Ghosts

Ghosts takes place over one night at a mansion in Norway. The majority of the story is unveiled in a conversation between the protagonist, Mrs. Alving, and a pastor from a nearby town, Manders. The two are building an orphanage to honor the late Captain Alving, a man Manders believed to have been an honorable man, but who in fact was a scoundrel and a drunk. The history of Alving mirrors and highlights the present predicaments of two others in the play: Engstrand, a carpenter for the orphanage, and Oswald, Captain and Mrs. Alving's son.

The metaphor of ghosts is entirely appropriate as the remnants of the past have a dire effect on the present situation. The truth of the past and the lies told about it are a constant presence in Mrs. show more Alving's life, and she is overcome by these ghosts daily...as we are all influenced and haunted by our past and our ancestors...except maybe a bit more extreme due to the nature of the Captain's errr...illness.

I chose this play for my Introduction to Literature class for two reasons: one, I had never read it and that is almost a necessity for me in teaching (I really like something new); and two, the critical reaction to the play was one of horror. The play was described as "one of the filthiest things ever written in Scandinavia", "an open drain: a loathsome sore unbandaged", and "unutterably offensive". I just had to find out why. Turns out, there isn't anything a modern reader would find obscene, maybe a bit dirty, but not exactly obscene. And that is perfect for teaching the historical perspective and ideology, so I'm excited.

Thematically, the play stretched the minds of its contemporary audience, promoting joie de vivre and independent thinking while criticizing traditional morays and values. I can't wait to see what my students make of it. show less

A fantastic relevant play. One that speaks of the hypocrisy of the church and societal norms while warning us of our own mortality.

Ghosts was read for my EN102 class. The play is exceptionally dark and deals with problems such as incest, venereal disease, extramarital affairs, etc. The introduction said it was one of the first plays to deal with such dark matters and was written to address situations where it might be best to divorce, essentially.

The play raised interesting questions of morality, primarily in the second act during a conversation between Pastor Manders and Mrs. Alving. All in all, this was an enjoyable read, the language was not dense and the plot was straightforward. As with all plays, however, I would have enjoyed seeing it performed more than just sitting and reading it.

Also, the ending was fantastically dramatic.

Ghosts is a play about the oppressiveness of the rigid 19th century Scandinavian protestant morality that holds it as the only purpose of one's life to do their duty. It is the refutation of this notion, seen through the character of Helen Alvig who has always lived her life in this way, yet it has not brought her happiness ...

Read in Slovene under the title Strahovi.

A powerful, controversial play (like most of his), he conveys a less than sterling relationship between mother and son that disintegrates when the truth comes out and the son's mind deteriorates. The truth will always out.

Excellently written, dark, controversial at time and now drama about all kinds of unpleasantries that affect peoples lives from 'dissipated lives' to euthanasia and using morphine to commit suicide cos of VD. I will explore Ibsens Ouvre.

Ibsen's plays really take you to the end of 19th century - and make youfeel the anxiety caused by social pressures and hypocrisy and seek the power to break free from the rules and conventions and reach for something real.