Ghosts · Character
Oswald Alving
A painter who has come home from Paris trailing charm, exhaustion, and a dread he cannot name, looking to his mother for a rescue she may not be able to give.
major
Also known as Oswald, Oswald Alving
First appearance: dramatis personae
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Oswald arrives at his mother's house full of talk about the free life abroad and visibly hollowed out by something he keeps circling without naming. He is drawn to Regina with an ease that unsettles the household, and…
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See Oswald Alving in dramatis personaeCharacter Web
3 connectionsA slice of how Oswald Alving sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Family
- Romantic
- Social
Character groups
- Alving family secrets
- Protagonist
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Open in readerNarrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Breaking point
This scene is the dramatic climax because it reveals the full, catastrophic culmination of the Alving family’s…
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Follow the arc while readingRelationships
- Mrs. Alving
family · positive
- Regina Engstrand
romantic · ambivalent
- Pastor Manders
social · negative
Relationship notes
How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.
See Oswald Alving in dramatis personae