Reading Order
Brand Reading Order
Brand (1866) by Henrik Ibsen is the dramatic poem that made his reputation — a philosophical play about a priest (Brand) who holds to the principle 'all or nothing' with complete intransigence. Brand will not compromise; he will not allow his dying mother to receive the last rites unless she gives up her entire estate; he allows his child to die rather than move south to a warmer climate for the child's health; and at the end he leads his congregation up the mountain in search of a true church, only to be destroyed by an avalanche. The play is Ibsen's investigation of the limits of the idealist — the man who is right in principle but who cannot survive contact with the reality that his principle requires him to sacrifice. Ibsen himself said that Brand was partly a portrait of himself and of Søren Kierkegaard. The play is rarely staged because of its length and difficulty, but it is essential to understanding Ibsen's development: the great prose plays (A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck) are the realistic investigation of the same question that Brand investigates philosophically.
Where to start
Brand (1866) — the complete text in the Michael Meyer or the Geoffrey Hill verse translation. Best Ibsen reading order: Brand → Peer Gynt → A Doll's House → Hedda Gabler → The Wild Duck → The Master Builder.
Complete Brand Book List
- 1Buy
Brand
Henrik Ibsen·1866·The complete dramatic poem — Brand, Agnes, Alf, and the Mayor. The play that established Ibsen's reputation as a Scandinavian master; the Geoffrey Hill verse translation (1978) is highly regarded as English poetry in its own right - 2Buy
Peer Gynt
Henrik Ibsen·1867·The companion — Peer's life of evasion. The companion as the perfect opposite: Brand is the man who commits to himself absolutely; Peer is the man who never commits at all - 3Buy
Hedda Gabler
Henrik Ibsen·1891·The companion — Hedda's trapped idealism. The companion investigation of the same theme in a realistic mode: Hedda is the heir of Brand's idealism in a world that no longer has a place for it — she wants beauty and intensity and finds herself trapped in a bourgeois life that cannot contain either - 4Buy
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard·1843·Kierkegaard's companion investigation of the aesthetic and ethical stages of existence. The companion philosophical text: Ibsen said Brand was partly a portrait of Kierkegaard, and the play's investigation of the 'all or nothing' principle is directly related to Kierkegaard's distinction between the aesthetic life (which avoids commitment) and the ethical life (which requires absolute choice) - 5Buy
Fear and Trembling
Søren Kierkegaard·1843·Kierkegaard's companion investigation of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac. The companion investigation of the same 'all or nothing' principle that governs Brand: Brand asks his wife Agnes to sacrifice their dying child (as Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac), and the play is a tragic investigation of what it means to demand that kind of sacrifice in God's name - 6Buy
The Wild Duck
Henrik Ibsen·1884·The companion — Ibsen's critique of the idealist who demands truth at any cost. The companion investigation of the limits of Brand's principle: The Wild Duck is organized around Gregers Werle, who has Brand's 'all or nothing' idealism, and whose demand for truth destroys the Ekdal family. Ibsen uses The Wild Duck partly as a critique of the position he had invested in Brand - 7Buy
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen·1879·The companion — Nora's departure. The companion investigation of the 'all or nothing' principle in the domestic sphere: Nora's final choice (to leave and become herself) is the Brand-principle applied to marriage - 8Buy
The Possessed
Fyodor Dostoevsky·1872·Dostoevsky's companion investigation of the idealist who is willing to destroy everything for his principle. The companion investigation of the same question that organizes Brand: what happens to the idealist when the principle is taken to its logical conclusion? Dostoevsky's Stavrogin and Brand are companion figures — both men whose intellectual and spiritual power is devoted to an absolute that destroys the people around them
Brand — Frequently Asked Questions
What is Brand about by Henrik Ibsen?
Brand is about a Norwegian country priest who holds to the principle 'all or nothing' with complete intransigence — and the consequences of that intransigence for himself and everyone around him. Brand will not compromise his ideals: he refuses to give his dying mother the last rites unless she gives up her entire estate; he refuses to move south for the sake of his infant son's health (the child dies); he refuses to allow his wife Agnes to mourn their child in normal human ways (she also dies). At the end of the play, he leads his congregation up the mountain in search of a true church, abandons them when they tire, continues alone, and is destroyed by an avalanche. The play is a sustained investigation of the limits of the idealist — the man who is right in principle but who cannot survive the reality that his principle requires him to sacrifice.
Is Brand related to Kierkegaard?
Yes — Brand is directly related to Kierkegaard. Ibsen himself said that Brand was partly a portrait of Søren Kierkegaard, and the play's investigation of the 'all or nothing' principle is directly related to Kierkegaard's philosophy. Kierkegaard's concept of the 'stages of existence' (the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious) and his investigation of the 'leap of faith' in Fear and Trembling and Either/Or are the philosophical background against which Brand makes sense. Brand's 'all or nothing' is Kierkegaard's ethical and religious absolute; and the play's tragic investigation of what that absolute demands of actual human life is Ibsen's dramatic version of the same question that Kierkegaard investigated philosophically. Ibsen also said Brand was partly a self-portrait — his own sense of the demand that art makes on the artist.
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