Named source · 1881

Ghosts Quotes by Henrik Ibsen: Context & Meanings

1 quotation linked to Ghosts by or associated with Henrik Ibsen, with source notes, explanations and related topics.

English wording

Translation

R. Farquharson Sharp — Translator · Norwegian → English

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And we are so miserably afraid of the light, all of us.

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“And we are so miserably afraid of the light, all of us.”

Henrik Ibsen

Voice: Fictional character · Mrs. Alving

Meaning & context

Mrs. Alving uses light as a metaphor for confronting inherited beliefs, arguing that people can remain frightened of examining ideas that continue to govern them.

Source details

Ghosts, Act II, R. Farquharson Sharp public-domain translation, Project Gutenberg #2467. Mrs. Alving says “And we are so miserably afraid of the light, all of us” immediately after describing inherited “old dead ideas” and beliefs as ghosts. The light is a dramatic metaphor within a conflict over family, duty and conventional belief, not a clinical claim.

Translation

R. Farquharson Sharp — Translator · Norwegian → English

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