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Little Eyolf
(1894)
Lille Eyolf
Translated and with an Introduction by Scottish critic and author William Archer (1856-1924).
This play tells the story of the Allmer family. At the outset the father, Alfred, has just returned from a trip to the mountains. While there, he resolvs to focus foremost on raising his son Eyolf, rather than continue work on his book, Human Responsibility. Eyolf, though described as having "beautiful, intelligent eyes," is paralyzed in one of his legs, and thus his life is a sheltered one. He craves more than anything else to live the life of a normal boy, but his father knows that this is not possible. As such, Alfred wants to turn Eyolf towards loftier, intellectual pursuits.
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Piping the 'rat-children' home
In the beginning, life together for Allmers and Rita was beautiful and almost heroic with their 'gold, and the green forests', but change and decay set in early with the crippling of Eyolf, or perhaps much earlier when the first Eyolf failed to eventuate with the birth of Asta, a female. Allmers' 'life work', writing 'the great thick book on "Human Responsibility"', proved impossible in such an environment. Out of the ruins, Rita finds a compassionate way ahead: in providing a home for all the poor neglected children, rescuing both Allmers and herself. Indeed, Allmers can finally say, 'But I will act out my "human responsibility" - in my own life'. The play ends with our vision of Rita, the new 'rat-wife', Pan-piping all the precious 'rat-children', 'all the blessed little creatures', to where 'it is all as still, and soft, and dark as their hearts can desire...with no one to hate them or persecute them any more'.
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