This page needs to be proofread.
The Norwegian title, Samfundets Stötter, means literally Society's Pillars. In the text, the word "Samfund" has sometimes been translated "society," sometimes "community." The noun "stötte," a pillar, has for its correlative the verb, "at stötte," to support; so that where the English phrase, "to support society," occurs, there is, in the original, a direct allusion to the title of the play. The leading merchants in Norwegian seaports often serve as consuls for one or other foreign Power—whence the title by which Bernick is addressed. Rörlund, in the original is called "Adjunkt"—that is to say, he is an assistant master in a school, subordinate to the headmaster or rector.
W.A.
