Résumé
Résumé de Le Constructeur Solness
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love short, tense dramas about ambition, guilt and the fear of being replaced, and anyone drawn to symbols and the uncertain line between fact and imagination.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
The Master Builder is a play in three acts by the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in 1892, when Ibsen was in his sixties and already known across Europe for plays such as A Doll's House and Ghosts. This one is a later work, and it moves away from the plain drawing rooms of his earlier social dramas toward something stranger, a story where a house, a tower and a young visitor carry more meaning than they first seem to.
The hero is Halvard Solness, a builder who has risen from a small town to the top of his trade. He is successful, admired and afraid. Into his office walks a young woman who says he made her a promise ten years ago, and he cannot deny that he remembers. In the next hour you will meet the people who orbit him, hear what the town does not know about his rise, and see why one visit can unsettle a whole life. Let us begin with the man at the height of his career, and with the fear that sits beside his pride.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A successful builder fears the youngFree
- 2A girl from the past knocks
- 3The fire that built his fortune
- 4Hilde pushes him to dare again
- 5Ambition, guilt and what we owe
- 6A realist play that turns symbolic
Point clé 1 sur 6
A successful builder fears the young
The play opens in the drafting office of Halvard Solness in a Norwegian town. Solness is the master builder of the title, and he has no formal training as an architect. He began with churches, then moved on to building homes for ordinary families, and the town now depends on his name. In the office work three people who each need something from him. Knut Brovik is an old architect who once employed Solness and now works under him, and he is dying to see his son succeed.
That son is Ragnar Brovik, a talented young draftsman who longs to be trusted with a commission of his own. His fiancee, Kaja Fosli, keeps the books and clearly admires Solness. Solness holds Ragnar back year after year, and he does it for a reason he hides from the old man. If Ragnar leaves, Kaja will leave with him, and Solness wants her close.
The deeper reason is fear. Solness tells the family doctor, Dr. Herdal, that he lives in dread of the younger generation. He believes that one day someone will knock on his door, and that his work will be swept aside by newer ideas. So he suppresses every young talent that comes near, and he is cruel to Ragnar in order to stay safe.
This opening matters because it shows a man who looks secure and is not. His fear drives his choices, and it hurts people who trust him. Notice how often Ibsen links success with a kind of loneliness. Solness has everything the town can give, and he trusts no one with the truth about himself.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Halvard Solness
- A successful builder and Aline's husband, he fears younger rivals and is unsettled by Hilde's arrival.
- Hilde Wangel
- A bold young visitor, she reminds Solness of a past promise and challenges him to recover his daring.
- Aline Solness
- Solness's wife lives with grief from a family loss and clings to her sense of duty.
- Ragnar Brovik
- Knut's talented son and Kaja's fiancé works for Solness, who restricts his opportunities to design independently.
- Knut Brovik
- An ailing architect and Solness's former employer, he wants his son Ragnar to gain professional recognition.
- Kaja Fosli
- Solness's bookkeeper and Ragnar's fiancée admires her employer, complicating her loyalties between the two men.
- Dr. Herdal
- The Solness family's doctor listens to Halvard's anxieties while questioning some of his more unusual beliefs.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 30,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h
- Listening time3 h 20 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Le Constructeur Solness
What is The Master Builder about?
It is about Halvard Solness, a successful builder who fears being replaced by younger men. A young woman, Hilde Wangel, arrives and presses him to face his guilt, his past and the promise she says he made her.
Who is Hilde Wangel in The Master Builder?
Hilde is a young woman who first saw Solness ten years earlier at the opening of a church tower. She comes to him as an adult, claiming he promised her a kingdom, and she urges him to be bold.
What does the tower symbolize in The Master Builder?
The tower stands for ambition, pride and the wish to rise above others. It also stands for the danger of height, and for the fear and dizziness that Solness feels at the top of his career.
When was The Master Builder written and is it a true story?
Ibsen published it in 1892. It is a fictional drama and not a true story, though it uses a realistic setting in a Norwegian town and draws on real fears about success, aging and guilt.
Is The Master Builder hard to read?
It is short and mostly made of conversation, so it reads quickly.