Wasif Ilahi

ENGH-17-29

The ending of the play [Ghosts] is open for interpretations. How do you
interpret the end?

Ibsen was the precursor of modern dramatist movement. In his plays Ibsen has
raised questions about family issues such as marriage, incest; sexual and social
hypocrisy; religious hypocrisy of priestly class. These aspects give modernistic
tinge to Ibsen's plays and one of the features of modernistic texts lies in its
multiplicity of meanings.

In Ibsen’s Ghosts there is no proper dénouement and Ibsen has left it unclosed. In
the Act 1 of the play we see “a gloomy fjord landscape…half-obscured by steady
rain” and at the end of Act 3 we see the day is breaking :

And look, Oswald, what a lovely day we are going to have?

(It is sunrise. The glaciers and peaks in the distance are seen bathed in bright
morning fight.)

Ibsen has employed the external settings to reflect the inner dispositions of
characters as well as the society of that time. The turmoil in the external setting
reflects the turmoil in the inner consciousness of the character. Oswald’s lack of
will to work at home in Norway is due to its gloomy weather. In Act II “The
landscape is still obscured by mist” and Oswald complains constantly:
Yes, what can one do outside in this everlasting rain?

And what else is there for me to do here? I have no occupation—

Not in this ghastly weather, when there isn't a blink of sunshine all day long.

Oswald longs for sunshine to continue his painting. He needs sun like that in Paris
where he used to live his famous artistic life. In this regard it can be interpreted as
"joy of life" which Oswald sees lacking at home.
In regard to society, the climate of Norway has always been dull and gloomy
which can be interpreted as its conservative mores. The people of Norway
abhorred Ibsen’s plays and they were averse to liberal ideas which were prevalent
in the rest of the Europe. Oswald has been to Paris where he has acquired liberal
ideas and he wants to bring these changes at home when he discusses these ideas
with Pastor Manders. Therefore, Oswald can be interpreted as an embodiment of
Ibsen. The word sun has been mentioned seven times by Oswald. The repetitive
cry for sun by Oswald can be seen as Ibsen crying for sun, a liberal enlightenment
for Norway. Ibsen wanted to propagate new liberal ideas to the Norwegian
people. Metaphorically Ibsen wanted to root out the dark beliefs which these
people have inherited from their forefathers and which recur agian and again in
the society. This concept of Ibsen is in sync with the title of the play also. Like
Ghosts these thoughts have been haunting the people of Norway . The
atmosphere of Norway has always been sunless and full of gloomy weather and
Ibsen wanted to bring sunlight to it.

In the first two acts Mrs. Alving has kept truth from Oswald and it is only in third
act she reveals the truth before Oswald and Regina. The past is revealed gradually
and light becomes more important. Mrs Alving wanted to remove the burden
from Oswald and light has been called When the truth has been revealed to
Oswald the gloom has been gone and finally the Sun has come . The sun the
source of all light reveals the meaning to the play. The sun represents light and
truth. However, in this play, deception is a central theme. All the truths are
hidden by the characters, who manipulate, hide and use subterfuge. They must
pay the consequences for this. She feels that she should have told the truth to
Oswald long ago. Oswald's last words are "the sun" in recognition of what he has
missed and avoided throughout his life.

Mrs. Alving calls ghosts “all sorts of old dead ideas and all kinds of old dead
beliefs” and she has been “fighting with ghosts both without and within.” After
Oswald confesses his illness to Mrs. Alving she comes to know that Oswald has
inherited this disease from his father. Oswald explains that he will suffer an attack
that softens his brain for good and he won’t be able to stand it. He takes a little
box from his pocket: morphine and implores his mother to do the job for him .
The "ghosts" of heredity begin to haunt Mrs. Alving again and she has to take her
decision as Oswald succumbs to mental illness. Mrs. Alving wishes to rid her of
these ghosts, it is a reflection of her inane desire to change but this is yet not
fulfilled. . She should bury her ghosts and the relationship between them should
burn like the orphanage. Oswald suffers from an inherited disease even though
Mrs. Alving tried to keep him away from his atrocious father and the “the air of
this polluted house” She gave him life; she can't think of taking it back.
Like all other ghosts which haunted Mrs. Alving she need to get rid of this one
too. In the last scene of Act 3 Mrs. Alving is caught in a dilemma between her
sense of duty and that of burying her past:

Where has he got it? (Passes her hand quickly over his coat.) Here!
(Draws back a little spay and cries :) No, no, no!--Yes!--no, no!
(She stands a few steps from him, her hands thrust into her hair,
and stares at him in speechless terror.)

