The Wild Duck (Henrik Isben)

 About the Author

Henrick Isben (1828-1906) is a great Norwegian playwright, often called the “Father of Modern Drama.” Worked as a theatre director and playwright in Norway, Italy, and Germany. His plays challenged traditional values, questioned social norms, and introduced realism to modern drama. His plays include “Brand” (1866), “Peer Gynt” (1879), “A Doll’s House” (1879), “The Wild Duck” (1884) and so on.  He introduced realism into European theatre, replacing melodrama with everyday situations. His plays are problem plays. He gave complex female characters like Nora, Hedda Gabler, Mrs. Alving in his plays. He laid foundation for modern realistic and symbolic theatre.

Characters in the play

1.     Håkon Werle – A wealthy merchant, whose past actions have deeply affected the Ekdal family.

2.     Gregers Werle – His idealistic son

3.     Old Ekdal (Lt. Ekdal) – Once a proud army officer, ruined by a scandal involving Werle

4.     Hjalmar Ekdal – Old Ekdal’s son, married to Gina.

5.     Gina Ekdal – Hjalmar’s hardworking wife, practical and patient

6.     Hedvig Ekdal – Hjalmar and Gina’s 14-year-old daughter, sensitive and devoted.

7.     Dr. Relling – A doctor and cynic who argues that people need their “life-lies” to survive, countering Gregers’s dangerous idealism.

8.     Molvik – A former theology student, now a drunken lodger

9.     Mrs. Sørby – Werle’s housekeeper and later his companion,

10.  Jensen – Another minor character, associated with Werle.

11.  The Wild Duck – Kept in the Ekdal attic, symbolizes illusion, sacrifice, and the struggle between harsh truth and comforting falsehood.

Introduction

Henrik Ibsen’s “The Wild Duck” is one of his most complex and symbolic plays, often regarded as his finest work. Unlike his earlier realistic ‘problem plays,’ “The Wild Duck” combines realism with symbolism, weaving domestic life with metaphors that question the human need for illusions. The play dramatizes the tragic consequences of exposing uncomfortable truths, suggesting that sometimes illusions are essential for survival.

 

Plot

The play opens at the house of Håkon Werle, a wealthy businessman who is hosting a dinner. Among the guests are his son Gregers Werle, who has just returned after a long absence, and the poor photographer Hjalmar Ekdal, an old schoolmate of Gregers. We learn that Hjalmar’s father, Old Ekdal, was once Werle’s business partner but was disgraced and imprisoned after taking the blame for a shady deal. Hjalmar is married to Gina, who used to work in Werle’s household, and they have a daughter, Hedvig. Gregers suspects that Werle wronged both Old Ekdal and Hjalmar and is determined to reveal the truth. The scene shifts to the Ekdal home, modest and somewhat shabby. Hjalmar works as a photographer but lives more in dreams than in reality, talking about a great “invention” he will one day create. Gina manages the household, and Hedvig, their 14-year-old daughter, is loving and devoted to her father. In the attic, Old Ekdal and Hedvig keep animals, the most important being a wild duck, wounded by Werle and rescued. The duck becomes a symbol of the family’s retreat into illusions and emotional refuge. Gregers visits the family and notices their happiness but believes it is built on lies. Gregers decides to live with the Ekdals, convinced his “life-mission” is to open Hjalmar’s eyes to truth. He hints to Hjalmar that Gina once had a relationship with Werle, suggesting Hedvig might not be Hjalmar’s biological daughter. Hedvig is troubled by her declining eyesight, a possible sign of inherited disease. Gregers pressures Hjalmar to confront Gina and demand honesty. Hjalmar reacts with anger and despair when Gina admits she once had an affair with Werle. He begins to doubt whether Hedvig is really his child. Hedvig, desperate to regain her father’s love, listens to Gregers’ misguided advice: she should sacrifice what is most precious to her. Hedvig interprets this as giving up her beloved wild duck. Hjalmar, brooding and self-absorbed, cannot forgive Gina and treats Hedvig coldly. Wanting to prove her love, Hedvig decides to follow Gregers’ idea of “sacrifice.” But instead of killing the duck, she turns the gun on herself. The family finds her dead from a self-inflicted shot. The play ends tragically, showing how Gregers’ pursuit of “ideal truth” destroys the fragile happiness of the Ekdals.

Themes

Truth vs. Illusion

At the heart of the play lies a conflict between Gregers Werle’s idealism and Dr. Relling’s cynicism. Gregers believes that people must live by absolute truth and honesty, even if it destroys their illusions. His attempt to reveal Gina’s past relationship with Håkon Werle to Hjalmar Ekdal shatters the Ekdal family’s fragile happiness. Conversely, Dr. Relling argues that human beings cannot survive without their “life-lies”—comforting illusions that give life meaning. The tragedy of the play suggests that harsh truth may not liberate but devastate.

The Symbol of the Wild Duck

The wild duck, wounded by Werle and rescued by Hedvig, symbolizes both sacrifice and the human condition. Living in the Ekdal attic among rabbits and pigeons, it represents the retreat into illusion and false comfort. Hedvig’s close bond with the duck foreshadows her own tragic sacrifice. Just as the duck has been shot down into captivity, the Ekdals too live in a state of wounded dependence and illusion.

Family and Inheritance

The play explores the burdens of family legacies. Old Ekdal, once an army officer, lives in disgrace due to Werle’s scandal. Hjalmar inherits not strength but self-deception, relying on dreams of invention and Gina’s practicality. Hedvig, the innocent child, tragically inherits the consequences of her parents’ and Werle’s past sins.

Idealism vs. Realism

Gregers’s destructive truth-telling stems from his moral absolutism. He wants to make Hjalmar a “free man,” but fails to recognize that Hjalmar survives only because of comforting illusions. In contrast, Relling, the cynic, understands that illusions, however false, are necessary to preserve human dignity. Ibsen thus critiques the dangers of uncompromising idealism.

Conclusion

“The Wild Duck” is not simply a domestic drama but a profound exploration of human psychology and social morality. By blending realism with symbolism, Ibsen shows that human beings are trapped between truth and illusion, unable to survive without some form of self-deception. The play rejects the idea that truth alone can set us free; instead, it warns of the danger of destroying the illusions that sustain fragile lives. Through the tragic sacrifice of Hedvig, Ibsen delivers a haunting message: sometimes, the price of truth is too high, and illusions may be the only refuge for human happiness.