Mrs. Helene Alving
Helene Alving is the wealthy widow of Chamberlain "Captain" Alving. She is about to open a memorial to her dead husband—an orphanage—and is pleased that their son, Osvald, is back from Paris. She considers herself to be forward-thinking and she reads many progressive books; however, when faced with complicated moral decisions, she still exhibits a more conservative perspective. She despises her late husband for his decadence and debauchery; she actually loved Pastor Manders once, but she agreed to do her duty in her marriage and try to keep Alving's reputation from the masses. She is forced to tell the truth about her husband when Osvald thinks his syphilis is his own fault when, in reality, it is inherited. At the end of the play, it is unclear if she will choose to assist her son in his death.
Pastor Manders
A local religious figure, Pastor Manders is concerned with his reputation and the morality of his parishioners. He does not approve of the supposedly immoral behavior of Osvald in Paris, nor of Mrs. Alving's progressive reading. He once loved Mrs. Alving, but he prides himself on his ability to turn her away and send her back to her husband. At the time of the play, he is helping her to conduct the business affairs of the orphanage, but he becomes privy to her confessions about how terrible Alving actually was and what the true relationship between Osvald and Regina is. At the end of the play, Engstrand rigs it so that it seems like Manders caused the fire at the orphanage; in order to preserve his reputation (and because he is so gullible), he falls for Engstrand's gesture to take the blame if Manders will support his plan for a seamen's home.
Osvald Alving
The son of Captain and Mrs. Alving—and, as it is revealed, Regina's half-brother. Osvald is a painter in Paris, where he delights in "the joy of life." However, he has been sick and cannot work, and, now back in Norway, he tells his mother that the doctor said he has been "worm-eaten" since birth. He decides that it was his own lifestyle that caused this, but eventually, Mrs. Alving tells him the truth about his father, whom he once saw as a paragon of perfection. Osvald does not want to live in a vegetative state and had planned to have Regina take care of him when the time came, but he turns to his mother at the end of the play to give him morphine tablets. As the sun comes up, Osvald's brain breaks and he begins to slip away. He is last seen muttering "the sun" over and over again.
Regina Engstrand
Mrs. Alving's maid. Regina is Jakob Engstrand’s (adopted) daughter. She takes great pride in working for the Alvings. She has feelings for Osvald, though it may simply be that she is attracted to the family's wealth. As soon as she learns the truth about who she is—Captain Alving's biological daughter and thus Osvald's half-sister—she leaves the Alving household in disgust and annoyance.
Jakob Engstrand
An alcoholic carpenter who is skillful at manipulating others. He plans to open a brothel for seamen and wants Regina, his daughter (though technically not his daughter, as he married Regina's mother when she was already pregnant by Captain Alving) to come work there. He manipulates Pastor Manders by starting a fire at the orphanage and making it seem like it was the Pastor's fault, then offering to take that blame if the Pastor will help him out with the seamen's "home."
Captain Alving (unseen character)
Mrs. Alving's husband, who died ten years before the play starts. He was a debauched, dissolute, and selfish man who carried on torrid affairs with other women. He contracted syphilis and eventually died. Mrs. Alving had done a skillful job of preserving the secrets of his behavior, however, so when he died, he was viewed as a pillar of the community.
