"Catiline" was Henrik Ibsen's first play. It was written during winter 1848–49 and first performed under Ibsen's name on 3 December 1881 at the Nya Teatern (New Theater), Stockholm, Sweden.
The main character in this historical drama is the noble Roman Lucius Catiline, based on the historical figure of Catiline. He is torn between two women, his wife Aurelia and the Vestal virgin Furia. As characteristic of Ibsen's early work, the play is in blank verse.
Although "Catiline" may not be Ibsen's best play, it foreshadows many of the themes found in his later works. Catiline, full of doubts and torn between love and duty, is similar to protagonists in John Gabriel Borkman and The Master Builder.
Furia is also the prototype of some of the later female characters, such as Hedda Gabler.
