Ghosts

by

Henrik Ibsen

Regine is a maid who works in Mrs. Alving’s home. With grand aspirations to become a well-respected woman in society, Regine looks down on her father Engstrand because he is an alcoholic carpenter with barely any money or social status. With this attitude, she commits herself to working in Mrs. Alving’s house, believing that her association with the Alving family will give her a chance to attain upward mobility. She even takes an interest in Oswald Alving, hoping that he will someday whisk her away to Paris. However, when she learns that her mother, Johanna, was impregnated by Captain Alving, she realizes that she and Oswald are half-siblings and, as such, can never get married. Immediately upon hearing this, she decides to leave Mrs. Alving’s home, setting out to work at Engstrand’s new hotel for sailors—an establishment she originally scoffed at but now realizes is her only chance to meet an eligible husband and rise through the ranks of society.

Regine Quotes in Ghosts

The Ghosts quotes below are all either spoken by Regine or refer to Regine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reputation, Judgement, and Morality Theme Icon
).
Act One Quotes

REGINE [after a short silence]. And what did you want with me in town?

ENGSTRAND. How can you ask what a father wants with his only child? I’m a lonely, deserted widower, aren’t I?

REGINE. Oh, don’t come that fiddle-faddle with me. What do you want me there for?

ENGSTRAND. Well, the thing is I’ve been thinking of going in for something new.

REGINE [sneers]. How many times haven’t I heard that one before! But you always made a mess of it.

Related Characters: Jacob Engstrand (speaker), Regine (speaker), Mrs. Helene Alving
Related Symbols: Engstrand’s Hotel
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:

There has to be some women about the place, that’s clear. Because we’d want a bit of fun in the evenings, singing and dancing and that sort of thing. These are seafaring men, you’ve got to remember, roaming the high seas. [Comes closer.] Now don’t be such a fool as to stand in your own way, Regine. What can you do with yourself out here? Is it going to be any use to you, all this education the lady’s lavished on you? You’ll be looking after the children in the new Orphanage, they tell me. What sort of thing is that for a girl like you, eh? Are you all that keen on working yourself to death for the sake of a lot of dirty little brats?

Related Characters: Jacob Engstrand (speaker), Mrs. Helene Alving, Regine
Related Symbols: Engstrand’s Hotel
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:

MRS. ALVING. Shortly afterwards I heard my husband come in, too. I heard him say something to her in a low voice. And then I heard. . . . [With a short laugh.] Oh, I can still hear it, so devastating and yet at the time so ludicrous…I heard my own maid whisper: ‘Let me go, Mr. Alving! Leave me alone!’

MANDERS. How unseemly! How indiscreet of him!

Related Characters: Mrs. Helene Alving (speaker), Pastor Manders (speaker), Regine, Captain Alving, Johanna
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:
Act Two Quotes

Ghosts. When I heard Regine and Oswald in there, it was just like seeing ghosts. But then I’m inclined to think that we are all ghosts, Pastor Manders, every one of us. It’s not just what we inherit from our mothers and fathers that haunts us. It’s all kinds of old defunct theories, all sorts of old defunct beliefs, and things like that. It’s not that they actually live on in us; they are simply lodged there, and we cannot get rid of them. I’ve only to pick up a newspaper and I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. Over the whole country there must be ghosts, as numerous as the sands of the sea.

Related Characters: Mrs. Helene Alving (speaker), Oswald Alving, Pastor Manders, Regine, Captain Alving, Johanna
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ghosts LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ghosts PDF

Regine Quotes in Ghosts

The Ghosts quotes below are all either spoken by Regine or refer to Regine. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Reputation, Judgement, and Morality Theme Icon
).
Act One Quotes

REGINE [after a short silence]. And what did you want with me in town?

ENGSTRAND. How can you ask what a father wants with his only child? I’m a lonely, deserted widower, aren’t I?

REGINE. Oh, don’t come that fiddle-faddle with me. What do you want me there for?

ENGSTRAND. Well, the thing is I’ve been thinking of going in for something new.

REGINE [sneers]. How many times haven’t I heard that one before! But you always made a mess of it.

Related Characters: Jacob Engstrand (speaker), Regine (speaker), Mrs. Helene Alving
Related Symbols: Engstrand’s Hotel
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:

There has to be some women about the place, that’s clear. Because we’d want a bit of fun in the evenings, singing and dancing and that sort of thing. These are seafaring men, you’ve got to remember, roaming the high seas. [Comes closer.] Now don’t be such a fool as to stand in your own way, Regine. What can you do with yourself out here? Is it going to be any use to you, all this education the lady’s lavished on you? You’ll be looking after the children in the new Orphanage, they tell me. What sort of thing is that for a girl like you, eh? Are you all that keen on working yourself to death for the sake of a lot of dirty little brats?

Related Characters: Jacob Engstrand (speaker), Mrs. Helene Alving, Regine
Related Symbols: Engstrand’s Hotel
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:

MRS. ALVING. Shortly afterwards I heard my husband come in, too. I heard him say something to her in a low voice. And then I heard. . . . [With a short laugh.] Oh, I can still hear it, so devastating and yet at the time so ludicrous…I heard my own maid whisper: ‘Let me go, Mr. Alving! Leave me alone!’

MANDERS. How unseemly! How indiscreet of him!

Related Characters: Mrs. Helene Alving (speaker), Pastor Manders (speaker), Regine, Captain Alving, Johanna
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:
Act Two Quotes

Ghosts. When I heard Regine and Oswald in there, it was just like seeing ghosts. But then I’m inclined to think that we are all ghosts, Pastor Manders, every one of us. It’s not just what we inherit from our mothers and fathers that haunts us. It’s all kinds of old defunct theories, all sorts of old defunct beliefs, and things like that. It’s not that they actually live on in us; they are simply lodged there, and we cannot get rid of them. I’ve only to pick up a newspaper and I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. Over the whole country there must be ghosts, as numerous as the sands of the sea.

Related Characters: Mrs. Helene Alving (speaker), Oswald Alving, Pastor Manders, Regine, Captain Alving, Johanna
Page Number: 126
Explanation and Analysis: