I believe the characters that are at fault are Gregers, Werle and Gina. I believe Gina is at fault because she never told Hjalmer about what happened between her and Werle. If we examine Mrs. Sorby's marriage with Werle for exmaple, they are completely honest. They discussed each other's past and they plan on loving each other no matter what. Gina on the other hand, decided to hide the past. If she had told Hjalmer that Werle was making advances on her, Hjalmer might still have married her. But now, years later, Hjalmer is hurt by Gina. Hjalmer is hurt because he has believed a lie for 15 years and Hedvig is not even his child. Personally, I feel as if Gina had been open at the very start, these problems would not have arisen.
I also blame Werle for perusing Gina. We do not know if Gina was consenting to the relationship, but it was wrong of Werle to pressure Gina into a marriage. Werle valued his economic status over doing what was morally right. If Werle was a good man, he would have taken care of Gina and not forced her to marry off. Werle's actions of protecting his name over Gina show that he is also at fault for the ordeal.
Lastly, I also blame Gregers. Gregers was not involved in the affair, but he was the one that brought darkness to Hjalmer's life. Technically, Hjalmer could have lived the rest of his life unaware of the truth. Instead, Gregers followed what he believed was morally correct and exposed the truth. It it weren't for Gregers, Hedvig would not have to sacrifice the wild duck, Hjalmer would still be happy and they would live on as a happy family.
The only character I view as being completely fautless is Hedvig. Hedvig is innocent and does not understand what is happening. Hedvig had no control over Gina's actions and she as well is blind to the truth. In Act Four, Hjalmer shows aggression towards Hedvig, showing that he does blame her, but in reality, she in the only innocent character in the play.
So far in Act Four, no characters have taken responsibility. Hjalmer seems to be placing all the blame on Gina. If anything, Hedvig is the only character showing any feeling of responsibility. She even begins to blame it all on herself.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Wild Duck, Journal Three
"Can't you see how I'm working! I'm working for all I'm worth!" (158)
I found this quote to be interesting because Hjalmer never actually works. Every time he sits down to work, he immediately gets up to do something else, yet Hjalmer is under the perception that he does work. He believes that he is a hard-worker and is the main provider in the house, when in reality, Gina and Hedvig do all the work. It seems as if Gina and Hedvig have created a facade for Hjalmer though. They praise him so much that it would only be natural for Hjalmer to believe that he is a hard-worker. With this facade, it seems as if Gina is trying to hide Hjalmer from himself.
"Even time doesn't exist in there--with the wild duck" (162).
This quote caught my attention because I found it interesting how Hjalmer speaks about the wild duck in an envious way, yet he is the wild duck. He perceives the wild duck as being completely innocent; unaware of time and what is occurring around him. In a sense, Hjalmer is the same way. Hjalmer is unaware of his surroundings and what is happening. He thinks he knows, but in reality, everything he knows is most likely a lie.
"No. Even the chickens have all the others that they were baby chicks with, but she's so completely apart from any of her own. So you see, everything is so really mysterious about the wild duck. There's no one who knows her, and no one who knows where she's come from, either" (164).
In this quote, the audience can perceive Gina as the wild duck. Hedvig talks about the wild duck being "mysterious" and no one knowing who the wild duck is except for the wild duck itself. This also pertains to Gina. No one knows the truth about happened between Gina and Werle except for Gina. Werle may not even know if he is father of Hedvig, but Gina does, so this proves Gina is the only person who knows the truth. It is interesting to see how Ibsen relates the wild duck to several difference characters in the play.
"Not quite that. I wouldn't say you're wounded; but you're wandering in a poisonous swamp, Hjalmer. You've got an insidious disease in your system, and so you've gone to the bottom to die in the dark" (170)
This quote, said by Gregers, is significant because it relates Hjalmer to the wild duck and Gregers talks about Hjalmer being diseased. Gregers said this after Hjalmer admitted to attempting suicide. I found this interesting because in a sense, Hjalmer is mentally diseased. Hjalmer is not wounded yet because he hasn't killed himself, but he is "wandering in poisonous swamp" meaning Hjalmer is lost in a house, or family, filled with disease and lies.
"It'll never be sound. Your conscience has been sickly from childhood. It's an inheritance from your mother, Gregers--the only inheritance she left you" (176)
In this scene, Werle is speaking to Gregers about Gregers' motives for telling Hjalmer the truth. I found this interesting because one again, the motif of disease is being used. Ibsen creates every character as having either mental or physical disabilities. In this scene in particular, we get an insight into Gregers. I am beginning to question if Gregers is really telling the truth to help Hjalmer or if he's doing it just to clear his own conscience. Gregers is potentially going to ruin Hjalmer's life, so is he doing it out of selfishness? Up until this point, it had seemed like Gregers was the only character in the play who was not plagued by illness, but Ibsen has just destroyed this perception.
I found this quote to be interesting because Hjalmer never actually works. Every time he sits down to work, he immediately gets up to do something else, yet Hjalmer is under the perception that he does work. He believes that he is a hard-worker and is the main provider in the house, when in reality, Gina and Hedvig do all the work. It seems as if Gina and Hedvig have created a facade for Hjalmer though. They praise him so much that it would only be natural for Hjalmer to believe that he is a hard-worker. With this facade, it seems as if Gina is trying to hide Hjalmer from himself.
"Even time doesn't exist in there--with the wild duck" (162).
