the wild duck

A detailed Summary of the wild duck

In the Wild Duck, Henrik Ibsen begins his play by emphasizing the

value of color and light. He uses the theme of light to contrast Old

Werle, a stingy rich man, with Old Ekdal, a poor helpless man. Ibsen

connects the color green with the loss of eyesight of Old Werle. A

possible affair between Old Werle and Gina, Hedvig's mother, may

suggest the cause of Hedvig's loss of sight. By using sun and moon,

Ibsen establishes the atmosphere of the scene. The story line

deteriorates from peaceful to tragic. Similarly, does the setting in

the last four acts. In the Wild Duck, Henrik Ibsen employs the image

of light to portray certain characteristics in order to construct the

plot and to adjust the mood of the scene.

F.L. Lucas analyzes the opening arrangement and writes "In the

outer room the lamps are dimmed, with green shades, in contrast to the

brilliance of the room behind"(190). We understand that this meant

that the outer room, lit with soft and shaded light, implies poverty,

where as the inner room, illuminated with bright candles, expresses

wealth. The darkened room, insinuating poverty, is the office in which

the poor Old Ekdal 'does some extra copying,' and in return receives a

unreality-the world of the Wild Duck caught in the seaweed below the

In the last four acts Ibsen uses natural light to set the mood of

opened 'clear moonbeams shine in on some parts of the great room':

The distinctions of the light between Old Ekdal's and Old Werle's

given to the Ekdals. As a result Gregers moves in with the Ekdals and

number of years. Why did she die at such ayoung age then? It was the

Approximate Word count = 1484
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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