Kovács Ferenc: Olvasópróba előtt (Skenotheke 1. Budapest, 1996)

Felhasznált irodalom

derives from the experiences he had in the mine. It is his firm belief that he could bring about growth and development in his town by industrialization and the improvement of transportation. His faith in himself and in his vision of the future is so overpowering that he is willing to sacrifice his love (he declines Emma's hand in order to curry favour with a lawyer, who, in exchange, helps make him a bank manager), to sacrifice the meagre savings of small investors, and even to risk the good name of his own family. His fall is not simply a moral retribution and an offering on the altar of Justice, it is also the result of sickly jealousy and vengefulness (the lawyer, whose proposals of marriage are constantly rebuffed by Emma, avenges himself on Borkman). However

1, this dramatic conflict should not be unduly stressed in the play, as it would - if only to a certain extent exonerate Borkman. After 16 years, all that is left of his ambitions are flashes of hope. Borkman believes in retribution and is convinced that his replacements in the bank will not be able to cope without him. He is unable to appreciate the gravity of his crime-, his objectives were noble and he is totally unconcerned about details and consequences. His meeting with Ella reveals his inner self: the tender feelings he harbours for her, the account which was left untouched in order to secure her future. For his wife, he is a dead man. He is dead to his surroundings too, given that he has not left his room for eight years. His life is a living death. Nor is his relationship really human to his one-time schoolmate and a victim of his bankrupcy, who comes visiting from time to time. Rather, Borkman plays the role of a slave master. During their dialogue, Borkman's voice is first heard through a loudspeaker (as if from beyond the grave?) and only later dissolves into live speech. This procedure ensures the reinstatement of the alleged protagonist into his proper place in the play: that of a supporting character, as well as the family ghost Borkman's constant, nervous hyperactivity must be emphasized. He is always on the scene, it is his rhythm that counterbalances that of the characters on the first floor. His face is a mask framed by thick grey sideburns. His eyes light up and become alive for moments of clarity, for example in certain scenes with Ella or the Foldal woman. (Let us clarify that the unnaturally strong attraction that Ibsen in his old age felt for young women was not of a perverted, but rather of a poetic nature, and that research concerning this issue has so far been tactful, yet also somewhat revealing.) 47