Royal Danish Theatre
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875:Plays set in Norway
751:When We Dead Awaken
686:The League of Youth
455:Krutch, Joseph Wood
409:Rummel, a merchant.
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564:Pillars of Society
376:List of characters
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524:. Retrieved
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849:(2006 play)
775:Terje Vigen
721:Rosmersholm
433:Mrs. Lynge.
363:Indian Girl
359:Indian Girl
185:Lona Hessel
885:1877 plays
864:Categories
841:Ibsen Year
526:2013-02-08
501:2013-02-08
465:Definition
442:References
427:Mrs. Holt.
331:Quicksands
303:Copenhagen
285:playwright
223:Copenhagen
206:1877-11-14
164:Characters
154:Written by
123:March 2010
93:newspapers
824:Peer Gynt
681:Peer Gynt
520:Ibsen.net
496:Ibsen.net
461:Modernism
277:Norwegian
252:realistic
234:Norwegian
225:, Denmark
191:Dina Dorf
63:talk page
619:Catiline
569:LibriVox
469:Estimate
785:Related
480:, 1953.
467:and an
327:English
279:title:
261:Setting
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323:German
319:Bergen
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