Some of his work:
By the time of The Wild Duck (1884), the conventions of the social problem comedy have completely disappeared, and all subsequent seeming instances of them in Ibsen's plays are misleading starting points that soon give way to the play's real focus. In the later part of Ghosts and in all the plays from The Wild Duck on, the subject matter is human psychology and particular experiences created by it, all of them involving the longing of the protagonists for a world more in harmony with their desires than the one in which they find themselves.
An Enemy of the People is the only drama of contemporary life that came out after an interval of one year rather than two (or three in the case of When We Dead Awaken)—probably because the reception of Ghosts stirred Ibsen into providing a quick response.
The Wild Duck (1884), the next play after An Enemy of the People, initiated a new tendency in Ibsen, the undermining of basic features of drama usually thought to be sacrosanct. Relling, for example, seems to be a dramatist's spokesperson, but Ibsen's characterization of him deprives him of authority. The role of protagonist is taken not by a single character but by three characters in succession: Gregers, Hjalmar, and Hedvig. Certain details that would seem to be of considerable importance—such as who was actually Hedvig's father and whether her death resulted from suicide or an accident—are left undefined.
The Wild Duck
In The Wild Duck Ibsen strove to create a realistic play by creating a universe, which references real objects, both natural and manmade. The play features technology prominently; the main setting is the photography studio of Hjalmar. In his descriptions, Ibsen constantly references objects: a smoking jacket, photographic equipment, and books.
Ibsen also makes reference to the natural world in The Wild Duck. Although the play takes place in a manmade setting, the natural world protrudes into the playing space, both metaphorically and literally, through the inclusion of the loft, a space adjacent to the setting of the play that houses a variety of animals. (Johnson).
He explores human nature by creating a play that focuses on the interactions of a realistic family. (Johnson). The characters are well intentioned, but flawed. Romantic idealism is constantly tempered with practical concerns. Gina worries about income and budgeting, and struggles to provide food for her family. The inclusion of food in The Wild Duck is a pervasive example of Ibsen’s observation of human nature. Characters plan meals, and eat food on stage throughout the play. By including food and meals in the play, Ibsen is drawing attention to the basic needs of human beings, as well as the rituals that have become a part of human society.
Examples of play’s Symbols
Gregers Werle's Smoky Room: After renting a room from Hjalmar Ekdal, Werle builds a fire in the stove and smokes up the room. Then he throws water on the fire, leaving a puddle on the floor. The mess he has made of the room appears to symbolize and foreshadow the mess he will make of the Ekdal family's life.
The Wild Duck: While hunting, Håkon Werle shoots a wild duck but only wounds it. Werle's servant, Pettersen, later gives the duck to Old Ekdal, who takes it home and, with the help of his son and granddaughter, Hedvig, cares for it in the garret. Hedvig is especially fond of it. The duck symbolizes Hedvig, an innocent victim of the strife in her home, as well as others in the play who—like the duck—have been wounded by the circumstances of their lives. Håkon Werle alludes to the duck when he tells his son, Gregers, "There are people in the world who dive to the bottom the moment they get a couple of slugs in their body, and never come to the surface again" (Act I). An observation of Hedvig in Act III indicates that the duck also symbolizes Hedvig's parentage—that is, whether she is the daughter of Håkon Werle or Hjalmar. Hedvig tells Gregers Werle: "[T]here is so much that is strange about the wild duck. Nobody knows her, and nobody knows where she came from either."
Borrowed Overcoat: When he attends Håkon Werle's dinner party, Hjalmar Ekdal wears a fashionable overcoat he borrowed from Molvik. The coat appears to symbolize Hjalmar's use of others to advance his goals or enhance his image. For example, in his photography business, he uses Håkon Werle's money and the talents of his wife to make his modest living. When he was in college, Doctor Relling notes, he had a "talent for declaiming other people's verses and other people's thoughts" (Act V).
Garret: In this dark room behind sliding doors, Old Ekdal spends time hunting in a "forest" made of old Christmas trees. He and his son have stocked the room with rabbits to serve as bears that Old Ekdal shoots on his hunting expeditions. Hjalmar helps his father maintain the patch of "wilderness," which also contains pigeons, hens, and the wild duck. The garret symbolizes Old Ekdal's illusion of himself as a great hunter.
The Invention: Hjalmar's unfinished invention symbolizes his illusion of himself as a great man. Working on it enables him to entertain his heroic vision of himself; finishing it would force him to expose to the world the mediocre quality of his ideas.
Imagery: Darkness and Light
Ibsen uses darkness and light to underscore themes and motifs. Darkness or dimness generally occurs in scenes in which at least one character is attempting to escape reality or preserve an illusion. The garret of the Ekdal apartment, where Old Ekdal and Hjalmar spend a good deal of time in an imaginary forest, is always dim and shadowy. The sloping panes of glass in the photo studio—where the Ekdals, eat, entertain guests, and work—are half-covered with blue curtains. These images suggest that the Ekdals are leading an illusory life.
Light, fire, or brightness generally occurs in scenes in which at least one character is revealing, or planning to reveal, the harshness of reality to another character; is probing for the shocking truth about a character; or is exposing a character's ignorance of a fact. In Act I, for example, a conversation near a fireplace with a "glowing coal fire" reveals Hjalmar's ignorance of the qualities of Tokay and other wines. Before the same fireplace, Gregers questions Hjalmar as part of the former's campaign to get at the truth about Håkon Werle and his relationship with the Ekdals. In the same place, Gregers then talks with his father, raking over ugly truths about his father's past. In Act II, the smoky fire that Gregers builds in the stove of his rented apartment, then dowses with water that covers the floor, foreshadows the light of truth that he casts on the Ekdals, thereby making a mess of the their life—just as he made a mess of his room.