CORINNENOTES
QUESTION 1.
IN "GHOSTS" HOW DOES THE PAST INVADE THE PRESENT?
"Haunted by ghosts...we can't rid ourselves of them".This concept of the past invading the present is one which Ibsen explores in a number of his plays,including "Ghosts".Through this theme Ibsen attacks a society which clings on to outdated ideas and beliefs which ultimately destroy the individuals within it.
The characters relationships are affected throughout the play by events in the past.Regina and Osvald represent the visible manifestation of this past, "Ghosts!The couple in the conservatory -walking again",and they represent the consequences of previous actions.Equally the relationship between Mrs Alving and Manders is one marked with events of the past.How they see their relationship,and subsequently the past,is a key way of showing their differences.For Mrs Alving the past was "utterly miserable" while for Manders it represents "my life's greatest victory".Ibsen uses Manders to represent the voice of society and it is through him that the double standards and the persuasive nature of society is shown.Throughout his exchanges with Mrs Alving he trys to dominate the conversation,using retoric: "What right have we mortals to happiness?" and even resorts to cliches: "poor instrument of a Higher Power".It is the views of those like Manders that creates the hopeless situation which Mrs Alving is in,aware of the truth but unable to act on it because she is being made a "coward".Mander's statement, "I'm the same as I always was" shows how events in the past have failed to change his views.Manders,and by extension society,never progresses to enlightenment,allowing the "ghosts" of the past to dominate the present.
While Manders represents an oppressive society Osvald is the product of this kind of society. Osvald's return forcibly brings the past into the present.Mrs Alving trys to conceal this past: "you don't remember anything of those days" but Osvald has broken free from the confines placed upon him by society and is able to see the past as it really was: "I remember it distinctly". It is heavily ironic that several mentions are made to how Osvald has "inherited a worthy name". Indeed,in the eyes of society,Osvald has inherited a "worthy" name.He has also inherited an elaborate myth and a disease that will eventually kill him and destroy his mother's attempt to liberate herself from the past.The repetition of the word "inherit" helps to create the idea that the characters are all affected by the past and that,for them,the past is inextricably linked to the present.Osvald is also linked with the concept of the "joy of living".For Osvald this is the breaking free of the restrictions placed upon the characters.This phrase is echoed throughout the play as the truth begins to defeat the lies of the past.For Mrs Alving Osvald is the only way that she is able to open herself to this idea and finally understand the "joy of living".
Though the "ghosts" of the past are always present it does not stop Mrs Alving from trying to free herself of them.For her the building of the Orphanage is a way of breaking free from the past.The building of the Orphanage however simply reaffirms the myth of Captain Alving which society has created.It is only when the Orphanage burns down and is replaced by the much more fitting Seaman's Home that the reality of Alving is revealed.While fire is symbolic of cleansing and rebirth the burning of the Orphanage does not provide this for any of the characters.The lies of the past have be integrated too deeply into the lives of those involved.The truth is revealed but it does not make up for it being hidden in the first place.
It is through Osvald that the key feature of the past invading the present is shown,that of "the sins of the fathers are visited on the children".For Osvald this is literally the syphilis he inherited from his father.Through this disease the outcome of Alving's lifestyle is apparent in Osvald.The other characters within the play are not free from these sins,though.They may not be affected in a literal sense like Osvald but they are all affected metaphorically.The characters in "Ghosts" are the children of a society which has hidden the truth in order to preserve an illusion.This "sin" destroys their lives equally as much as Osvald's actual syphilis destroys his.
The gradual revealing of the truth about the past is the only way the characters can free themselves.Mrs Alving's delusion about the past and her,or rather society's,concept of "duty" is echoed throughout the play as she progresses to higher levels of truth.For Mrs Alving performing her "duty" has led her to create a false ideal of Alving which not only leaves herself isolated from her son but also means that Osvald and Regina have been denied a valuable part of their identites,forced to live a lie.Mrs Alving is,through Osvald's rejection of society's beliefs,able to finally stand up and reveal the truth.There is no such progression for Mander's who,ironically,is given the line "you've been concealing the truth from me all these years".This line is aimed at Engstrand though it could apply to several other characters,including himself.For Mander's the case is not that he cannot see the truth it is simply that he doesn't want to.He believes totally in the lies of society,without which he would have no rules to live by.For Engstrand the past is something which can be manipulated in order to serve his own needs.Ibsen parallels the relationship between Engstrand and Johanna with that of the Alvings,only with the male and female roles reversed.Both Mrs Alving and Engstrand marry "fallen" people,Engstrand for "three hundred dollars"and Mrs Alving for "a whole fortune".While Mander's condemns the "immorality" of Engstrand and Johanna's marriage the audience is aware that this judgement is equally,if not more,appropraite for the Alving's marriage.The parallels between these characters lives leads to the question of how alike Engstrand and Mrs Alving are.Both characters know the truth,but neither chooses to reveal it and both are aware of the restrictions placed upon them by society.It is how they deal with these restrictions that separates them.Engstrand uses the rules of society to his advantage while Mrs Alving is imprisoned by them.Is Mrs Alving's manipulation of the truth to preserve Alving's reputation any different from Engstrand's lies about his relationship with Regina though?Indeed in the end it is Mrs Alving's lies that cause the greater harm to those involved.
One of the key ways that the past infiltrates the present in "Ghosts" is Ibsen's use of imagery. Throughout the play images of the weather,and particularly the sun,are used to show both the state of society and the enlightenment of the characters.The play opens with an immediate sense of gloom and foreboding, "gloomy fjord" and this image is repeated a number of times in the play.Osvald comments on "this continual rain!It can go on week after week for months on end without our ever getting a glimpse of the sun".The rain symbolises the lies of society which are preventing the sun(the truth)from being seen.The image of the sun is linked closely with Osvald,as Osvald also represents the truth.The play ends in contrast to how it begins: "the peaks in the distance glow in the morning light".The truth has finally been revealed but Mrs Alving is still left to deal with the consequences of the past.
In "Ghosts" the past is present in all of the characters,effecting everything they do.However much they strive to see "the sun" they simply will never see it-or they see it too late.The actions and lies of the past have created a situation that they all have to deal with,a situation that Ibsen challenges society to react to.Mrs Alving can "never really be free of the ghosts that haunt" her and neither can society.