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

One cannot describe Ibsen's delight at the great amusement which reigned in the
circle of comrades, when we got the object of our teasing himself to sing the songs whose
comic hero he was. Ibsen's eyes glittered like fire, and we all forgot that we were naughty
boys.
Besides such jokes in the evenings at Ibsen's place there was sometimes a card
party with him. To this were invited the more trusted, who could keep silent about a
certain debauchery, that we drank punch from ointment jars, which, in case of being
surprised by a suspicious visitor, were instantly emptied and put into one's pocket. When
midnight approached, one of those who was more sober could guess that Ibsen needed
rest, since we knew that he devoted part of the night to studying, but he always soothed
us with the saying that there was still enough time for both reading and sleep.
IBSEN'S ABILITY TO WORK AND HIS HEALTH
Ibsen's ability to work and his physical hardiness were phenomenal. In reality,
except for a very few hours, he was at work day and night. The greatest part of the day
was naturally occupied with the duties of the pharmacy. Since at that time there was no
more than one pharmacy between Christianssand and Arendal (close to 70 kilometres),
namely Grimstad's, there must have been quite a lot of trade, and since the pharmacist
was much occupied with his affairs as a shipowner, and as a bookkeeper and cashier in
the Grimstad savings bank, and as he was sickly, it followed that Ibsen performed much
of the work in the pharmacy.
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