Mrs Alving in Ghosts by Ibsen - 1187 Words

Through excessive parallelism and constant reference to â€Å"ghosts,† Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen portrays a view on the rewards of duty that clashes sharply with the accepted views of the time. In his native country of Norway, and indeed all around the world in the year 1881, ‘duty’ was seen as a powerful motivator in both religion and society. The abstract concept of duty was what constrained society into ‘acceptable’ boundaries, and people without a sense of duty were often shunned and rejected by their fellow citizens. Henrik Ibsen was well-known for his somewhat controversial plays. Just before writing Ghosts, â€Å"Ghosts† he wrote A Doll’s House about a young woman seeking to escape the bonds of duty. While the classic feminist story†¦show more content†¦But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she believes that he is strong, that he ll protect her from the consequences of her actions. Then, at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees how fake their relationship has been. She realizes that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll, a toy to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality. Although she tried to escape from her marriage, the young Mrs. Alving apparently did not have a sudden moment of realization of her duties to herself, her own honor, or her own pride. If she did, we are not told them; she continued to live as her husband and as society expected her to. By the end of Ghosts, however, when the effects of her husband’s life of duplicity are clear, the older and wiser Mrs. Alving has obviously come to regret her silence. Boyer states, â€Å"She sees now that it was the limiting conditions, the lack of true joy, a goal in life, and meaningful work which destroyed the best in her husband. She sees too that she herself was the immediate cause of his ruin, because she had made life intolerable for him with herShow MoreRelated Ibsens Ghosts Vs. Aristotles Poetics Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesIbsen’s Ghosts, although a relatively modern drama, maintains many classical elements of tragedy as defined by Aristotle and championed by the ancient Greek playwrights and poets. One element of displayed prominently in this case is character. 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