Peer Gynt: Act I and II

• Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by Henrik Ibsen, first published in 1867.
• The play explores the life of Peer Gynt, a Norwegian peasant and anti-hero.
• The story blends realism, fantasy, and satire.

Act I

• The play opens with Peer recounting a wild reindeer hunt story to his mother, Aase, exaggerating his exploits.
• Peer is portrayed as a dreamer and a storyteller, avoiding responsibility.
• He is invited to a wedding at Hægstad, but is turned away by Ingrid, the bride, as he had previously courted her.
• Peer then meets Solveig, a pious woman, but feels unworthy and cannot bring himself to stay with her.
• He abducts Ingrid, spends a night with her, and then abandons her.

Act II

• Peer is declared an outlaw for abducting Ingrid.
• He encounters three dairymaids who seduce him.
• He stumbles into the hall of the Mountain King of the trolls.
• The trolls offer to transform him into a troll if he will marry the Mountain King's daughter.
• Peer initially agrees but backs out when he realizes he would have to fully embrace the troll lifestyle, which involves embracing ugliness and selfishness.
• He escapes the trolls by using his strength and wits.
• He meets the Boyg, a shapeless being who demands that Peer go "round about".

Act III

• Peer returns home to find his mother, Aase, ill and dying.
• He comforts her with a fantastical story of a sleigh ride to Heaven.
• Aase dies, and Peer mourns her.
• Peer builds a cabin in the mountains, hoping to start a new life with Solveig.
• Solveig joins him, but their happiness is short-lived.
• The Woman in Green, the Mountain King's daughter whom Peer bedded when he was with the trolls, arrives with their monstrous child.
• She curses Peer, reminding him of his past actions.
• Ingrid, whom Peer abducted, also appears, further burdening him with his past.
• The Boyg warns Peer to continue going "round about," preventing him from settling down.
• Peer leaves Solveig, deciding he is not worthy of her.

Act IV

• Peer travels abroad and becomes a successful businessman.
• He amasses a fortune trading in questionable ventures, including shipping slaves to America and trading idols to China.
• He becomes involved with a group of international businessmen in Morocco.
• Peer flaunts his wealth and imagines himself as an emperor.
• His companions rob him and leave him stranded in the desert.
• He encounters Anitra, a Bedouin girl, who beguiles him and steals his remaining jewels and money.
• Peer becomes a wandering scholar and visits a mental asylum in Cairo.
• He is declared the "Emperor of Self" by the inmates, who see him as the epitome of their own delusions.

Act V

• Years later, Peer is an old man returning to Norway by sea.
• A shipwreck occurs, and Peer barely escapes with his life.
• He encounters the Strange Passenger, who is Death and reminds Peer of his wasted life.
• Back on land, Peer confronts the Button-Molder, who intends to melt down Peer's soul because he has not been truly himself.
• Peer argues that he has been something, even if not good.
• The Button-Molder gives Peer a chance to prove he has been himself at some point in his life.
• Peer seeks testimonies from people he has encountered, but they all offer negative accounts.
• He meets the Lean One, who claims Peer has lived his life according to the "round about" principle.
• Finally, Peer returns to Solveig's cabin.
• Solveig, now an old woman, has waited for him all her life.
• She says that he has always been himself in her faith, hope, and love.
• Peer collapses in her arms, finding solace and redemption in her unwavering love.
• The play ends with Solveig singing a lullaby, and it is left ambiguous whether Peer is saved or not.
• The Button-Molder says he will meet Peer at the next crossroads, suggesting the process is not over.