The search for a meaning, or interpretation has engaged and often bewildered audiences and critics all over the world. It is seen as an exploration of the author’s autobiographical history, or of issues dealing with youth versus maturity, or of issues of psychology, and other possible interpretations.
Halvard Solness, the master builder, has become the most successful builder in his home town by a fortunate series of coincidences for him which were the chance misfortunes of his competitors. He had previously conceived these fortunate coincidences in his mind, powerfully wished for them to come to pass, but never actually did anything about them. By the time his wife's ancestral home was destroyed by a fire in a clothes cupboard, he had already imagined how he could cause such an accident and then profit from it by dividing the land on which the house stood into plots and covering it with homes for sale. Between this fortuitous occurrence and some chance misfortunes of his competitors Solness comes to believe that he has only to wish for something to happen in order for it to come about.
He rationalises this as a particular gift from God, bestowed so that, through his unnatural success, he can carry out His ordained work of church building.
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