Henrik Ibsen

Film & Theater Norway 1828 – 1906 97 quotes

Pioneer of modern realism in plays like A Doll's House, Ibsen provided quotable commentary on women's rights and societal constraints.

Quotes by Henrik Ibsen

A thousand words don't leave the same deep impression as a single deed.

Love's Comedy 1862

The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.

An Enemy of the People 1882

I must try to find out who is right, society or I.

An Enemy of the People 1882

A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.

An Enemy of the People 1882

You see, there are some people who have such a passion for being in the right that they'd rather be in the right than be happy.

An Enemy of the People 1882

I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being, just as you are—or at all events, that I must try to become one.

A Doll's House 1879

I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls.

A Doll's House 1879

Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child.

A Doll's House 1879

I must stand quite alone if I am to understand myself and everything about me. That is why I cannot stay with you.

A Doll's House 1879

There is no man who sacrifices his integrity for the one he loves.

A Doll's House 1879

The great task of our time is to make the individual soul free and independent.

A Doll's House 1879

I have another duty equally sacred. It is my duty to myself.

A Doll's House 1879

When we dead awaken, we find that we have never lived.

When We Dead Awaken 1899

To live is to war with trolls in heart and soul, to write is to sit in judgment on oneself.

Letter to Peter Hansen 1870

The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom—these are the pillars of society.

A Doll's House 1879

It is not by what we have, but by what we are, that we are judged.

Peer Gynt 1867

If you doubt yourself, then indeed you are lost.

Peer Gynt 1867

The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

Peer Gynt 1867

To be oneself is to slay oneself.

Peer Gynt 1867

He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.

Peer Gynt 1867