The Lady from the Sea

The Lady from the Sea (Norwegian: Fruen fra havet) is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad Agnete og Havmanden. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's later play The Master Builder.. When the lighthouse keeper's daughter Ellida meets the widower Dr Wangel she tries to put her long-lost first love far behind her and begin a new life as a wife and stepmother. But the tide is turning an English ship is coming down the fjord and the undercurrents threaten to drag a whole family beneath the surface in this passionate and sweeping drama. Ellida must choose between the values of the land: solidity and reliability against those of the sea: mystery and fluidity. The Lady from the Sea examines the trappings of what appears to be a happy marriage.