He wields a heavy
sword, and he deals mighty blows. The wrath that possesses him is,
however, born of love. He fights man in the name of humanity. It is not
for himself, primarily, that he demands larger liberties, securer
rights, more humanizing conditions of life; but it is for his
fellow-men. The many, the small and down-trodden, the dumb millions,
whom Ibsen despises, Bjoernson loves. As Dr. Brandes[11] has so happily
said:
[11] Det Moderne Gjennembruds Maend, p. 60.
"Ibsen is a judge, stern as the old judges of Israel. Bjoernson is a
prophet, the hopeful herald of a better day. Ibsen is, in the depth of
his mind, a great revolutionist. In 'The Comedy of Love,' 'A Doll's
House,' and 'Ghosts,' he scourges marriage; in 'Brand,' the State
Church; in the 'Pillars of Society,' the dominant bourgeoisie. Whatever
he attacks is shivered into splinters by his profound and superior
criticism. Only the shattered ruins remain, and we are unable to espy
the new social institutions beyond them. Bjoernson is a conciliatory
spirit who wages war without bitterness.
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