The collected works of Henrik Ibsen, Vol. 04 (of 11)

A braggart, imaginative young man deserts duty and drifts through episodic adventures that mix folktale fantasy, social satire, and personal reckoning. He pursues illusory successes, consorts with folkloric beings, travels abroad, and repeatedly chooses self-interest over fidelity to family and a devoted woman who remains his moral counterpoint. Encounters range from comic to grotesque and culminate in a metaphysical trial before a mysterious arbiter who threatens to annihilate inessential lives. The drama probes identity, responsibility, and the cost of self-deception while alternating lyric, folkloric scenes with biting commentary on ambition, nationalism, and the possibility of redemption.