History Theatre / ThePillarsOfSociety

Then, there is the shipyard. Shipwright Aune, working for Bernick, is also a union man, debating with his fellow workers whether the use of new equipment will render them unemployed. Bernick puts him under pressure to make two ships ready on short notice, although Aune is aware that one of them, the "Indian Girl", bound for America, will go down because of some weaknesses in the hull. Bernick will not admit this, and matters get worse when this actual ship is the one that may carry Lona, John and possibly Dina back to the States (and possibly sink on the way). Thus, Bernick is in a MoralDilemma, considering whether he shall live on a lie, or flag the truth. Lona urges him to "do the right thing".

* MoralDilemma: Tell the truth or not. Bernick has to decide whether his lie shall persist. And he has to decide on the issue of the Indian Girl, to save the lives of his relatives. To make matters worse, revealing the truth may lead to financial loss for him.

--> No, the spirit of truth and freedom, ''that'' is the true [[TitleDrop pillars of society]]!

* DomesticAbuser: Bernick shows up with a stick, justifiyng [[ValuesDissonance why he had to beat]] his teenage son Olaf to compliance.

* MoralDilemma: Tell the truth or not. Bernick has to decide whether his lie shall persist. And he has to decide on the issue of the Indian Girl, to save the lives of his relatives.

Problem is, he did not get his wealth by honorable means. When he started out, his family was close to bankruptcy, and he had to marry a wealty girl, Betty Tønnesen, to get on his feet. At the same time, her brother John and her half sister Lona migrated to the United States, and Bernick blamed the lousy book-keeping on John, seeing to it that he got off the hook himself. Problems rise when John and Lona returns, planning to stay. Lona Hessel is a BlitheSpirit, a free and independent woman ahead of her time, to great chagrin for the more moralistisc wifes in her home town. John is eager to settle things with Bernick, to get rid of the slander on his reputation. Problems arise when Bernick, for the sake of honor, denies him this right. There is also the question of Dina, a young prodigy he has fostered, daughter of a Madam Dorf, the woman Bernick discarded for the sake of Betty. Whether she is his daughter is anyone`s guess.

** Lampshaded on a couple of occasions. First, the American sailors arrive, and is seen as a wild and uncouth gang of brutes by the locals. Later, The US office which ordered the Indian Girl demands that it shall set sail before it is finished, effectively dooming it to sink. Bernick almost snarks something about the American way of doing business.

* The NeedsOfTheMany: Discussed by Aune and Bernick. Bernick effectively uses this against Aune to make him do his will. The result - a possible loss of a ship with all hands.

* LovelessMarriage: Karsten Bernick to Betty. They do have a son, though. It may be subverted, as Betty actually seems to love her husband (but Bernick may have loved madam Dorf even more).

* MoralGuardian: The teacher Rørlund, and the married women at large.

* WorkingClassHero: Shipwright Aune is a union man, and speaks on behalf of his crew.

Then, there is the shipyard. Shipwright Aune, working for Bernick, is also a union man, debating with his fellow workers whether the use of new equipment will render them unemployed. Bernick puts him under pressure to make two ships ready on short notice, although Aune is aware that one of them, the "Indian Queen", bound for America, will go down because of some weaknesses in the hull. Bernick will not admit this, and matters get worse when this actual ship is the one that may carry Lona, John and possibly Dina back to the States (and possibly sink on the way). Thus, Bernick is in a MoralDilemma, considering whether he shall live on a lie, or flag the truth. Lona urges him to "do the right thing".

* HappyEnding: The last play written by Ibsen to end on a lighter note.

* MoralDilemma: Tell the truth or not. Bernick has to decide whether his lie shall persist. And he has to decide on the issue of the Indian Queen, to save the lives of his relatives.

* LoveDodekahedron: Karsten Bernick seems to have been infatuated with Lona Hessel at an early stage, while actually marrying her half sister Betty, all the while Lona may or may not have had feelings for ''his'' sister Marta, who also loved John, who ended up proposing to Dina who was betrothed to Rørlund - and Dina may be the illegitimate daughter of Bernick with yet another woman, madam Dorf.

* EagleLand: America is discussed as the "land of the free". Lona Hessel comes straight from there with John, and both Dina and Olaf, Bernicks son, wishes to go there. Being 1877, this is subverted according to later standards though. The discussion of MoralAmbiguity on behalf of the United States is there as well.

''The Pillars of Society'' is the second of Creator/HenrikIbsen's "political" plays (the first one being ''Theatre/TheLeagueOfYouth'', and the last one ''Theatre/AnEnemyOfThePeople''), written in 1877, kickstarting his string of "realistic" plays. This play tells the story of businessman and societal founder ''Carsten Bernick'', and his endeavour as a part of the "founding elite" at the time. Bernick owns a shipyard, and has interests in industrial developments, a possible railway built to his town (he lobbies on the line of it, seeing to it that it does not interfer with his steamboat lines), and several other investments. Bernick is, by far, the wealthiest man in his society - a "pillar" of the first order.

''The Pillars of Society'' is the second of Henrik Ibsen`s "political" plays (the first one being ''Theatre/TheLeagueOfYouth'', and the last one ''Theatre/AnEnemyOfThePeople''), written i 1877, kickstarting his string of "realistic" plays. This play tells the story of businessman and societal founder ''Carsten Bernick'', and his endeavour as a part of the "founding elite" at the time. Bernick owns a shipyard, and has interests in industrial developments, a possible railway built to his town (he lobbies on the line of it, seeing to it that it does not interfer with his steamboat lines), and several other investments. Bernick is, by far, the wealthiest man in his society - a "pillar" of the first order.

* Loveless Marriage: Karsten Bernick to Betty. They do have a son, though. It may be subverted, as Betty actually seems to love her husband (but Bernick may have loved madam Dorf even more).

* WomenAreMoreWise: Lona Hessel ''is'' this trope.