The Lady from the Sea (Die Frau vom Meer)

Ellida is unhappily married to Dr. Wangel. She feels confined, trapped in the wrong life, and longs for escape. When her former fiancée turns up in the quiet little town by the sea to claim her, her life is thrown into turmoil. Wangel’s daughters from his first marriage are also filled with longing for another life; they dream of true love and an exciting future – things that their current suitors will certainly not be able to offer them. But perhaps they also lack the courage to give up what is safe and familiar, to go out into the world. Ibsen’s character portrayals are astonishing: his protagonists understand themselves as little as we understand ourselves. They carry worlds inside them, the potential for freedom, for change – and remain trapped in their self-deceptive realities. They are dominated by fear and pragmatism, they are too used to not living out their dreams and fantasies. Until at some point even these disappear.