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.

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