The Lady from the Sea


The Lady from the Sea is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad Agnete og Havmanden. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's later play The Master Builder. Hilde Wangel has been portrayed twice in contemporary film, most recently in the 2014 film titled A Master Builder.
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Characters

  • Doctor Edvard Wangel
  • Ellida Wangel, his second wife
  • Bolette, his elder daughter from a previous marriage
  • Hilde, his younger daughter from a previous marriage
  • Lyngstrand, a dying would-be sculptor and friend of the Wangels
  • Arnholm, Bolette's former tutor and possible suitor and Ellida's former suitor
  • Ballestad, a painter and friend of the Wangels
  • The Stranger, the antagonist, with whom Ellida has a history

Synopsis

The central character, Ellida, is the daughter of a lighthouse-keeper, and grew up where the fjord met the open sea; she loves the sea. Her husband, Doctor Wangel, is a physician in a small fjord town in northern Norway who has two daughters by his previous wife, now deceased. He and Ellida had a son who died as a baby. Ellida is restless and troubled by a former romantic attachment. Wangel, fearing for Ellida’s mental health, has invited up Arnholm, Bolette’s former tutor, and a former suitor to Ellida, in the hope that he can help Ellida.
Some years earlier Ellida was deeply in love and engaged to a sailor, but because he murdered his captain he had to escape. Nevertheless, he asked her to wait for him to come and fetch her. She tried to break the engagement, but he had too great a hold over her. The sailor then returns all these years later to claim her. Ellida then has to choose between her former lover or her husband. Dr Wangel finally recognizes her freedom to choose since he understands that he has no other options. This goes in his favour as she then chooses him. The play ends with the sailor leaving and Ellida and Wangel deciding to take up their lives again together.

Production history

Adaptations

Kvinnan från havet is a ballet by choreographer Birgit Cullberg, and based on Ibsen's play. The ballet was premiered at the Royal Opera, Stockholm, with ballerina and actress Kari Sylwan in the title role.Die Frau vom Meere. Schauspiel in 5 Akten is the German language version of the play, translated in 1889 by Julius Hoffory.