A Doll's House and Other Plays (Penguin) by Henrik Ibsen

Author:Henrik Ibsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Classics, Drama, European, General, Language Arts & Disciplines, Translating & Interpreting
ISBN: 9780141964157
Publisher: Penguin UK
Published: 2016-06-30T05:00:00+00:00

GHOSTS1

* * *

A Family Drama2 in Three Acts

Characters

MRS3 HELENE ALVING, widow of Captain Alving, late chamberlain4 to the king

OSVALD ALVING, her son, an artist

PASTOR MANDERS

ENGSTRAND, a carpenter

REGINE ENGSTRAND, in the service5 of Mrs Alving

The action takes place at Mrs Alving’s country estate by a large fjord in West Norway.

Act One

A spacious garden room with a door in the wall to the left6 and two doors to the right. A round table stands in the centre of the room with chairs around it: on it are books, magazines and newspapers. There is a window, and next to it a small sofa with a little sewing table in front of it. In the background the room leads on to a somewhat narrower conservatory, the walls of which are predominantly glazed. In the right wall of the conservatory is a door leading on to the garden. Through the conservatory windows a gloomy fjord landscape can be seen, veiled by steady rain.

ENGSTRAND the carpenter is standing at the back by the garden door. His left leg is slightly crooked, and the sole of his shoe is built up with a wooden block. REGINE, with an empty flower mister in her hand, is stopping him from advancing further.

REGINE [keeping her voice low]: What do you want? Stay right where you are. You’re dripping everywhere!

ENGSTRAND: That’s God’s rain, that, my child.

REGINE: It’s the devil’s rain, more like.

ENGSTRAND: Jesus, how you talk, Regine. [Limps forward a couple of steps into the room.] But what I wanted to say was –

REGINE: Stop clomping about with that foot, idiot.7 The young master’s asleep upstairs.

ENGSTRAND: Lying there asleep is he? In the middle of the day?

REGINE: That’s no concern of yours.

ENGSTRAND: I was out on a bender last night –

REGINE: That I can believe.

ENGSTRAND: Aye, for we are but frail,8 my child –

REGINE: Yes, aren’t we just!

ENGSTRAND: – and the temptations are manifold in this world – but, by God, I was still at my work at half past five this morning.

REGINE: Yes, yes, yes, just get out of here. I don’t want to stand here rendezvousing with you.

ENGSTRAND: You don’t want what?

REGINE: I don’t want anyone seeing you here. Go on; get on your way.

ENGSTRAND [a couple of steps closer]: Damned if I’m going before I’ve talked to you. This afternoon I’ll have finished with the job down there at the schoolhouse, and then tonight I’ll be off on the steamship9 to town.

REGINE [mumbles]: Pleasant trip!

ENGSTRAND: Well, thank you, my child. The orphanage will be dedicated tomorrow, so there’s likely to be a right commotion here with intoxicating liqueurs see. And nobody’s going to pin it on Jakob Engstrand that he can’t stay away when temptation comes along.

REGINE: Hmm!

ENGSTRAND: Aye, ’cos there’ll be lots of fine folk coming here tomorrow. Pastor Manders is expected from town too, you know.

REGINE: He’s arriving today, actually.

ENGSTRAND: There, you see! And I’m damned10 if I want him to have anything to pin on me, you understand.

REGINE: Ah. So that’s it.

ENGSTRAND: What do you

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