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

The wife is the work of art created by the husband.

A Doll's House 1879

There is no more deadly calumny than that which is spread by the press.

An Enemy of the People 1882

My object is to introduce a new element into dramatic poetry.

Preface to Catilina 1850

The poet must be a seer, a prophet.

Letter to Bjornstjerne Bjornson 1876

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.

Hedda Gabler 1890

The most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom among us is the compact majority.

An Enemy of the People 1882

A lie is the most sacred thing on earth.

Ghosts 1881

The art of acting consists in keeping people from coughing.

Witty remark 1880

I am a Norwegian by birth, but I am a Scandinavian by conviction.

Speech 1865

The soul grows by revolt and reaction.

When We Dead Awaken 1899

One should never forbid anything to oneself.

Hedda Gabler 1890

The great task for literature is to make the reader see the world anew.

Interview 1889

In my plays I want to portray the soul of man in its depths.

Speech 1872

Happiness is the highest duty.

A Doll's House 1879

The public is a bad judge of art.

An Enemy of the People 1882

To write is to sit in judgment over oneself.

Personal reflection 1900

On the day of my birth, the sun rose at six o'clock, and I was born at half-past twelve.

Deathbed words 1906