2025-11-19 – November Bokprat: Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen (Online)
Schedule:
Location:
This is an online class hosted on Zoom.
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.
Registrants should secure their own copy of the book (available soon for purchase through the Vesterheim Museum Store) and have read it prior to the discussion.
Students will need to provide a computer, laptop, or tablet with a camera and mic as well as a fast, reliable internet connection.
Special Instructions:
When registering for the class, please make sure to use the mailing and email addresses you'd like the Zoom meeting invitations sent to. You will receive links to the Zoom sessions by email sometime during the week prior to the class. If this class is a gift, please sign up with the recipient's mailing and email addresses or be prepared to forward the kit and all communications
Enrollment Deadline:
November 5, 2025
Vesterheim’s 2025 online programming is supported in part by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from Sons of Norway - Noreg Lodge 3-466.