Characters in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts

Introduction 

Henrik Ibsen’s 'Ghosts' (1881) presents a powerful critique of societal norms through its deeply symbolic characters. The psychological drama revolves around five characters. Each character embodies the themes of hypocrisy, morality, and the burden of the past. This presentation explores their roles and significance.

Mrs. Helene Alving – The Tragic Mother and Feminist Figure

Mrs. Alving is the central character of the play. She is a woman trapped by societal expectations, yet she struggles to break free from them. As a widow, she has dedicated her life to upholding the false image of her late husband, Captain Alving, despite knowing about his moral corruption.

Key Traits:

• Intelligent and independent but socially constrained.
• Seeks to free herself and her son from the "ghosts" of the past.
• Her ultimate tragedy lies in realizing that her efforts have failed—her son is doomed by his father's sins.

Significance:

·         Mrs. Alving represents the plight of women in a patriarchal society. She initially obeys societal norms but later recognizes their destructive nature. She is one of Ibsen’s early feminist characters, much like Nora in A Doll’s House, but unlike Nora, she cannot escape her circumstances.

Oswald Alving – The Doomed Son

Oswald is Mrs. Alving’s son, an artist who has spent years in Paris. He returns home suffering from inherited syphilis, which he euphemistically calls "the joy of life" turning into "the worm."

Key Traits:

• A free thinker shaped by liberal European ideals.
• A tragic figure burdened by his father’s sins.
• His condition symbolizes the inescapability of the past.

Significance:

·         Oswald represents the consequences of societal repression. He inherits his father’s disease both physically (syphilis) and metaphorically (the destructive effects of societal hypocrisy). His final plea for euthanasia forces his mother into a painful moral dilemma, symbolizing the devastating cost of inherited guilt.

Pastor Manders – The Hypocritical Moralist

Pastor Manders is a clergyman who upholds strict moral values but is blind to the real suffering caused by those values. He is an old acquaintance of Mrs. Alving and dissuaded her from leaving her husband in the past.

Key Traits:

• Self-righteous and obsessed with public opinion.
• Blindly upholds societal norms, even at the cost of individual suffering.
• Easily manipulated by others, particularly Engstrand.

Significance:

·         Manders embodies the hypocrisy of religious and social institutions. He preaches morality but lacks true compassion, making him an ironic figure—he fears scandal more than actual wrongdoing. His failure to act morally despite his position as a clergyman exposes Ibsen’s critique of organized religion.

Jakob Engstrand – The Manipulative Opportunist

Engstrand is a carpenter and Regina’s supposed father. He is a cunning and self-serving man who manipulates others for his own benefit.

Key Traits:

• A master of deception, using religious language to appear virtuous.
• Seeks to establish a "home for wayward sailors" to make money.
• Uses guilt to control Pastor Manders.

Significance:

·         Engstrand represents the opportunistic lower class that exploits social hypocrisy for personal gain. Unlike Manders, he does not pretend to be morally upright but uses the facade of religious charity to advance his interests.

Regina Engstrand – The Ambitious Maid

Regina is a young woman working as Mrs. Alving’s maid. She believes Jakob Engstrand is her father but later learns that she is Captain Alving’s illegitimate daughter.

Key Traits:

• Ambitious and wants to escape her low social status.
• Strong-willed, refusing to be manipulated by Engstrand.
• Initially attracted to Oswald but horrified upon learning they are half-siblings.

Significance:

·         Regina is another victim of Captain Alving’s moral corruption. She symbolizes the struggles of lower-class women who seek social mobility but are ultimately trapped by their circumstances. When she realizes her fate, she chooses to leave, unlike Mrs. Alving, who remains bound by duty.

Conclusion

The characters in Ghosts represent different aspects of Ibsen’s critique of Victorian society. Mrs. Alving and Oswald are tragic figures burdened by the past, while Pastor Manders and Engstrand embody the hypocrisy of religion and social norms. Regina, caught in the middle, reflects the harsh realities of class and gender oppression.