Jeppe on the Hill; Or, The Transformed Peasant (Danish: Jeppe på bjerget) is a Danish comedy by the Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, written during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. The play premiered at the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in 1722, and was first published in print in 1723. The play has a special status in Danish theater, and playing the lead role, Jeppe, is seen as a great distinction. Because this, it was entered into the Danish Culture Canon in 2006.[1] Despite its fame in Denmark, it is not well known in the English-speaking world.[2]
In the play, Jeppe is a drunkard peasant who is abused by his wife, Nille. The Baron and his court find him in a drunken stupor and decide to play a joke on Jeppe.[3] A well-known quotation from the work is from Jeppe's soliloquy early in the play, where he says, "Everybody says that Jeppe drinks, but nobody asks why Jeppe drinks", rationalizing his alcohol abuse as a sensible reaction to his miserable life.
Synopsis
The story follows Jeppe, a peasant who is ill treated by his wife and exploited by his employers. The opening scene of the play sees his wife, Nille, demand he make a long trip to buy soap. On his way, he stops at the inn of Jakob Skomager, who slowly coerces Jeppe into spending all of his money on alcohol. While in a drunken stupor, he is discovered by the baron and his servants who decide to play a joke on Jeppe. They take him to the baron's castle where he is dressed in the nobleman's clothes and put in his bed. The pranksters then wait nearby to watch the fallout.
Upon awaking, Jeppe is greatly confused by the grandeur of his surroundings and wonders if he is dreaming or in paradise. He calls out for his wife to no avail. Unable to remember how he got to the castle from being a peasant, he begins to wonder if he is someone else entirely. Servants in uniforms and doctors arrive and convince Jeppe that he is in fact the Baron. He then decides to entertain himself by ordering about the servants, and eating and drinking to excess. He once again falls into a drunken stupor. He is dressed in his old clothes and returned to the side of the road where the baron had found him.
When Jeppe wakes again, he is certain that he had been in paradise. In an attempt to go back, he takes a nap, but is interrupted by his wife smacking him on the back of the head. He then remarks that he is certainly no longer in paradise.
Jeppe is then arrested and presented before the magistrate for seizing the baron's castle and tormenting the servants. The mock trial finds him guilty and sentences him to be hung and poisoned. He begs for his life to no avail, but settles for some whiskey instead. Before his execution, he drinks and says goodbye to his family and friends before once again falling into a drunken stupor. He is then hung at the gallows by his arm pits. Nille, convinced he is dead, expresses regret for her treatment of her husband. Jeppe then wakes up, as the poison he has been administered was in fact a sleeping potion. He immediately asks for schnapps and is chastised by wife, who is no longer sympathetic.
The court which had sentenced him to hang in jest then pardons him, and he is taken down from the gallows. He is given a significant sum of money by the magistrate. The true nature of the events are finally revealed to Jeppe by Magnus. Jeppe is much humiliated and becomes the laughingstock of the village. The play closes on the baron reflecting that the events show why peasants should not be given power.[4]
Holberg, Ludvig (2020). Ludvig Holberg Plays. Volume I: Just Justesen's reflections on theatre, Jeppe of the hill, Ulysses von Ithacia. Translated by Holm, Bent; Kynoch, Gaye. Hollitzer. ISBN9783990125953. OCLC1155694802.
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