Overview

The publication of Ghosts in 1881 caused an uproar and almost ruined Ibsen. It was banned across Europe and sales of his plays plummeted. Its themes of moral degradation, out-of-wedlock children, venereal disease, incest, infidelity and euthanasia, proved too shocking. The play remains shocking even for modern-day audiences. Captain Alving was a respected man in his community, and on the tenth anniversary of his death, Mrs Alving is preparing for the opening of an orphanage in his honor. This effort however, is really an attempt by Mrs Alving to mask her hidden disgust with Captain Alving who in reality was a cheating, immoral philanderer who bequethed a deadly legacy to his son Oswald.