John Gabriel Borkman was the penultimate work written by Ibsen before his death, as well as a major publishing event of his time. His hero, consumed by a grand idea, struggles with forces beyond his control. In trying to realize his vision, he exceeds limits, reaches hubris, provokes Nemesis, ends up in trial, and ultimately is crushed.

The family environment is the field of conflict in John Gabriel Borkman. And while, at the opening of the curtain, the atmosphere in Ibsen's works exudes family warmth, something that is deconstructed during the course of the story, in Borkman "the moment the curtain rises, the case is finished," according to a critic of the time.

This is a symbolic work, yet so real and contemporary at the same time. Ibsen's masterpiece, in an excellent translation by Margarita Melberg, symbolizes the woes arising from the passion for power and profit, from the devaluation of laws, the betrayal of feelings, and the reckless exploitation of the environment.

The volume is enriched by an afterword, written specifically for the edition, by Anna Stavrakopoulou, Associate Professor in the Department of Theater at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a detailed chronology of the life and work of the great Norwegian playwright.