This quote caught my attention because I found it interesting how Hjalmer speaks about the wild duck in an envious way, yet he is the wild duck. He perceives the wild duck as being completely innocent; unaware of time and what is occurring around him. In a sense, Hjalmer is the same way. Hjalmer is unaware of his surroundings and what is happening. He thinks he knows, but in reality, everything he knows is most likely a lie.
"No. Even the chickens have all the others that they were baby chicks with, but she's so completely apart from any of her own. So you see, everything is so really mysterious about the wild duck. There's no one who knows her, and no one who knows where she's come from, either" (164).
In this quote, the audience can perceive Gina as the wild duck. Hedvig talks about the wild duck being "mysterious" and no one knowing who the wild duck is except for the wild duck itself. This also pertains to Gina. No one knows the truth about happened between Gina and Werle except for Gina. Werle may not even know if he is father of Hedvig, but Gina does, so this proves Gina is the only person who knows the truth. It is interesting to see how Ibsen relates the wild duck to several difference characters in the play.
"Not quite that. I wouldn't say you're wounded; but you're wandering in a poisonous swamp, Hjalmer. You've got an insidious disease in your system, and so you've gone to the bottom to die in the dark" (170)
This quote, said by Gregers, is significant because it relates Hjalmer to the wild duck and Gregers talks about Hjalmer being diseased. Gregers said this after Hjalmer admitted to attempting suicide. I found this interesting because in a sense, Hjalmer is mentally diseased. Hjalmer is not wounded yet because he hasn't killed himself, but he is "wandering in poisonous swamp" meaning Hjalmer is lost in a house, or family, filled with disease and lies.
"It'll never be sound. Your conscience has been sickly from childhood. It's an inheritance from your mother, Gregers--the only inheritance she left you" (176)
In this scene, Werle is speaking to Gregers about Gregers' motives for telling Hjalmer the truth. I found this interesting because one again, the motif of disease is being used. Ibsen creates every character as having either mental or physical disabilities. In this scene in particular, we get an insight into Gregers. I am beginning to question if Gregers is really telling the truth to help Hjalmer or if he's doing it just to clear his own conscience. Gregers is potentially going to ruin Hjalmer's life, so is he doing it out of selfishness? Up until this point, it had seemed like Gregers was the only character in the play who was not plagued by illness, but Ibsen has just destroyed this perception.
The Wild Duck, Journal Two
The perception Gregers has of Hjalmer is extremely unique. Gregers believes Hjalmer is an innocent and loyal man. This is shown when Gregers refers to Hjalmer as being his "best and only friend" (122). This illustrates how Gregers perceives Hjalmer as a man who has essentially never done anything wrong. This creates complexity within the play because Gregers believes that Gina is an adulteress and the wrong doings are her fault. Although, Gregers does not know that Hjalmer does not do any work and that it is Gina who keeps Hjalmer's life together. But still, Gregers believes Gina is putting on a facade in order to protect herself and Hjalmer is the victim, so Gregers feels the need to plunge Hjalmer out of the swamp of lies and reveal the truth. This is shown in the quote, "And there he sits right now, he with his great, guileless, childlike mind plunged in deception-living under the same roof with that creature, not knowing that what he calls his home is built on a lie" (135). Gregers refers to Gina as being a "creature", which is insulting because he is dehumanizing her. It is obvious that Gregers perceives Gina as a monster.
Another interesting relationship in the play is between Gregers and his father Werle. Right off the bat, we see tension between the father and son. Gregers, who loves Hjalmer, is angered with this father for having sexual relations with Gina. Gregers perceives his father as a traitor because it happened right after the death of Gregers' mother. Gregers also perceives Werle as the bad guy and believes he has created a facade of being a moral man. Many people look up to Werle for his economic status and Gregers believes this is all a facade to cover up his faults and past hiccups.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Wild Duck, Journal One
The play starts off without giving the audience much information about what is going on. The tension between Gregers and his father Haakon Werle is obvious right from the start though. This creates a boundary between the two, most likely an emotional boundary. It seems as if the two cannot connect emotionally because Gregers has built up anger towards his father. It seems Greger is holding a grudge against his father for something that happened to his mother, but the audience does not know anything except that his mother died of illness. This emotional boundary will most likely create an internal struggle. Another boundary I noticed was a possible economic or social boundary. It is lightly touched on that Old Ekdal went to prison for lying, or creating a scandal in Haaken Werle's business. What crime Old Ekdal committed is not known yet to the audience, but I sense social and economic boundaries between Old Ekdal and Haaken Werle because of this.
Ibsen creates boundaries though the characters' dialogue. Because the audience has no background information, we sense tension through the characters through their stage directions as well. Also, if we were seeing the play live, I am sure the tone of which the actors were speaking would help make the boundaries much clearer.
Lastly, it seems as if the characters react negatively to the boundaries. When the characters see Old Ekdal, they are shocked and embarrassed. Also, Gregers displays feelings of strong dislike for his father, so this shows the actors are hurt by the boundaries.
Ibsen creates boundaries though the characters' dialogue. Because the audience has no background information, we sense tension through the characters through their stage directions as well. Also, if we were seeing the play live, I am sure the tone of which the actors were speaking would help make the boundaries much clearer.
Lastly, it seems as if the characters react negatively to the boundaries. When the characters see Old Ekdal, they are shocked and embarrassed. Also, Gregers displays feelings of strong dislike for his father, so this shows the actors are hurt by the boundaries.
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