Ibsen's Tale of the Button Molder in the Final Act of Peer Gynt

Henrik Ibsen

Sunday evening I listened to a lecture called Kierkegaard's Passion, from the Great Courses Series Philosophy as a Guide to Living. In this lecture Professor Stephen A. Erickson shared several keen insights from Kierkegaard. One of these had to do with boredom, which plays a bigger role in many of our lives than we realize. Kierkegaard viewed boredom as a symptom of existential despair, particularly in the "aesthetic" mode of existence, where individuals chase fleeting pleasures to avoid confronting life’s deeper questions. To illustrate this idea, Professor Erickson used the example of Peer Gynt's encounter with the Button Molder at the end of Ibsen's famous play.

Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt was a five act play based on a Norwegian fairy tale about a hunter. In Ibsen's play Peer is a self-absorbed dreamer who spends his life chasing fleeting ambitions. As a consequence he loses himself in the episodes of his life and never achieves authentic selfhood.

In Act V, after running over the world chasing adventures, the mysterious Button Molder appears as Peer’s life is unraveling, his grandiose illusions crumbling. A grim, almost bureaucratic character, the Button Molder explains that he’s been sent by a higher power (implied to be divine) to collect souls that have failed to fulfill their purpose. Peer, he says, has lived a life so lacking in authentic identity—neither truly good nor evil, just self-serving and scattered—that his soul qualifies for neither heaven nor hell. Instead, the Button Molder plans to melt Peer down in his ladle, like a defective button, to be remolded into something new, erasing his individuality entirely.

Peer, desperate to preserve himself, protests, arguing that his life’s adventures—his travels, schemes, and self-proclaimed greatness—prove he’s unique. The Button Molder counters that Peer has never truly been himself; he’s lived as a shapeshifter, adapting to please others or chase whims without committing to any higher purpose or moral core. 

To escape this fate, Peer must prove he’s been a distinct self, but his frantic attempts—seeking validation from others or clinging to past deeds—fail. The play ends ambiguously, with Peer facing the ladle’s threat, saved temporarily by the love of Solveig, a woman who represents the steadfast faith he’s squandered. The Button Molder warns he’ll return, leaving Peer’s ultimate fate unresolved.

Meaning for Us Today

The Button Molder’s encounter with Peer speaks powerfully to modern existential and societal concerns. At its core, the story is a warning about the dangers of living an inauthentic life—one driven by external validation, fleeting desires, or avoidance of responsibility. I'm reminded of the Aesop's Fable of the grasshopper and the ants. The ants spent the summer in preparation for winter, working to gather grain and other necessities. The grasshopper spent his summer fiddling and having fun. He was not ready for the coming winter, the moral being, "There's a time for work and a time for play."

The Button Molder represents a kind of existential reckoning, forcing us to confront whether our lives have meaning or if we’ve merely drifted, like Peer, through a series of roles without substance. Hence Kierkegaard's dismay that most people avoid thinking deeply about meaning, or as Gauguin put it, the title of his famous painting, "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"

In today’s world, the Button Molder’s message resonates in this age of digital personas, endless distractions, and societal pressure to “perform” identity. Social media, for instance, encourages us to curate idealized versions of ourselves, much like Peer’s chameleon-like existence, prioritizing likes and trends over authentic selfhood. 

The threat of being “melted down” mirrors the modern fear of insignificance—being reduced to a faceless cog in a system, whether it’s corporate, cultural, or algorithmic. 

The Button Molder’s ladle evokes the erasure of individuality in a world that often rewards conformity or superficial success, or as Dylan suggests in Idiot Wind, "You'll find out when you reach the top You're on the bottom."

Yet, the story also offers hope. The Button Molder give Peer a little more time, and there is a possibility of redemption suggested by the presence of Solveig, the woman who has dedicated her life to waiting for him. Solveig's enduring faith and patience serves as a counterpoint to Peer's self-absorbed journey. (In a similar fashion Hermann Hesse explores this duality in his novel Narcissus and Goldmund, with Goldmund being the  self-absorbed adventurer living from episode to episode whichever way the wind blows.) Solveig's presence suggests that love, faith, or commitment to something greater can anchor us, helping us forge a true self. 

 

The Button Molder challenges us to ask: Are we living as ourselves, or are we just buttons, shapeless and ready to be remolded by the world’s demands? 

