For the characters in Ghosts, tomorrow is a big day. They are all convening on Rosenvold, the Alving estate, to dedicate the Captain Alving Memorial Orphanage. Mrs. Alving is the widow of Captain Alving (also called Chamberlain Alving), a gentleman widely respected in his community. Mrs. Alving kept his true behavior - alcoholism, womanizing, and illness - secret for twenty years. She sent her son, Oswald, away at age seven to protect him from the polluting influence of his father, who also had an illegitimate daughter by a servant. This daughter, Regina, was brought up by the carpenter Engstrand and now works in Mrs. Alving's house.