Letters I-X were first published in the Norwegian magazine ‘Samtiden’, February, 1908.
(Clemens Petersen was a leading literary critic of the day. From 1857 to 1868 he contributed to Fædrelandet. He had considerable influence, and his views were a strong determining factor in public opinion. He reviewed rather favorably some of Ibsen’s earlier works, among them “Love’s Comedy,” referred to in the letter, which was reviewed at some length in Fædrelandet, July 18, 1863.)
CHRISTIANIA, August 10th, 1863
Mr. Clemens Petersen:
I CAN never get on with letter writing, mostly because apprehend that my authorship in this line may, with good reason, be characterized in the same fashion as you — rather harshly, it would seem to me — characterize my prose in general; nevertheless I must write you a few lines to thank you, sincerely and cordially, for your review of my book. I thank you both for that in which I agree with you (which is not exclusively those parts of your criticism complimentary to me) and for that about which, when I am sometime fortunate enough to meet you personally, I shall at least try to argue with you. Especially do I thank you because I see that you have not so much against me, after all, as until now I had instinctively imagined; this has to me an importance it would be difficult to convince you of, who do not know to how terrible a degree I feel intellectually alone up here. My “friends’” view of me does not, by the way, do me any harm; for I see, with regard to myself, in all points clearer than all my friends — and this certainly not to my advantage. I am now working on a historical play in five acts, (The Pretenders) but in prose, I cannot write it in verse. You do me some little injustice when you hint that I have tried to imitate Bjornson’s manner; “Lady Inger of Ostraat” and “The Warriors at Helgeland” were written before Bjornson had yet written a line. (N.B. it is possible that “Between the Battles” existed at the time when I wrote “The Warriors,” but it did not and could not come under my eye.) As to “Love’s Comedy” I can assure you that if ever it was necessary for an author to rid himself of a sentiment and a subject it was so with me when I began that work. I shall follow your kind advice to send “Lady Inger” to the Royal Theatre; I only wish that I might handle the matter in the right way and that it might succeed. I have felt a strong desire to send you these few grateful lines, for I have a deep, personal feeling that you have done me a good service by not putting my book aside in silence.
Yours obligedly,
HENRIK IBSEN