Henrik Ibsen A Bibliography of Criticism and Biography with an Index to Characters — A Closer Reading

Structure and Intended Audience

Firkins explicitly states that the bibliography aims to meet a "general rather than scholarly need." This is evident in her decision to expand the subject index beyond the limits required by an Ibsen specialist. She provides full information in the author list, while the subject list gives only author and title with page references, directing the reader back to the author index for complete details. Magazine references are given in full throughout. The work includes a brief list of Norwegian and English editions, but Firkins makes no attempt to compile a complete list of Ibsen's writings, citing Dr. J. B. Halvorsen's work as already fulfilling that need.

The Index to Characters

The Index to Characters is a distinctive feature: an alphabetical list of all characters in the plays, with the title of the play in which each appears. This index, combined with the subject index, allows users to locate criticism on specific plays or themes quickly. For example, under "Ghosts (Gengangere)" the subject index lists over twenty entries, including works by Brandes, Gosse, and Shaw, as well as periodical articles. The character index would enable a reader to find discussions of individual figures like Mrs. Alving or Oswald. Firkins's design prioritizes efficient retrieval for non-specialist users.

Scope and Limitations

Firkins acknowledges that the bibliography is not exhaustive. She has selected what she considers the "best available critical and biographical material" on Ibsen, presented in a form to meet "the constant demand for information about special phases of the great dramatist's work." The subject index reveals a wide range of topics, from "Ethics" and "Feminism" to individual plays like Feast at Solhaug. Entries draw from American, English, French, Italian, German, and Scandinavian sources. The bibliography's date—1921—means it covers criticism up to the early twentieth century, including works by contemporaries such as George Bernard Shaw and Edmund Gosse.

Firkins's bibliography is best used as a starting point for locating early Ibsen criticism. The three-index structure rewards patience: begin with the subject or character index to find relevant authors, then consult the author index for full citations. Because the work is designed for non-specialists, it omits many scholarly details that an expert might expect, but its clarity and organization make it a useful tool for anyone beginning research on Ibsen's reception in the early 1900s.

This bibliography reminds me of afternoons in the university library stacks, tracing a single character through decades of criticism—the quiet thrill of finding someone else had thought about Nora just as obsessively. Another dusty volume gave me that same feeling once, this Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations — Inside the Classic—not for reading, but for the slow pleasure of recognizing a line I’d half-remembered, held safe between those worn covers, waiting patiently.