syphilis inGhosts reflects several misconceptions, particularly the notion that a child born with the disease might not show symptoms until their twenties; in reality, infected newborns may not exhibit symptoms until a few weeks after birth, but the disease does not remain dormant for years.

The first effective treatment for syphilis was discovered in 1909 when German-born bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich found that the compound Salvarsan could kill the spirochete responsible for the disease. Unfortunately, Salvarsan contained arsenic, a deadly poison. In 1943, penicillin was identified as a highly effective treatment, and it remains the preferred method today. Through an antibiotic program centered on penicillin, doctors can manage syphilis. However, public attitudes pose challenges in treating the disease. Some individuals delay seeking treatment due to fear or shame associated with its link to sexual promiscuity, resulting in not all treatable cases being reported to doctors in time for a cure.

Realism

Realism, as a literary movement, gained prominence in the United States and Europe during the late 1800s, which is when Ghosts was written. It emerged as a reaction to romanticism, which distorted reality through human perception. Realism sought to depict the truth about life, particularly the harsh aspects that people often prefer to ignore. Realist literature frequently highlights suffering, disease, and corruption—elements that romantic literature tended to avoid. Ghosts is from a period in Ibsen’s career known as his realist phase, during which he addressed social issues that troubled both him and his audience. He hoped that by exposing these unpleasant truths, societal change would follow. In this play, Ibsen unveils the hypocrisy often hidden behind tributes to esteemed civic leaders, examining the lingering "ghosts" of the damage a man with a great reputation might cause.

Setting

All three acts of this play are set in a single location: the garden-room of Mrs. Alving’s house. Confined to this one space, the play focuses the audience’s attention on the characters and their interactions. The human drama takes precedence over incidental exterior details.

This specific setting is significant because it is where the past, which haunts the present like a ghost, unfolded. This house is where Captain Alving lived. Through the doors is the dining room where Helena Alving witnessed him assault the maid. The bleak fjords outside the windows have defined Mrs. Alving’s world for much of her life. No other setting could convey as much about life in that house thirty years earlier, when the Alvings were newlyweds and the troubles began. If ghosts haunt this family, this particular setting is their haunting ground.

Symbolism

A writer of Ibsen’s stature always imbues objects with meanings that extend beyond their practical function in the play. In Ghosts, several objects are particularly significant. The most obvious is the orphanage. An orphanage is a place for children left alone in the world without parents. By building an orphanage as a memorial, Mrs. Alving achieves two goals simultaneously. She creates a public institution that benefits the community and enhances the prestige of the person it commemorates. However, by making the memorial an orphanage, she also subtly comments on how the captain treated his own children. In the course of the play, the orphanage, intended as a tribute to an undeserving man, burns down, indicating that such deceit is doomed to fail.

The second crucial symbolic element is Oswald’s illness. While the script does not delve into the specifics of syphilis, its symbolic importance in this narrative is significant. Firstly, the disease is transmitted through sexual intercourse; Captain Alving would not have contracted it if he had been the morally upright man he and his peers pretended he was. Secondly, syphilis can be inherited by unborn children—as Oswald quotes his doctor, "The sins of the father are visited upon the children." This ties into the biblical doctrine of Original Sin, which asserts that all humans are born sinful due to Adam's transgression. After examining Oswald, the doctor remarked, "You have been worm-eaten from your birth."

A minor yet meaningful object in the story is the champagne glass. In Act II, Regina is invited to drink champagne with Mrs. Alving and Oswald. Although apprehensive because she is the maid, she harbors hopes of marrying Oswald and sees the invitation as genuine. However, before they can drink, they are interrupted first by Pastor Manders and then by the sight of the orphanage burning in the distance. Upon returning from the fire, the champagne bottle remains unopened, and Mrs. Alving reveals to Oswald and Regina that they are siblings. Before leaving, Regina casts a bitter glance at the untouched champagne and says, "I may come to drink champagne with gentlefolks yet." Despite being treated almost like a daughter in the household, as she tells Engstrand in the first act, drinking champagne symbolizes a social barrier she has yet to overcome.

1882: German engineer Gottlieb Daimler creates the first internal combustion engine.

Today: Cars are so ubiquitous that they cause ongoing issues with congestion and pollution in cities and suburbs worldwide.

1882: Major industrial hubs like New York and London are testing electrical lighting as a replacement for gas lights.

Today: Electrical cables from massive nuclear or hydroelectric power plants reach most parts of the world.

1882: Aletta Jacobs, the first female doctor in the Netherlands, opens the world's first birth control clinic in Amsterdam.

Today: Birth control remains a contentious topic, even in regions where single motherhood rates have surged.

1882: Six years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the first functional telephone, Western Electric starts manufacturing telephone units.

Today: Wireless phones and email devices using radio waves are among the most sought-after consumer electronics.

1882: The romanticized image of the western outlaw is solidified following the death of bank robber Jesse James, who was killed by his cousin for a reward.