* * * * * 

Norwegian playwright Henrik Johan Ibsen is considered one of the world's pre-eminent writers of the 19th century. His plays are among the most performed plays in the world, second only to Shakespeare. He is often referred to as "the father of modern drama."  

Trivia: Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg wrote two suites for Peer Gynt. Opus 23 premiered along with the play on 24 February 1876 in what is now Oslo. My father used o ilisten to this album when I was growing up.

Copernicus, Galileo, and Free Speech -- There Are Lessons Here

At the Galileo Museum in Florence.

What do you do if you're an outlier, ahead of the curve on a matter of historical or social significance? Or someone who has made a discovery that goes against public opinion?

When Copernicus observed and then proved that the earth went around the sun, and not vice versa, he only published this revelation at the end of his life. Had there been freedom of speech, accompanied by free thought and free inquiry, the "Copernican revolution" may have begun much earlier.

Galileo paid a price for his inquiries into how the universe works. His 1633 imprisonment was primarily due to his support for the heliocentric model of the solar system--that the sun was the center of our solar system--which contradicted the geocentric model endorsed by the Church at the time. Galileo's advocacy for the ideas proposed by Copernicus, challenged the prevailing religious and scientific beliefs of the era. He was found guilty of heresy by the Roman Catholic Church and was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.

Today this power to elevate or destroy careers is no longer wielded by the Church. It belongs to the State and the mob. Free speech without repercussions appears to remain an unattainable ideal, like Quixote's impossible dream. 

These "Throwback Thursday" thoughts came to mind as I reflected again on Ibsen's Enemy of the People.

Tom Isbell's Adaptation of Ibsen's Explosive An Enemy of the People Sizzles. Kudos to the UMD Theater Team

"We're getting used to things we have no business getting used to."--Dr. Thomas Stockmann

Timing is often everything, and I must say that I could not have been better prepared to enjoy Saturday evening's UMD Theater presentation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. I watched a film version a year ago, read the play itself afterwards, and saw a Hollywood version of the play this past spring (Steve McQueen's last film.) To say these experiences were stimulating is an understatement. Tom Isbell's updated version remains incisive and captures the story's heart. It's crisp, relevant and a lively adaptation that is fun while remaining exceedingly serious.

Henrik Ibsen was an important, influential playwright of the later19th century. His plays explored major themes that challenged conventions. A Doll's House addressed the role of women. Ghosts addressed incest and venereal disease. An Enemy of the People, completed in 1882, featured a man at odds with his community and the ethical compromises that result in a systemic suppression of the truth. It also underscores one of the fundamental weaknesses of Democracy.

The central character is Dr. Thomas Stockmann (Addison Sim), who with his wife Katherine (Jenessa Iverson) and daughter Petra (Rachel Williams) discover themselves to be at odds with their town for attempting to speak truth to power. The 85-minute play details this in an entertaining series of revelations, confrontations and maneuvers that never drags as it drags the audience into facing hard truths about our own times.

This last--helping us see our contemporary culture through a focused lens--was noted obliquely up front and with explicit directness at the end.

A Word About The Theater
The Marshall Performing Arts Theater has an intimate smaller space that was set up in a Theater in the Round format with two and three rows of seats set against all four walls. A table with four chairs had been set off-center in the open square that served as stage, the chairs parked upside down on the table, legs skyward.

The director used a clever device to set up and dismantle each of the scenes. Lights would be lowered and a rhythmic soundtrack would play as the stagehands and sometimes players marched in a circle, grabbing and placing chairs, relocating the table, removing a prop occasionally. It was an effective device that also foreshadowed the play's very last exclamation point.

The Setting
The original play is located in a Scandinavian town that has become increasingly famous for its healing waters. People come from far and wide to enjoy the beneficial effects of the waters here.

Even without seeing this modernized version of the play I couldn't help but think of the Twin Ports and the natural beauty here, the lakes and rivers that are so loved, especially our Great Lake that seems to nourish souls in a magical way. What  I mean is, I could picture Ibsen's setting being a town like Duluth that benefits from tourism.

As the play opens, Dr. Stockmann, a scientist employed by the spa, is waiting for results from a study he has conducted. He wanted to confirm, via an outside source, a hunch he's had about the waters. As it turns out, the results come and the proof is irrefutable. The waters are toxic.

Dr. Stockmann is sharing this information with the local press because he loves his community and cares about their welfare. "The community has to come first."

Mary Hovstad, the publisher (Leah Walk) and her ace reporter Alan Billing (Jake Nelson) seem eager to help get the word out. It's an important story, and Dr. Stockmann will be a hero.

