The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen

Oddly enough, the life of the great Master Builder Halvard Solness is actually surprisingly sad and unfulfilling for a man so envied. Despite all of his incredible successes leading him to be practically unrivaled in his field, he lives always fearing the end. The “end” being the end of his career and his success, which he views as his only worth in life. This fear is brought to the forefront of his mind daily as his own inadequacies manifest themselves even in the very office from which he designs his breathtaking works. Youth––meaning both the obvious Ragnar Brovik and young people in general––are a constant threat to the aging Solness. However, this is not the only cause for concern in the life of the Master Builder. His own drive and what he feels he has done to become and still must do to remain the man that he is is constantly weighing and wearing him down. This unfortunate, paranoid man, wary of the crown he has sacrificed so much to earn, must always push to be even greater than most would say he already is.

Halvard Solness is a man with a constant need to improve himself and show the world what he can do. With the advent of the young Hilda comes increased pressure and encouragement, which excite Solness and cause him to once more strive even more for the same glory they both feel he achieved 10 years prior. Hilda’s beaming admiration causes his ambition to, like water, heat up and rise higher and higher into the sky, collecting and forming into a cloud of his own ego and aspirations. It builds and builds with each of her playful prods and with all her encouragement. The storm brews within Solness, urging him on to even greater goals than the tall church tower that brought the girl to him. Eventually, the weight of it all becomes too much for this quickly darkening and imposing cloud to contain as all of his hopes and dreams crash far back down to the earth below.

By virtue of the desires of Miss Hilda Wangel, the clouds of the world of Master Builder Halvard Solness are in a constant state of darkening. Although there is never a really clear sky in this world––the Master Builder being highly ambitious in his own right even without the young Miss Wangel––at its start, it is fairly calm. The dim grey sky is overcast when Hilda knocks on the door, casting Solness and all others in a paleness that softens their features and shadows. However, once she begins talking to Solness about the kingdom she is owed and her castle in the air, the clouds start to grow. The world takes on an altogether richer and more vibrant quality as the clouds gather. At first, it starts out simply hinting at color peeking through the grey sky. As time progresses though, the deeper blues and violets begin to filter through the clouds in increasing intensity. With these deeper colors come deeper shadows and greater definition of the people and their surroundings. Together it shows this as a world progressively more fanciful. As Hilda brings Solness closer to the eventual resolution, the darkening and deepening continues until the sky is nothing but a singular massive rain cloud culminating with the Master Builder’s fateful last climb up the scaffolding of his new home. In the last few moments of the play, after the man’s final descent from both the heights of the tower and from glory, the sky begins to clear and the color recedes once more.