"Thus Ibsen spoke," says Elias, "calmly and
coolly, gazing as it were into the far distance, like an artist
taking an objective view of some experience--like Lubek speaking of
his soul-thefts. He had stolen a soul, and put it to a double
employment. Thea Elvsted and Hilda Wangel are intimately related--
are, indeed only different expressions of the same nature." If
Ibsen actually declared Thea and Hilda to be drawn from one model,
we must of course take his word for it; but the relationship is hard
to discern.
There can be no reasonable doubt, then, that the Gossensass episode
gave the primary impulse to _The Master Builder_. But it seems
pretty well established, too, that another lady, whom he met in
Christiania after his return in 1891, also contributed largely to the
character of Hilda. This may have been the reason why he resented
Fraulein Bardach's appropriating to herself the title of "Princess
of Orangia."
The play was published in the middle of December 1892. It was acted
both in Germany and England before it was seen in the Scandinavian
capitals. Its first performance took place at the Lessing Theatre,
Berlin, January 19, 1893, with Emanuel Reicher as Solness and Frl.
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