"
This play was not particularly successful upon the stage,
but the book was widely read, and occasioned much excited
personal controversy. "A Bankruptcy," on the other hand,
proved a brilliant stage success. Its matter was less
contentious, and its technical execution was effective and
brilliant. It was not in vain that Bjornson had at different
times been the director of three theatres. This play has
for its theme the ethics of business life, and more
especially the question of the extent to which a man whose
finances are embarrassed is justified in continued speculation
for the ultimate protection of himself and his creditors.
Despite its treatment of this serious problem, the play is
lighter and more genial in vein than the author's plays
are wont to be, and the element of humor is unusually
conspicuous. Jaeger remarks that "A Bankruptcy" did two
new things for Norwegian dramatic literature. It made money
affairs a legitimate subject for literary treatment, and
it raised the curtain upon the Norwegian home. "It was with
'A Bankruptcy' that the home made its first appearance upon
the stage, the home with its joys and sorrows, with its
conflicts and its tenderness.
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