Overview

Ghosts is Ibsen's haunting study of the lingering poison in a marriage based on a lie. Osvald Alving has returned from Paris to his mother's home, carrying with him a dreadful secret. His mother's delight at having him home soon turns to horror and grief. The corruption that she had hoped to spare him from when sending him away from the influence of his depraved father has in fact infected his whole body in the form of syphillis. In Mrs Alving and her son's distrust of conventional religion and mores and Oswald's anguish with life, Ibsen created a thoroughly modern and provocative work. It created widespread outrage and shock when first produced in 1881. Translated and adapted by Amelia Bullmore.