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

was something peculiar about him. For that matter there were many who had not yet seen
him long after he had arrived, inasmuch as they had no business at the pharmacy, and at
that time Ibsen was never to be seen outside, at any rate in the daytime.
Curious to see him, shortly afterward I went into the pharmacy. This was a little
room that was so low that I could almost touch the ceiling with my hand, and it was
extremely shabby: crude, dark and uncomfortable. As a pharmacy it was primitive and
chaotic in every respect. Through the half-open door a similarly shabby room could be
glimpsed, which presumably was the assistant's apartment. No living being was to be
seen, nor any sound to be heard, either, to indicate that there were people in the vicinity,
listening, so I had plenty of time to make the aforementioned observations, but after I had
knocked on the counter, I noticed some movement behind the so-called dispensary
cabinet, and soon after a rather small young man with a likeable lively face emerged from
there with a quick motion. I want to remark here, that in his youth Ibsen developed
unusually early a handsome full brown beard, that gave his face at the same time an
energetic and also harmonious appearance . . . . Therefore he gave an overall impression
of being a handsome young man, with a good well-developed body. On this uncertain
occasion, as far as that goes, his face bore an unmistakable and impatient question mark,
which indicated right away that the supposed customer was by no means welcome. I
asked for 4 shillings worth of bandages and he set about, and quickly supplied them. No
words were exchanged between us, but when I received my bandages our eyes met and
then I noticed a glint in his handsome eyes that made an impression on me. This glint
was the spark which later showed itself, the glint of a spirit that would ignite a famous
torch, that later cast its bright sparks over all parts of the world, hence this glint, this
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