Henrik Ibsen was well aware of the tragedy in the life of a fellow-Norwegian writer, Laura Smith Petersen, who had written a sequel to his play
Brand(
Brand’s Daugthers, 1868) and visited him in the summer of 1871. She then married a Danish schoolmaster, Victor Kieler, who contracted tuberculosis and she had had not only been compelled to borrow a large sum of money to take him to Italy but, having failed to repay the debt, had resorted to forging a cheque. When this was discovered, her husband told her she was not fit to be in charge of their children. She suffered a nervous breakdown; her husband had her committed to a mental asylum and sought legal separation and control of their children (Meyer 2: 250-2). Ibsen immortalized Laura as Nora Helmer in his path-breaking play
Et dukkhejem…
4230 words
Citation: Kar Barua, Sudeshna. "Et dukkehjem". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 October 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5286, accessed 24 November 2024.]
