Ghosts (Plays for Performance Series) [Paperback]

Henrik Ibsen (Author), Nicholas Rudall (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1990 | Series: Plays for Performance Series

Ibsen’s psychological masterpiece is a mordant attack on society and its standards as viewed through the tragedy of a woman’s life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Meyer's translations of Ibsen are a major fact in one's general sense of post-war drama. Their vital pace, their unforced insistence on the poetic centre of Ibsen's genius, have beaten academic versions from the field."—The New Statesman

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Norwegian (translation) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 092958743X
• ISBN-13: 978-0929587431
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( I ) > Ibsen, Henrik
  • #42 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Continental European

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ibsen's controversial attack on conventional morality, July 1, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ghosts (Hampton, trans.) (Paperback)

Although Henrik Ibsen is the first great modern dramatist, his play "Ghosts" ("Gengangere") bears a strong similarity to ancient Greek drama, where the "tragic flaw" of the protagonist lives on in his children. However, in this story the curse on the Alving family has a medical basis. Published in 1881 but not performed until the next year because of its controversial subject matter, "Ghosts" deals with the impact of congenital venereal disease on a family. "Ghosts" strongly reflects Ibsen's desire to attack hypocrisy and conventional morality and caused even more of a furor that his previous drama, "A Doll's House."

Helen Alving is building an orphanage as a memorial to her late husband and the night before the dedication she confesses to her old friend Parson Manders that her husband had been a "degenerate," and she is building the orphanage using her husband's "dirty" money so only her own money will pass on to her son, Oswald, who has just returned from living abroad. But then Oswald confesses he has a debilitating, incurable disease that the doctors believe was inherited. Even from beyond the grave, the "ghost" of Captain Alving ruins the life of his family. Mrs. Alving has to confess her husband's past to their son, destroying the young man's idealized view of his father. Knowing he is dying, Oswald wants to seduce the maid, Regina, so that when he enters the next stage of the disease she will give him poison. Oswald does not care that Regina is really his half-sister, and in the end it will be his mother's decision whether or not to give her son the poison when Oswald begins to have his attack.

The ending of the play constitutes a Rorschach test for the audience, with Ibsen refusing to let them off the hook. "Ghosts" is probably the Ibsen drama that relies most on symbolism, from the heavy use of light/dark imagery to the purifying aspects of fire, to the obvious symbolism of ghosts. Consequently, I think this makes "Ghosts" one of the easier plays by Ibsen for students to analyze. Final Argument: Reading Ibsen's plays in order has greater benefit than usual when reading the works of a single author. If you read "A Doll's House," "Ghosts," "An Enemy of the People," and "The Wild Duck," then you will see the playwright struggling to find a play that will reflect his deeply held beliefs and also find widespread critical and public acceptance. The relationship between each set of plays in the progression becomes insightful, as Ibsen either extends or reverses elements of the previous drama. For teachers of drama there might not be a better quartet of plays to study to show the growth of a major dramatist.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Ghosts" by Henrik Ibsen - easy to read, hell to analyse, October 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I read "Ghosts" by Henrik Ibsen as part of a college assignment. At first I thought it was really easy to understand - the language was really simple compared to Shakespeare etc. But once I got down to analysing it, I found it really difficult. The ending is ambiguous and the characters are all a little disturbed. "ghosts" is about the past and its effect on the present. it also incorporates such complex themes as euthenaisia, incest and family secrets. if you can understand the complexity of the text, and make some attempt at understanding the ending, "Ghosts" is a pretty good read and is actually quite interesting to analyse.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating, March 15, 2007

By 

Biblibio - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ghosts (Paperback)

"Ghosts", while not as famous as Ibsen's "A Doll's House", is clearly an interesting piece of writing. Nobody denies that. It is an interesting book to analyze, it's a quick read, but very deep, and it leaves a very strong impression on you.

"Ghosts" is in a sense, like "A Doll's House", about something that while still frowned upon today, is much more acceptable. In "Ghosts" there is the theme of the "sins of fathers", and the father's sins are brought to light. Mrs. Alving has been keeping secrets for a very long time, and here is where, through her ghosts, she reveals them.

Well, perhaps it's not as simple as that. The plot is intriguing, the plot twists are surprising, and the ending is disturbingly good. Ibsen created a fascinating story and masterpiece when he wrote "Ghosts", and it's absolutely superb. I highly recommend reading this play to anyone, especially if you liked Ibsen's other works.

Note: I don't suggest buying this play alone in a book like this, though. You might as well buy a book with several of Ibsens plays for the same amount of money, and then you'll get "A Doll's House" too.