Cover of Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen Ebook Ghosts
Ebook · Sovereign

Ghosts

Author
Henrik Ibsen
Series
World Classics
Language
English
Length
90 pages
ISBN
9781909904491
Published
15 October 2013
Imprint
Sovereign
  • Family secrets
  • morality
  • truth
  • responsibility
  • heredity
  • extramarital affairs
  • disease
  • mental illness
  • societal expectations
  • repression

Description

"Ghosts" is a play that explores the themes of family, morality, and the consequences of denying the truth. The story centers on Mrs. Alving, a widow who is preparing to dedicate an orphanage to the memory of her late husband, a respected community leader. However, as the play unfolds, it becomes clear that her husband's reputation was not as spotless as it seemed. Mrs. Alving's son, Oswald, returns home from abroad, and it becomes clear that he is suffering from a hereditary disease that was passed down from his father. As the truth about his father's past is gradually revealed, Mrs. Alving is forced to confront the dark secrets that she has kept hidden for years. She realizes that her husband had a history of extramarital affairs and that he had passed on his disease to their son.

Author

Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) is often called the father of modern drama — a Norwegian playwright who turned the bourgeois living room into a stage of moral crisis. A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, and An Enemy of the People made silence, shame, and respectability explosive. Ibsen pioneered theatrical realism while also writing poetic epics such as Peer Gynt. What a household will not say becomes the plot; the doors still slam.