Rosmersholm
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Rosmersholm is a play that was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1886. It weaves the tale of a wealthy aristocrat and former clergyman named Johannes Rosmer, who attempts to free himself of what he sees as obsolete societal conventions, in order to locate an ideal of freedom. His ally in this endeavour, his dear friend Rebekka West, desires to help him do this, however they are thrown off their intended course by Rosmer's brother in law Professor Kroll. A strong theme in the play is the inability of the characters to deal with their past, avoiding it rather than constructively working through it, and this is ultimately what leads to the great tragedy at the conclusion of the play. Also, it should be noted that at the time of the play's production, Rosmersholm was seen as a scathing critique of what would be considered the "social norms" of the time period.
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[edit] List of Characters
- Johannes Rosmer, a former clergyman and owner of Rosmersholm
- Rebekka West, a resident at Rosmersholm"
- Professor Kroll, Rosmer's brother-in-law
- Ulrik Brendel
- Peder Mortensgaard
- Mrs. Helseth, housekeeper at Rosmersholm
[edit] Plot Details
Rosmer is a highly respected member of the society where he resides, and he intends to use this to his advantage and publicly show his support for the new government and its reformatory if not revolutionary agenda. However, when Rosmer announces this to his friend and brother-in-law Professor Kroll, Kroll becomes enraged at his close friend's conversion to what he sees as the immoral enemy. Kroll then begins an attempt to sabotage Rosmer's plans to oppose the dogmatic principles of old-fashioned morality, and so he confronts him, notably attacking his relationship with Miss West. What ensues is that Rosmer becomes consumed by his guilt, believing he caused his deceased wife's suicide. He attempts to erase the guilt by erasing the memory of his wife and proposing to Rebekka, in order to clear his conscience in some deranged manner. However, Miss West rejects him outright and begins to feel guilty herself after Kroll accuses her of using Rosmer as a tool to work on her own agenda in the household. She then admits that it was she who drove Mrs. Rosmer to deeper depths of insanity, and in a way, even encouraged her suicide; all because she was in love with Rosmer. However, because of her past she cannot presently accept Rosmer's marriage proposal.
This leads to an ultimate breakdown in the play where neither Rosmer nor Miss West can deal with their past crimes, and they can no longer trust each other or even themselves. Rosmer then asks Miss West to prove her devotion to him by committing suicide the same way his former wife did by jumping off the mill-race. Upon her agreement to do so, Rosmer wishes to join her, as he is still in love with Miss West, though he cannot conceive of a positive way to confirm his feelings. The play concludes with both characters jumping off the mill-race, and the maid Mrs. Helseth screaming in terror, stating that the haunting memory of Mrs. Rosmer is what killed them.
[edit] Ulrik Brendel
Ulrik Brendel is a rather obscure character that visits Rosmersholm on two occasions during the play, and offers a little bit of insight into the development of the plot. Upon his first visit, he claims to be full of idealism, and to be on his way to the town to spread his word to others. This occurs when Rosmer and Miss West are in their prime idealistic state and are uncorrupted by Professor Kroll's influence. However, upon Brendel's return near the end of the play, he informs the household that all of his work has been a waste and he achieved nothing on his journey. This is at the climax of the play when both Rosmer and Miss West are shattered by the revelations recently brought to light. Thus, Brendel can be taken to represent the naive idealism of both Rosmer and Miss West, which seemed full of promise at the beginning of the play, but was destroyed by its conclusion.
[edit] Imagery
The central image of the play is the White Horse of Rosmersholm. The white horse is seen or rumoured to be seen by the characters of the play after the suicide of Mrs. Rosmer. The white horse symbolizes the past that revolves around Rosmer's dead wife, and haunts the main characters. The fact that it is the white horse that kills them both shows their incapability to deal with the memories that haunt them. The symbolism of the white horse is similar to the symbolistic ghosts that the character Mrs. Alving refers to in Ibsen's 1881 tragedy Ghosts.