She says “ No” to morphine tablets because of her sense of duty as she has been
coward all her life and unable to act and therefore cannot kill her son. She says
Yes to morphine tablets because she has to bury all that belongs to Captain Alving
and his memory . In the beginning of Act 3 Oswald declares “Everything will be
burned up; nothing will be left that is in memory of my father. Here am I being
burned up, too.” Like the burning of Orphanage Oswald should die too. Oswald
further reinstigates this thought:
Oswald: Who has a better right than you?
Mrs. Alving: I! Your mother!
Oswald: Just for that reason.
Mrs. Alving: I, who gave you your life!
Oswald: I never asked you for life. And what kind of a life was
it that you gave me? I don't want it! You shall take it back!

Therefore Oswald has to die. Mrs. Alving turns off the lamp and Oswald ushers in
the ghost of his father to claim his own life so that the ghosts along with his fears
would be buried forever.

Oswald wanted Regina to give him the final moment of joy. He wanted Regina to
kill him if he suffered madness due to Syphilis.
Oswald wanted to to find his salvation in Regina and die from the hands of
Regina but Mrs. Alving denies him this opportunity and therefore Mrs. Alving
could not give him the Sun, the joy of life which he has been aspiring for. Oswald
wanted to die after all truth has been revelaed to him. He want to burn like
Orphanage and want to purify himself. Mrs. Alving attempts to kill the heritage of
the dead father. The sun in the last scene can be seen as the final purgation of
sins committed by Mr. Alving. Oswald was the carrier of syphilis, the inhereted
disease from father and his death is certain for the final purgation. The sun also
represents the better future for Regina as she has not got Syphilis as she is after
her mother. There is a hope for them in Sailor's home where Engstrand can
prosper with the exploitation of Regina's female body. The conflict of the play is
resolved at the end of the play. The dispute settled everything revealed. There is
no more burden on the head of Oswald.

Oswald implores her mother to kill him out of kindness.

For Regina the sun has risen as she can work freely at Sailors Home. She has not
inherited the disease of her father she will live her life to the fullest as she has
her joy of life too. The joy of life ends for Oswald and it begins for Regina. The Sun
has not been able to enlighten Oswald and his Mother as all the capital goes to
Engstrand and Parson Manders seamans home, an euphesim fot brothel house.
They are becoming the new capitalists where there will be exploitation of
Regina’s body with the commercialization

Oswald wants to liberate her mother from these deadly thoughts after she has
relieved him from his pasts. He wants to go through darkness to light,
Mother, give me the sun.

Oswald (repeats in a dull, toneless voice). The sun--the sun.

Oswald (in an expressionless voice, as before). The sun--the sun.

Oswald (sitting motionless, as before). The sun--the sun.

The sun is synonymous with freedom, personal choice and fulfillment, and
happiness. The sunrise is a final symbol of light. It clears away the gloom; all the
facts are on the table. Yet the result is not enlightenment but madness. Neither
dark nor light is perfect. The dismal aspects of Norwegian society will persist.
Oswald, who has always known the joy of living, now also knows the truth about
the pain of living; under the weight of these combined truths he goes crazy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is no sun in the initial acts because truth has been hidden by Mrs. Alving. It
is only after she reveals truth to Oswald and hus burden released. We see the sun
rising, a new hope coming it, all past ideas buried and kept out. Now since Oswald
has got Syphilis as an inheritance from his father. Mrs. Alving should bury this past
too as she is not able to do so in the past. She has been a coward and didn't
understood the joy of life. Now Oswald gives her a new hope and she must kill
Oswald too.

Till 2 acts the play is yet at gloomy atmosphere but After Mrs. Alving reveals
Oswald and Regina the truth, Regina goes away and everything is gone from his
life. Oswald gets intimidated by this situation and is angry about his father. He
then only takes out morphine tablets and asks his mother to take away life from
him. Regina immediately asks for permission to leave, and Mrs. Alving sadly
obliges. Mrs. Alving interjects to say that she can care for him, but he swiftly leaps
up and says he does not want that. He cannot fathom the idea of being a
vegetable and just lying there. It is a softening of the brain and will not be fatal
right away, but his next attack will probably put him beyond hope. He reaches
into his pocket and pulls out what he identifies as morphine powder tablets.

When Mrs. Alving says Yes ...it means she wants to bury her past and settle all but
at the same instant she has her motherly instinct which prevents her to do so and
she utters no. The conflict between them is not settled and we are not sure
whether she gives those morphine tablets to Oswald or not.