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Henrik IbsenA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In his play Ghosts, Henrik Ibsen poses the question of whether objective morality exists. Morality defines right and wrong through the lenses of religion, culture, class, and philosophy—lenses that offer differently nuanced approaches to ethical dilemmas. In Ghosts, Ibsen argues that objective morality does not exist and that humans create their own morality based on their subjective experiences.
The play centers Helen Alving as the key figure undergoing a moral dilemma. A devoted mother and successful businesswoman, Helen welcomes her son Oswald back into her home after a long absence and questions the past choices that have fractured their relationship. Through her reconciliation with Oswald, Helen rejects the conventional life she has led, which silenced her from exposing the truth of her husband’s infidelities to Oswald. Throughout the play, Helen engages in philosophical debate with her old friend, former love interest, and business partner Pastor Manders about her growing resentment of the social conventions that bound her to duty and honor toward her disloyal husband. Manders attempts to impose a belief in Christian objective morality onto Helen by reminding her of a woman’s sacrificial duty. Yet, confronted by Oswald’s unhappiness and suffering, Helen sees that her choice to abide by religious absolutes blinded her to the deleterious effects of her silence on Oswald.
By Henrik Ibsen
A Doll's House
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen
An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People
Henrik Ibsen
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Henrik Ibsen
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Henrik Ibsen
The Master Builder
The Master Builder
Henrik Ibsen
The Wild Duck
The Wild Duck
Henrik Ibsen
When We Dead Awaken
When We Dead Awaken
Henrik Ibsen
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