cultural resources in henrik ibsen's early environment - Ibsen.net

"Don't be shy! By all means make it as beautiful as you can!" he continued
scornfully, and I responded to his exhortation a trifle ironically with the promise that I
would do my best to
exceed his expectations.
I had a hunch that a tinsmith who was accustomed to making only gutters and
bathtubs would not be able to supply especially practical helmets, breastplates and
shields, and the good small-town craftsman did not disappoint my expectation. It was not
his fault that the helmets turned out to resemble a cross between storm-hats and baking
tins, the coats of mail a kind of self-cooker, and the shields...; he had done his best and
delivered sound tinsmith's- work. He was not a weaponsmith. I certainly was not either,
but I had a concept of how a suit of armor was supposed to look, and had some skill in
cardboard construction. Besides, I was offended that I had gotten the little yeoman-role
and was being required to make my costume as attractive as possible; accordingly I made
for myself a complete suit of shining armor, covered with light-blue bronzed paper with
silver ornaments on the breastplate and silver borders on all the joints, a helmet with a
silver crest and silver grating and a corresponding shield.
Of course it was altogether unreasonable to equip a yeoman in such a fashion,
when the king was so poorly armed, but in this company what was not unreasonable! The
presentation of this play with the given talents was an insult to the public, and the order to
procure costumes, for which we would never again have any use, was altogether
inconsiderate towards the personnel, especially towards that part of it who were excluded
from the rewarding roles. I for my part had now decided to make my yeoman into a
rewarding role, and besides had nothing against meeting the management's chicanery with
my own.
The benefit performance drew a full house. Oehlenschlæger's name was on the
program, after all, and in a tragedy by the great poet the audience expected fencing,
processions and everything that belonged to "grand spectacle." Their expectations were
in vain, however. The beneficiary, as the young Prince Alger, who had forged himself a
costume of tempered steel, about which his character asserts: "Not even Thor in
Thrudvang has a better suit of armor," had to appear in the horribly defective casing made
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