2 May - The Master Builder

In May we continue our perusal of the works of Ibsen!  This month, The Master Builder.

But, before that, two things.

Farewell to Dupe!

It is always sad when one of our group leaves, but we wish Dupe much happiness as she returns home.

Cake!

And for those of you who enjoyed the Vegan Chocolate Cake, which was amazingly easy to make, here's the link (and you may well be eating it again as it's going to be my stand-by cake from now on!):  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/09/anna-jones-chocolate-cake-recipes

The Master Builder

Halvard Solness is a middle-aged master builder of a small town in Norway who has become a successful architect of some distinction and local reputation. One day while having a visit from his friend Doctor Herdal, Solness is visited by Hilda Wangel, a young woman of 23, whom Doctor Herdal recognizes from a recent trip that he had taken. The doctor leaves, Solness is alone with Hilda, and she reminds him that they are not strangers – they have previously met in her home town 10 years ago when she was 13 years old. When Solness does not respond immediately, she reminds him that at one point during their encounter he had made advances to her, had offered her a romantic interlude, and promised her “a kingdom”, all of which she believed. He denies this. She gradually convinces him, however, that she can assist him with his household duties, and so he takes her into his home.

For me this is not a 'comfortable' play, and it is difficult to sympathise with any of the characters: so not too unlike our April play!  We must be due something light soon!

Characters

• Halvard Solness, master builder

• Aline Solness, his wife

• Doctor Herdal, physician

• Knut Brovik, formerly an architect, now in Solness’s employment

• Ragnar Brovik, Knut Brovik’s son, a draftsman

• Kaja Fosli, a book-keeper

• Hilda Wangel, a character introduced earlier, in Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea (where she is the teenage daughter of a lighthouse keeper who remarries after the death of his second wife: a previous lover of the new wife returns to claim her and she has to choose between her husband or her former lover – she decides to stay with her husband).