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Summary: What if ghosts were just enslaved victims?
Review: Oscar Wilde, in this Canterville Ghost story, reaches a tremendous level of humor and caustic social vision. The humor comes from the fact that the American family that buys the ghost along with the mansion takes him as being real and apply to him all the possible modern techniques to improve his life and make his sojourn in the mansion untroublesome for the new inhabitants. It is also funny because two young boys play all kinds of tricks to the ghost and there is no end in their creativity. But the story is also a little bit sad because it reveals the ghost has become a ghost when the brothers of his wife, whom he had assassinated, took vengeance and starved him to death. It also reveals that the ghost can be redeemed if love comes along and frees him of his misery and fate. And this love will come from the young daughter of the American family. She will naively open her heart to the suffering of the ghost and thus free him of his lot. This also shows how the attitude of the English owner of the mansion are just not interested in the suffering of the ghost, whereas the Americans will take this ghost seriously and will try to understand him and give him solace. Beyond the humor of the tale there is the tremendous belief that suffering can be solved.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan
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