The good man is not interested in fame, however. He's simply concerned about the health of the people who are using these lead-contaminated and disease-infected waters.

Petra, his daughter, lifts a glass and declares, "A toast to my father. A true friend of the people."

In the next scene, Dr. Stockmann presents the facts to his brother the mayor (Patrick Timmons) and the head of the Small Business Association Robin Aslaksen (Eukariah Tabaka). "I don't believe it," the mayor says.

The timing couldn't be worse as far as the mayor is concerned. The tourist season is just about to ramp up.

The exchanges here become quite comic, because the mayor refuses to read the report. He's already against it, yet firmly states, "I'm not convinced."

"But you didn't read it!" Dr. Stockmann exclaims.

The mayor and Aslaksen, representatives of the business interests and political interests, denounce the report not on the merits of its validity, but because they believe it will "bankrupt the city." Fixing the problem will be expensive. A better solution would be to ignore it for now and let the next generation fix it. (The Founding Fathers took this approach to the problem of slavery, and I suspect you are connecting the dots on our own contemporary crises.)

You can probably guess that the newspaper publisher soon has her arm twisted to get in alignment with the powers that be. If the town goes belly up, she's persuaded, the newspaper will have to fold. The whistleblower, no longer a hero, is now accused of treason.

Many Great Lines
This adaptation of the play might be faster paced than the original Ibsen play. The number of characters has been reduced. There were a number of great monologues by Dr. Stockmann in the original script which did not fit this streamlined re-telling of the story. You can read a few of my favorites in my earlier review of the film and original play Ibsen's An Enemy of the People Questions the Validity of Democracy.

Nevertheless, Tom Isbell's adaptation is both effective and entertaining, with comic lines that carry sharp barbs like this one in response to the equivocating media: "You might want to try growing a spine." And "What's the point of speaking truth to power if no one wants to hear the truth?"

Near the end this line of Dr. Stockmann's stood out: "The strongest person in the world is the one who stands most alone." Though Ibsen gave this to Dr. Stockmann, it echoes similar sentiments that appear throughout Nietzsche's writings.

* * * *

Since Dr. Stockmann is refusing to "cooperate" with the authorities, he not only is told that he's been released from his responsibilities at the spa, but that he is going to lose his pension, too. It's the whistleblower's dilemma. Bite the hand that feeds you and you're soon out on the street.

The consequences of choosing conscience over convenience impacts the whole family. The daughter is kicked out of school. His wife loses her job. But the family stands together. At the very end, the marching circle motif closes out the play, but with the Stockmann family marching in a smaller circle within the circle, in the opposite direction.

The play ends with individual players stepping out to declare facts regarding events from recent history, specifically the water crisis and similar covered up disasters in Flint, Michigan, Newark, NJ and elsewhere, showing how 130 years have passed yet Ibsen remains completely relevant.

If the play turns up in your town, I strongly encourage you to find a way to see it. Tom Isbell, who wrote this adaptation, is a Hollywood veteran who has returned to his home state after a ten-year stint on the West Coast. A Professor of Theater at UMD, Isbell appeared in 30 films, including True Lies, The Abyss and Clear and Present Danger.

Related Links
The original script of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People
Tom Isbell at Imdb.com
Tom Isbell's UMD bio and credits
Something's in the Water by Michael Savage
I'm throwing this in here because it came to mind while I was watching the play and again while writing about it. Mike's first novel dealt with an event that took place in the late 50s and 60s. The U.S. Government and Honeywell Corporation allegedly dumped 1467 barrels of toxic waste into Lake Superior. 

POSTSCRIPT
I came across the following Ibsen quote after writing this review of the play. It was especially amusing in light of the story and several lines. "It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians." Ah, Mr. Ibsen. There are no doubt some who quite agree with you.

Ibsen's An Enemy of the People Questions the Validity of Democracy

A couple months ago I watched a film dramatization of Ibsen's powerful play An Enemy of the People. Like many influential works, most people have heard of them but never read them, and in this case I number myself among the majority. Until this autumn.

I'd just finished reading a biography of James Madison, who authored the Federalist Papers and was instrumental in creating the founding documents that created the foundations of the United States, a beacon of light for Democracy. We elect our officials and the people have power in the voting booths and caucuses, in the process of electing a representative government.

Ironically, Madison may have been an advocate for democracy, but he also expressed private doubts about how it would work out in reality. This was eye-opening for me, but then again that is why many scholars call it "the American experiment."

