New-York tribune., 1908-03-11
Literary NetOs and Criticism.

world" that he belonged "to the small class of
men whose intelligence lifts them above the
narrowness of local conditions" that he was
dowed with the instinct of regarding ideas from
a central point" We would not twist the BIZ
ographer's words to suit a meaning of own.
but remark that Mr. Gosse uncon-
sciousiy provides the best commentary on him
self in this saying: 1t must always be borne
in mind that, although Ibsen's appeal is to the
whole world. yet it is to Norway that
he belongs. and ii is al home that he is best
understood" The reason is plain. His appeal
is not universal His inspiration was local, so
were the themes of his best plays and so! in
the long run. viii be his fame 1t is rather
amusing that Mr.. Gosse should make so little Of
the very thing that Is most characteristic OF
his hero, Bewailing the fate that apprenticed
Ibsen. just before his sixteenth birthday, to an
apothecary IN the dull little coast town or
Grfrnstad, he compassionateIy sketches the mar
veIous boy "eooped up here among ointment
boxes pills and plasters" II seems to him
depIorable thing that here. then, for six Inter
r,iuable wears one Of the acutest brains in
Furone had TO interest itself in fraying ipe-
cacuanha and mixing black drafts behind an
apothecary's counter" Why not? The ques-
ton might seem harsh if lit were not that It
points to the very spirit and texture Of Ibsen's
work II is in the KEY of Grimstad that his
comedies are written. and that Is their 1ustfnca-
ton for Norway. as il is the source OF thelr
inconsrt1ity and inenectiveness as contributions
to "vorld-Ifterature" Some of Mr- Gosses per-
ora1 notes bring out more vividly than perhaps
was intended the profoundly nlunoahe cIai
acter of the man. For example, he says
with his frtfeth year he presents himself aenb a. nb
fold re that at this time the veiveteen seS IN
symbol dear DELAYS OF ar se was the chest
Ibsen was now beginning rather shgiy; iy seIf IN
sraIy; 70 rait for ready coin from his acute i'm
patence to set every rixdollar breedn;g ;s he soS
sec1aces his Dundreary whskers his S sroaaGlb tn
bosom end his quick saeea2 M s'eP positive and
with nonsense ABOUT hHii
Arai, with all the r1aTvete in the world MT
Cozse puts his finger on the spot Only II may
he added that Ibsen did not wait until MS NJ
tieth year to realize. in his literary chaFa''ei'
the Man Of Business" To his Fartlsahs II Is
useless to argue that he was born one ana lilst
the sacred fire of the poet never touched iiiiii-
To Mr. Archer for example, 1bsen Is the pure
r,oet the creator OF men ana WOMEN, 'iio
searcher of hearts. the weaver OF strange "eps
of destiny" and there is an end to the mater
NJ Gosee is SO convinced of the pure gold of
hin, and one classic after another. There is
something of Shakespeare" he says IN 'ohn
Gabriel Borkman.' something of Molie1e IN
Ghosts, something of Goethe in Peer Gynt,
At one moment he Hkens Ibsen to Pope, and al
another he brackets his name with that of Lam
dor observing that there was a side OF char-
acter too on which the young Norwegian re-
senbled that fighting man Of genius s'-sureiy
a bout as strange a parallel as was ever con-
ceived by one pretending to the sens1tlVehess
of q man of letters.
For the moment the Ibsen propaganda may
seem to flourish The pleas of his critics are not
tnfreduently drowned in the clamor raised by
those to whom the evidence Of a passing vogue
is conclusive 4 successful run is accepted as
somehow automatically comforting brevet Of
and appeal TO reason is met
with a reference TO the box office returns. FROM
the discovery of Ibsen's expertness in stage
craft it is easy for his followers to pass to the
superstition that he invented the well made
play. What has become of the enthusiasm for
the technicians of the French theatre about
whom we used to hear much? Mr. Gosse, in
q footnote. records that 1T is said that La
Route de Thebes' which Dumas had begun
u hen he died was TO have been deliberate at
tack on the methods and influence OF Ibsen.' 1t
is open minded in Mr.. Gosse TO thus make plain
the fact that the Norwegfans title TO supremacy
has been questioned not only by the Ignorant
reactiOnary OF the Ibsenite's imagination, but
by a dramatist himself experienced in the con-
coction OF problem plays, and. into the bargain,
Il brilliant master of his craft "Ibsen, on his
part" continues the footnote. "loathed Dumas"
Is this loathing shared by all of our modern
students Of the drama? Are all the playwrights
in the universe sitting at the feet of the Scan
dinavian oracle?
His disciples would have it and. as we
have said from the noise they make the un
itiated might sometimes be inclined to believe
them Sooner or later, however, their fallacy
will be exposed Meanwhile nothing is to be
welcomed more than the publication of just such
TO the subject as have been made
hv Mr. Archer in his admirable edition of the
-,oxs and bv Mr. Gosse in his monograph
N-ai.he- writer is to be chosen for guidance, but
each aids the reader in coming to conclusion
for himself. The plays and the biography, dis
read give the best answer TO all
+ho+ SC said in unreasonable commendation OF
-, Ae they are studied the truth Will filter
.--o,,qh everywhere, and we shall see what nap
-,,r r.ben IN use Matthew Arnold's figure, the
critic stands apart to let humanity oee'u'