The Wild Duck
The Wild DuckIn 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
small income. The inside room, representing wealth, is Old Werle's
dining room where he was hosting a party. The distinctions of these
two lit rooms contrast Old Ekdal and Old Werle.
"In contrast to Werle's party, the lighting is of comparative
poverty 'on the table a lighted lamp'"(190), explains critic, F.L.
Lucas. Unlike Old Werle's expensive and exquisite illumination, a
small inexpensive lamp lights the Ekdals home, displaying poverty.
This dissimilarity shows another significant distinction between Old
Werle and Old Ekdal.
The distinctions of the light between Old Ekdal's and Old Werle's
homes is illustrated in the following incident.It is brought to the
reader's attention that in the following quotation Old Werle and Old
Ekdal were partners in crime. "[Old Werle] escaped by the skin of his
teeth," while they sentenced Old Ekdal to prison. This incident
resulted in extreme hatred toward Old Werle for his poor aid to Old
Ekdal. Being that Werle had a vast amount of money, Old Ekdal,
Hjalmar, and Werle's son, Gregers felt tremendous feelings of
animosity. Gregers recognized the miserable support his father has
given to the Ekdals. As a result Gregers moves in with the Ekdals and
attempts to enrich the marriage of Gina and Hjalmir, due to the fact
that his parents didn't get along. Gregers takes the approach of truth
to improve the marriage, which is another major theme of the Wild
duck. "A time to keep silence, and a time to speak," was wisely stated
by Ecclesiastes. Unfortunately, here it was 'a time to keep silence'
and Gregers did not.
F.L. Lucas examines the color green. "Why...
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