# Captain Alving — Ghosts character guide

> Captain Alving in Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Alving, Chamberlain Alving, Chamberlain

**First appearance:** 0002-ghosts

## Snapshot

The late Captain Alving, remembered in the town as a pillar of generosity and in his own house as a broken man whose appetites outlived him.

## Who they are

Chamberlain Alving's portrait hangs over the household and his name is on the orphanage being built in his honour, but the man behind the memorial was dissolute long before his son was born. His widow has spent years laundering his memory; his son carries his body and his dread. He never appears on stage, yet every inheritance in the play — money, reputation, illness, and the maid Regina — traces back to him.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Alving](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters/mrs_alving)

_family_

Captain Alving was Mrs. Alving's dissolute husband, whose hidden syphilis and infidelity destroyed their marriage and ultimately infected their son.

### [Regina Engstrand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters/regina_engstrand)

_family_

Captain Alving was Regina's biological father, having fathered her with the maid Johanna while married to Mrs. Alving.

### [Pastor Manders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters/pastor_manders)

_social_

Captain Alving and Pastor Manders were acquaintances in the same social circle, but Manders disapproved of Alving's immoral lifestyle.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters/captain_alving
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters