Why I love Ibsen

I love Ibsen because his people feel like people I know—and sometimes like parts of myself I’d rather not admit to. They want love, freedom, respect, a life that means something, but they get tangled up in pride, fear, and what everyone else expects of them. He lets us hear the polite conversation while sensing everything simmering underneath. Even though these plays were written more than a century ago, I recognize those awkward silences, those small cruelties, that longing for something more. Ibsen makes me curious about people just when I’m tempted to judge them, and that keeps bringing me back.