Following our changes to the module due covid-19 and our group to unable to perfume in front of a live audience. The new assessment of creating individual monologues made me invest my time more towards the characters and characteristics of each character in the play. In  these conditions, we have been having online group meetings with our tutor in order to discuss our ideas for our monologues.

During this discussion we have been recommended multiple readings in order to help us develop creative ideas. One reading I had used was Gail Finney (1994) , in The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen, PP.89-105. This reading was used in order to understand Ibsens intentions between the relationship he has created in Ghosts. In particular Oswalds mothers Mrs Alving and her obsession of preventing his son from seeing his true fathers characteristics.  In this reading, Gail Finney discuses Ibsens portrayal of women as characters who turn their back on loved ones and become more self obsessed. This is a clear link to the character Mrs Alving who is seen as selfish as she tries to cover up her own tracks and truth from Oswald. Therefore this reading helped me create ideas about how other characters , in particular Oswald would feel during certain situations and scenarios as the truth is always being hidden from him. This also helps me to understand Mrs Alvings character objectives in the play as a whole.

For my individual monologue I have decided to portray Oswald during the end of act 2 and will try to show his thoughts and feeling at that particular moment in the play. Discussing this with my tutor, and taking on the feedback, I would have to discuss Oswalds past in the monologue . For example his relationship with his father and how he had abused him, other scenes that featured elements of Mr Alving (Pipe scene) and also his view of life in Paris. In order to develop my ideas about how I would portray Oswald I decided to watch a live ‘Ghosts’ performance from Almeida Theatre (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKO9lyht_90). The clip features a scene from act 2 of the play and features Mrs Alving and Oswald relationship to its audience . In this scene, Oswald discusses his visit to the doctors with his Mother. Oswald in this scene portrayed by the actor Jack Lowden is confused and distressed and therefore, incorporates a gestus. The actor repeats the movement of him playing with his front part of his hair and holding his head throughout this scene in order to show that the character is confused with the news he had gotten from the doctor. Therefore, this clip is allowing me to try understand what type of gestures the character Oswald would do in order to show his emotions and thoughts s at the end of scene 2.

This scene being portrayed on a stage also allows me to understand the different dynamics and status change between Oswald and his Mother as Mrs Alving normally tries to manipulate the conversation in multiple scenes in the play. This contrasts as Oswald becomes more emotional and infuriated from the news he had received from the doctor .  This clip also gives me ideas about how Oswald would speak to his Mother and show his emotions, for example the words “Worm eaten” is said by Oswald followed with large pauses between the other lines in order to mark the moment of the impact the doctor had when he gave the news to Oswald.

In order to develop my monologue I had read the entire play again but this time pointed out the key and significant scenes where Oswald had shown emotions but also discussed sensitive things such as his life in Paris. I looked at the conversations Oswald had between Pastar Manders compared to his Mother in order to understand the relationships Oswald has between the two and the differences . The last scene of the play was also helpful as it showed Oswalds only desire ‘the sun’ , which can be seen as a ‘light of truth’ that was too late to be given to him by his Mother.