# Jacob Engstrand — Ghosts character guide

> Jacob Engstrand in Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Engstrand, old Jacob Engstrand, poor Engstrand

**First appearance:** 0001-dramatis-personae

## Snapshot

A limping carpenter with a talent for pious humility and a nose for other people's guilt, forever angling for a Sailors' Home and a fresh start.

## Who they are

Engstrand works the Alving estate and Pastor Manders with the same technique: a humble tone, a well-placed confession, and a reminder that he is, after all, a weak vessel. He wants Regina home with him and a Sailors' Home funded by the pastor, and he is not fussy about which lever he pulls to get either. His cheerful scheming and his knowledge of the Alving household's buried history make him a small but persistent engine of the play's unravelling.

## Relationships

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

_family_

Jacob Engstrand is Regina's legal father, but he exploits her as a means to get money from Mrs. Alving and later tries to drag her into his disreputable schemes.

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

_psychological_

Jacob Engstrand manipulates Pastor Manders through feigned piety and guilt, eventually tricking him into funding a 'Sailors' Home' that is actually a brothel.

### [Johanna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ghosts_se/characters/johanna)

_family_

Jacob Engstrand married Johanna for a financial settlement, and their relationship was one of convenience and mutual resentment.

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

_professional_

Jacob Engstrand is a carpenter who does odd jobs for Mrs. Alving, but he constantly tries to extort money from her using secrets about Regina.

## Links

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