Fitrana Amalia Hafizhah

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Drama Analysis II Short Review on The Wild Duck

Characters Existential Crisis on Henrik Ibsens The Wild Duck

The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen is a drama between two complicated family, between
Werles family and Ekdals family, and is colored by the presence of Molvik and Dr. Relling.
This drama has enthralled me during the reading because of the issues employed in it. One of
the issues which has built the drama up is the characteristic of the characters, for most of the
major characters in this drama have an existential crisis causing illusion. During the
beginning of the drama we can assume that the characters in this drama have already had a
certainty in their lives and they are all proud about that. However, when Gregers Werle leaves
his father and approaches Hialmar Ekdal to convey his claim of ideal by playing the wild
dog that saves the wild duck, the drama becomes more intriguing and turns upside down.
Hence, it is depicted that existential crisis on the major characters becomes the most
interesting aspect employed in this drama.
The Wild Duck effectively portrays an existential crisis had by the major characters
Ekdals family and Gregers Werle. Gregers Werles illusion that he could bring out the
greatness in people by making them see the complete truth encourages him to reveal the truth
and unbound the lies in Ekdals family. This has ruined the illusive reality which has been
believed by Hialmar Ekdal, that he is the responsible head of his family and Hedvid is his
daughter. Gregers Werle, with his claim of ideal, wants to reconstruct Hialmar Ekdals life-
lie; He wants Hialmar to know the secret hidden by old Werle toward Hialmars family which
is hopefully can make Hiamar more faithful. In this case, we can see that Gregers Werle is in
a self-made mission, and Hialmar Ekdal is in search of one. However, when Dr. Relling
appears, we find out that actually Gregers Werle is also living in his illusion that he could
help people. Regardless of Gregers belief that he should spread his ideas about what it means
to live a truthful life, Dr. Relling believes that it is his responsibility as a doctor to give people
life-illusion or life-lie to escape for bitter reality, as it is stated in his line on act fifth, Take
away a persons vital life-lie, and you deprive them of happiness. From another line in the
same act, it can be concluded that Dr.Relling also provokes that life is full of lies when we
tries to achieve idealism. Moreover, the life of old Ekdal also portrays an existential crisis. He
represents the transformation of the people who has been cheated and becomes isolated. He
really lives a different life than he was, yet he can still be pleased because of illusion that is
created in his attic. He creates a false sense of identity and lives within it, he thinks that it was
his life and it is his life. Another portrayal is depicted by Hedvid. She is an innocent daughter
who only knows that her purpose in life is just caring the wild duck, but then she is forced to
sacrifice her wild duck which ended sacrifice herself, to get her father existence back.
Overall, we can know that these characters suffer from existential crisis during the
drama goes by. They are continuously suffering from pain and agony. Gregers Werle has
fixed his aim in life, whereas Hjalmar Ekdal is still struggling to achieve that point, and in the
end, neither of them has got their value. Moreover, the sacrifice also does not end the crisis.