About the work
Henrik Ibsen began Pillars of Society in October 1875 and completed it in June 1877; the four-act play was published in Copenhagen on 11 October 1877, and its 6,000-copy print run sold out within seven weeks. The world premiere took place on 14 November 1877 at Odense Teater in Denmark – Ibsen’s first world premiere ever staged outside Norway – four days ahead of the opening at Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre.
Plot
Wealthy shipyard owner Consul Bernick has built his reputation over the years on concealed misdeeds and shady dealings. When his former fiancée Lona and her stepbrother Johan return from America threatening to expose his past, Bernick comes under pressure. He sends out an unseaworthy ship without knowing his own son is aboard, and at the end, pressed by Lona, publicly confesses his guilt.
Cultural significance
As Ibsen’s first prose play and the first of his so-called society dramas, the work marks the start of his realist period. It became his greatest success to date, above all on German stages, running at around 27 theatres in Germany and Austria by the end of 1878.