ouls of the characters; there is no further invention, but rather what
one may perhaps call inquisition. This does not prevent the second act
from being quite the most poignant or the third act from being one of
the most moving that Ibsen ever wrote. Far from wishing to depreciate
the play, I rate it more highly, perhaps, than most critics--among the
very greatest of Ibsen's achievements. I merely note as a characteristic
of the poet's latest manner this disparity of scale between the work
foreshadowed, so to speak, and the work completed. We shall find it
still more evident in the case of _John Gabriel Borkman_.

LITTLE EYOLF

(1894)

CHARACTERS

ALFRED ALLMERS, landed proprietor and man of letters
formerly a tutor.
MRS. RITA ALLMERS, his wife.
EYOLF, their child, nine years old.
MISS ASTA ALLMERS, Alfred's younger half-sister.
ENGINEER BORGHEIM.
THE RAT-WIFE.

The action takes place on ALLMERS'S property, bordering on the fjord,
twelve or fourteen miles from Christiania.

PLAY IN THREE ACTS

ACT FIRST

[A pretty and richly-decorated garden-room, full of furniture, flowers,
and plants. At the back, open glass doors, leading out to a verandah. An
extensive view over the fiord. In the distance, wooded hillsides. A door
in each of the side walls, the one on the right a folding door, placed
far back. In front on the right, a sofa, with cushions and rugs. Beside
the sofa, a small table, and chairs. In front, on the left, a larger
table, with arm-chairs around it. On the table stands an open hand-bag.
It is an early summer morning, with warm sunshine.]

[Mrs. RITA ALLMERS stands beside the table, facing towards the
left, engaged in unpacking the bag. She is a handsome, rather tall,
well-developed blonde, about thirty years of age, dressed in a
light-coloured morning-gown.]

[Shortly after, Miss ASTA ALLMERS enters by the door on the right,
wearing a light brown summer dress, with hat, jacket, and parasol. Under
her arm she carries a locked portfolio of considerable size. She
is slim, of middle height, with dark hair, and deep, earnest eyes.
Twenty-five years old.]

ASTA. [As she enters.] Good-morning, my dear Rita.

RITA. [Turns her head, and nods to her.] What! is that you, Asta? Come
all the way from town so early?

ASTA. [Takes of her things, and lays them on a chair beside the door.]
Yes, such a restless feeling came over me. I felt I must come