Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen

No individual has the perfect life and while some people have long given up trying to lead the perfect life, others such as Regina Engstrom and Helen Alving in Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, stay in pursuit of the perfect life and have their own individual visions of what they believe to be the ideal life based on their personal experiences and desires. Helen Alving uses the return of her son as well as worldly, unconventional forms of literature in order to form beliefs of what she views to be the perfect life full of happiness after her husband’s death. She uses the literature and the hope of a better life for her son in order to cope with the trials that she went through while she was with her husband. Meanwhile, Regina relies on her hope for a better future through her employment under the kind and generous Mrs. Alving in order to idealize what she wants her future to be like in a perfect world where she isn’t tied to her demeaning social class. Especially during the Victorian era where romantic love increasingly became viewed as one requirement for marriage in comparison to the flawed, more serious traditions of a loveless marriage in past generations, it is not surprising that Regina and Helen, two prominent and strong-willed female characters in Ghosts who have not experienced true love or happiness, stand strongly behind their personal beliefs and ideals for the perfect life amidst their internal and external hardships.

Regina Engstrom is one example of the lower class in Ghosts. All her life she has had very little to no solid promise of upward mobility or security while working as the Alving’s family maid; however, as Regina develops and grows older she realizes that she wants happiness and she is unable to find happiness doing housework. Regina’s desire to stay with the Alvings, but use them in order to get ahead in her life and eventually get married is one struggle that Regina deals with and it is through this difficult time in her life that she believes