Existentialist traits in works of Henrik Ibsen - 1442 Words

Existentialism is a major twentieth century continental European philosophical movement. The label was inspired by the tendency of some of the writers like Kierkegaard, Heidegger , Sartre and Nietzsche to use the term existence for a kind of being or life unique, in their view, to human beings. Only in the case of human beings is the conduct of their life an issue for them; only they can stand out - exstare, the Latin word from which exist comes - from their lives and reflect upon them; and only they have the capacity freely to shape their lives. Though Existentialism can appear in a number of different forms, the focal point as Jean Paul Sartre puts it is existence precedes essence. The existentialists are of the view that as†¦show more content†¦[Puts one leg over the fence; then hesitates.] ... [Draws back his leg.] By making the choices which he has to make , Peer not only takes the responsibility of his own life but shapes others destinies too. Solveig, the girl who loves him truly, comes to him leaving all that belonged to her and thus she makes her choice , not aware of its consequences. SOLVEIG: The path I have trodden leads back nevermore After he leaves the Troll princes and comes back to Solveig , his true love , and thinks that his life is free from worries , the Troll princes comes to see him. He is again caught in a fix and has to chose between the two , he is now a father and has to bear the consequences of the deeds which he performed earlier in his life. And he has to bear it alone . George Luckas in Myth of Nothingness says: The emptiness and hollowness of human life which Sartre calls nothingness is also portrayed in a striking scene in Peer Gynt by Ibsen. The aging Peer Gynt is peeling off the layers of an onion, and playfully compares the single layers with the periods of his life, hoping at the end to come to the core of the onion and the core of his own personality. But layer follows layer, period after period of life; and no core is found.(1) Jean Paul SartresShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 Pagesfame rests on not only his popular dramas but also on his political activism which is rooted in his concern for people and their condition in realms which can be termed as social, professional or political. In fact it can be said that many of his works starting from the early comedies of menace to the later overtly political plays run parallel to his political activism in the delineation of abuse of power in familial, social and political sphere and its somatic and psychosomatic impact on the modern