Truth and Falsehood

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Truth and falsehood are central themes in The Wild Duck. Gregers is adamant that Hjalmar must learn the truth about Gina’s past and the reasons behind Hakon Werle's generosity towards their family. Hjalmar has lived in a state of blissful ignorance, never questioning Hakon’s motives for his benevolence. He enjoys a contented life and actively avoids anything unpleasant, as he childishly admits to Gregers. Gina shields Hjalmar from harsh economic realities, attending to all his needs, both physical and emotional. Hedvig idolizes him, oblivious to how he exploits her affection. For example, although he worries about her eyesight, he still allows her to do the eye-straining task of retouching photographs so he can spend time in the attic with his father. His life is built on a single, yet resolute falsehood: the photographic invention he will never create. For Hjalmar, this invention represents what Relling describes as a ‘‘life-lie’’—a necessary illusion for his existence. Ironically, despite his vehement protests, Hjalmar is quite capable of handling the truth about his wife’s past and Hedvig’s parentage. Although he claims he will leave the family, his threats are empty gestures. Hedvig, however, a naive fourteen-year-old, takes her father's words seriously, not yet understanding the web of lies that can exist in relationships.

Choices and Consequences

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Gregers consciously decides to reveal his suspicions about Gina’s past and Hedvig’s paternity to Hjalmar. He justifies his actions with claims of idealism, expressing a desire to help Hjalmar and Gina build a marriage based on truth rather than deceit. However, whether Gregers considered the potential consequences of his actions is debatable. Some critics argue that Gregers' true motive is to seek revenge on his father. They even suggest that Gregers might have intentionally driven Hedvig to suicide, as her existence as his half-sister tarnishes his own identity.

Hedvig’s suicide exemplifies the theme of choices and consequences. There are two main interpretations of her actions. One perspective holds that Hedvig, influenced by Gregers to sacrifice something precious to prove her love for her father, concludes that self-sacrifice is the ultimate gesture. Another viewpoint suggests that Hedvig decides to end her life only after hearing her father's bitter remark that she has been manipulating him. Regardless of her reasons, as Relling’s analysis uncovers, Hedvig’s decision to kill herself has significant consequences. Besides her tragic death, her action serves to bind her parents closer together—a process that had already begun before her demise—and provides her father with further grounds for self-pity.

Identity

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Identity is a crucial theme as it is Hedvig’s potential identity as Hakon’s daughter that drives the story to its tragic conclusion. The notion of identity is also explored through other characters. For instance, in Hjalmar’s perspective, Gina’s identity undergoes a complete transformation upon discovering her affair with Hakon. This revelation makes Hjalmar see his wife in an entirely new light, altering the perception he has held for the past fifteen years.

Several characters have experienced significant transformations in their lives. Mrs. Sorby transitioned from being a housekeeper to becoming the prospective wife of a wealthy industrialist. Hjalmar, once a student, had to abandon his education due to his father’s scandal. The most profound change in identity is observed in Old Ekdal. Once Hakon’s business partner and an industrialist himself, he was convicted of illegal tree felling. After serving his prison sentence, Ekdal returned to a drastically different life. No longer managing a company, he now performs copying tasks for his former associate. Deprived of access to the northern forests, he recreates a hunting scene in his apartment attic, demonstrating...

(This entire section contains 200 words.)

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his inability to relinquish his past and his desperate clinging to his former identity.

Deception

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Many characters engage in self-deception. Ekdal’s creation of an imaginary forest for hunting is one example. He pretends the rabbits are the great bears he once hunted. He wears his old army uniform despite being stripped of his rank due to his crime and dons a brown wig, refusing to accept his aging. Hjalmar also practices self-deception, especially regarding his father. He calls his father the white-haired old man, ignoring the toupee, as if this will make him more respectable. He fervently believes in his invention, which serves a dual purpose by justifying his wife taking over most of the daily tasks in the photography studio.

In contrast, the Ekdal women are notably straightforward. Hedvig takes everything at face value, interpreting her father’s dramatics literally. Gina, while seeing through her family’s deceptions, chooses to accept and overlook them. Her deliberate naivety ranges from the benign—pretending not to notice Old Ekdal’s drinking—to the tragic—playing along with Hjalmar’s pretense of leaving the household. Relling occupies a middle ground. He supports Hjalmar’s self-deception, understanding it serves a greater purpose.

Relling alone possesses the ability to discern which truths and lies to acknowledge, reject, or respond to. This understanding of intentional deception grants Relling a level of control that the other characters lack.

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