Deep-dive into the Alvings. Henrik Ibsen’s play is a symbol of the struggles in Victorian households through lack of proper communication channels and societal constraints. As the class reads through Ghosts, this tension becomes apparent and crucial to understanding not only the character’s motivations, but Ibsen’s real-life inspiration. Personally, this epitomises the core morality of mankind: the contrast between extreme structure and the raw need to exist as our base emotions. While period-typical law can be seen as restrictive today, it serves as a ‘what-if’ case, depicting how far structure can truly go, even in the Western world outside of communism. Oscar Wilde often comes to mind when I think of this hardship – breaking the need for a reliant net of law to fall back on and chase romanticism. In his life’s work, his satirical exploitations become apparent, depicting the upper class (which he was born into) as foreign to romanticism, truthful art, and the joys of being free in humanity. In The Importance of Being Earnest, he even goes so far as to show that love is almost-always completely lost in organised marriage, and arrogance based in class can lead to catastrophic mistakes. This strategically-targeted humour can be found in Ghosts, alongside other side-effects of restricting society.
Wilde, O., 1895. The Importance Of Being Earnest.