Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College’s Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a monthly bokprat, discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. Join us in November for a discussion of Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, a major Norwegian playwright considered one of the world’s pre-eminent writers of the 19th century.
Ghosts is a drama about Mrs. Alving, a widow who has tried to shield her son Oswald from the moral corruption of his late father. As the story unfolds, Oswald returns home ill, revealing he has inherited a debilitating disease. Pastor Manders, who once advised Mrs. Alving against leaving her husband, becomes involved in a scandal over the orphanage she built in her husband’s memory. The play explores themes of hypocrisy, inherited sin, and the suffocating influence of societal and moral expectations, culminating in a tragic ending as Oswald’s illness progresses.
Registration for this free class is required.