Within a week of reading the Madison bio I watched An Enemy of the People, and it became apparent that the ideal of Democracy (with a capital D) has flaws that must be faced with honesty. Some of the drama in this year's mid-term election centers around this overabundant exuberance for democracy that we feel. And for this reason I share a brief overview of Ibsen's 1882 play.

* * * *
The story takes place in a small town in southern Norway that has earned its reputation as a tourist destination because of its spa baths. Though it's an economic boon for the community, the medical officer for the baths has become suspicious about the safety of the waters and upon having them tested he confirms that they are contaminated with bacteria and not healthy. He writes an article about the issue to be published in the papers.

The response is quite contrary to what he expected. Instead of people being happy that people will no longer get sick from the waters if they avoid them, they are angry that it will have a negative impact on jobs. Instead of being a hero who saves the town he is told he will be ridiculed for ruining the town. Local leaders make it known to him that there will be "terrible consequences" if he doesn't retract his article before it goes to press.

The newspaper itself begins to waver as regards printing the article. They wish not to be blamed if the town's economy craters. So Dr. Stockmann takes his message directly to the people in a public oration in which he gives it his all. Here are some excerpts from this speech and this section of the play.

At the opening of his speech he lays down the gauntlet: "The majority never has right on its side. Never, I say! That is one of these social lies against which an independent, intelligent man must wage war." Naturally the crowd of townsfolk gathered to hear him is incensed, but he goes on to defend his position in this manner:

"I have already said that I don't intend to waste a word on the puny, narrow-chested, short-winded crew whom we are leaving astern. Pulsating life no longer concerns itself with them. I am thinking of the few, the scattered few amongst us, who have absorbed new and vigorous truths. Such men stand, as it were, at the outposts, so far ahead that the compact majority has not yet been able to come up with them; and there they are fighting for truths that are too newly-born into the world of consciousness to have any considerable number of people on their side as yet."

How often have we seen this. New ideas do not have a majority behind them because the masses are stuck in old ways of thinking. The earth as center of the universe, for example. Or that the earth is flat. So Stockman declares, "I propose to raise a revolution against the lie that the majority has the monopoly of the truth."

* * * *

I myself do not consider myself a revolutionary and I really do not wish to see the fabric of society upended so that we have to start over. It gets very cold here in Minnesota and most of us are pretty dependent on the energy grid to warm our homes.

On the other hand, no matter who wins today's elections, let's not run around declaring the best man or woman won. The winners will only be those who got the most votes this time around.

Over the years many new ideas have emerged to address issues of poverty. The idea of a Flat Tax had merit, but like many new ideas it is squashed before it gets examined. In our government and in our board rooms, if a good idea comes from someone else, especially an opponent, we feel obligated to kill it lest our adversary become more powerful. That is, we no longer "work together" for solutions, and claw one another to maintain power.

UBI (Universal Basic Income) is another new idea and I see foaming at the mouth from some adversaries because it goes against an old idea that "he who doesn't work shouldn't eat." Well, there are other older ideas about the dignity of man that could be brought forward rather than letting people starve as the Brits did during the Irish Potato Famine in which the government let them starve because "it must have been God's will to bring them into submission." (That idea was put forth with seriousness in the British Parliament.)

So, Ibsen's Dr. Stockmann continues:
"What sort of truths are they that the majority usually supports? They are truths that are of such advanced age that they are beginning to break up... These "majority truths" are like last year's cured meat—like rancid, tainted ham; and they are the origin of the moral scurvy that is rampant in our communities."

I encourage you to read the whole of it, if you have time. Here are a couple more juicy bits, though.

"The theory that culture demoralizes is only an old falsehood that our forefathers believed in and we have inherited. No, it is ignorance, poverty, ugly conditions of life, that do the devil's work! In a house which does not get aired and swept every day."

and...

"Lack of oxygen weakens the conscience. And there must be a plentiful lack of oxygen in very many houses in this town, I should think, judging from the fact that the whole compact majority can be unconscientious enough to wish to build the town's prosperity on a quagmire of falsehood and deceit."

* * * *
My appeal is that our legislators, who theoretically more informed than the public on most matters they wrestle with, armed with more information than can fit on a bumper sticker, will have the courage to make wise decisions based on what they know, and stop pandering to constituencies.

I don't know how many of the politicians on our ballots today are that kind of leader, but we can hope and we can pray.