Career
Once a rich merchant in Skien with a lavish lifestyle, Knud Ibsen went bankrupt, an experience which made him an embittered and moody man, and which profoundly influenced his son"s work. Knud Ibsen had, like the character Old Ekdahl, also been a lieutenant and a huntsman in his youth. Knud Ibsen was the son of ship"s captain Henrich Ibsen and Johanne Plesner.
His paternal great-grandfather had immigrated from Denmark to Norway in 1726.
The family"s earliest known ancestor was Rasmus Ibsen (1632–1703) from Stege, Denmark (cf Rasmus Gynt in Peer Gynt). His father died at sea in 1797, and the following year, Johanne married Ole Paus, a ship-owner, and he grew up on the Paus family estate Rising.
Young Henrik left Skien never to return at 15, in 1844. Knud Ibsen was conscious and proud of his son"s success, commenting that "when the Pauses are dead, they are dead, but my name will live on.".
