Absence as a Constitutive Phenomenon in the Dramatic Works of Henrik Ibsen

Abstract

Henrik Ibsen, widely regarded as one of the preeminent representatives of mimetic theater in the history of world drama, is considered by certain theorists to be the greatest playwright since Shakespeare. While the author's plays, written in distinct styles, have been examined through various methodologies and techniques, certain recurring features define his dramatic trajectory starting from his debut play.  Catiline, onwards: the economical use of space, the representation of the past within the present, and characters who face inevitable catastrophe upon confronting the consequences of their actions. This study focuses on analyzing Ibsen's plays Catiline, The Master Builder, and Peer Gynt within the framework of the phenomenon of absence, utilizing the tool of possibilities of philosophical hermeneutics and dramaturgical analysis. The ontological nature of absence, which mediates and mobilizes existence, has been investigated within the structural context surrounding these plays, with a particular emphasis on the causality of actions culminating in catastrophe.