Henrik Johan Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright and theater director born on March 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway. He was the eldest of five children after the early death of his older brother. His father, Knud Ibsen, one in a long line of sea captains and merchants, had been born in Skien in 1797 and married Marichen Cornelia Martine Altenburg, the daughter of a wealthy German merchant, in 1825. Interestingly, scholars like Joan Templeton have noted that Knud Ibsen and Marichen Altenburg grew up together and had a pseudo-familial relationship, with Marichen's mother being the sister of Knud's step-father, Ole Paus. This semi-incestuous relationship of Henrik's parents would be a fascination...
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