Today: Criminal figures continue to be glamorized in popular culture, especially in rap music.

1882: Chicago, where Ghosts premiered, introduces its first mechanized public transport: electric cable cars that cover twenty blocks in thirty minutes.

Today: Subways and elevated trains can transport passengers from the city to the airport in the same amount of time.

The Alving home, nestled in the scenic expanse of Rosenvold along one of western Norway’s fjords, serves as the central stage for the unfolding drama. This family estate, with its late nineteenth-century opulence, doubles as both a sanctuary and a reflection of the inner turmoil of its inhabitants. The primary setting is the house's garden room, a space bordered on the left by a door and a window, the latter adorned with a small sofa and worktable. To the right, two more doors lead to other parts of the household. At the room's core, a round table, strewn with books, magazines, and newspapers, is surrounded by chairs, inviting a sense of intellectual engagement or perhaps escapism. This literature, focusing on the era’s advancements in science, subtly underscores the thematic current of the play—a discourse on science and the illusions of happiness that wealth and material comfort promise.

A distinctive feature of the garden room is its glass conservatory, which visually and symbolically connects the interior to the external world. The glass wall serves as a reflective surface for the shifting moods and events around the estate. Often, it frames the somber view of a mist-enshrouded fjord, setting a tone of melancholy that resonates with the play’s exploration of hidden truths and suppressed emotions. As the story progresses, dramatic events unfold beyond this transparent boundary; notably, a devastating fire engulfs the newly constructed orphanage, a scene visible through the glass and emblematic of the destructiveness of concealed sins and societal neglect.

In the play’s closing moments, the dawning sunlight spills through the window, casting a new light on the room. This illumination hints at potential renewal or revelation, juxtaposing the darkness that precedes it. Thus, the Alving home not only functions as a setting but also as a dynamic participant in the narrative, its features mirroring the characters’ psychological landscapes and the thematic essence of the script.

Ghosts was turned into a silent film in 1915, featuring Erich von Stroheim and Mary Alden. The film was produced by D. W. Griffith.

A modern adaptation was created in 1986, starring Judi Dench as Mrs. Alving, Kenneth Branagh as Oswald, and Natasha Richardson as Regina. This version was directed by Elijah Moshinsky.

An unabridged audio cassette, narrated by Flo Gibson (reading the text rather than performing it as a play), was released in 1993 by Audio Book Contractors of Washington, D.C.

Sources

Archer, William, “Ibsen and English Criticism,” in Fortnightly Review, Vol. 46, No. 271, July 1889, pp. 30-37.

Derry, T. K., A History of Scandinavia, University of Minnesota Press, 1979.

Esslin, Martin, “Ibsen and Modern Drama,” in Ibsen and the Theater: The Dramatist in Production, New York University Press, 1980, pp. 71-82.

Goldman, Emma, The Social Significance of Modern Drama, Gorham Press, 1914.

Heiberg, Hans, in Ibsen: A Portrait of the Artist, translated by Joan Tate, University of Miami Press, 1987, p. 217.

Further Reading

Archer, William, ed., From Ibsen's Workshop: Notes, Scenarios and Drafts of the Modern Plays, translated by A. G. Charter, Scribner, 1978. This reprint of the 1913 study reveals the developmental process of Ibsen's key works. It includes an introduction by Archer, one of Ibsen's most insightful critics.

Clurman, Harold, “In Full Stride,” in Ibsen, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977. This chapter in Clurman's critical examination of Ibsen discusses Ghosts and A Doll's House. The analysis focuses on the approach actors should take to deeply understand the characters in the plays.

Joyce, James, “Ibsen's New Drama,” from The Critical Writings of James Joyce, Viking Penguin, 1959. Originally published in 1900, this review of the lesser-known Ibsen play, When We Dead Awaken, addresses all of the author's works throughout his career.

Lebowitz, Naomi, Ibsen and the Great World, Louisiana State University Press, 1990. This book offers a detailed examination of how Ibsen's surroundings influenced his character development. It is both complex and enriching.

MacFarlane, James, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen, Cambridge University Press, 1994. This essential guide includes cross-references to all of Ibsen's major works and annotations about the references within them. MacFarlane, the editor, is a leading authority on Ibsen.

Meyer, Hans Georg, “Ibsen's Dramatic Technique,” in Henrik Ibsen, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1972, pp. 9-18. This work primarily examines Ibsen's early plays Brand and Peer Gynt to draw conclusions about the evolution of his style throughout different periods of his life.

Salome, Lou, Ibsen's Heroines, Black Swan Books, 1985. For a comprehensive understanding, the chapter on the protagonist of Ghosts should be read in conjunction with Salome's analyses of Ibsen's other significant female characters.

Theoharis, Constantine, Ibsen's Drama: Right Action and Tragic Joy, St. Martin's Press, 1996. Theoharis explores the deep psychology of each character and how their interconnected needs drive the plays.