Wild Duck- Journal #1

In the Wild Duck Gina and Hedvig face many different limitations throughout the story. These limitations are due to the gender roles that Ibsen portrays in the novels. For example, Gina and Hedvig never leave the house and are always doing something for Hjalmar. Most of the time they are working on Hjalmar's projects while Hjalmar continues to get the credit. Next, Hedvig is limited by the control that Hjalmar has over her. Hedvig is always trying to please and make him happy however never succeeds. This leads to her suicicde because she thinks that it will please her dad in a very weird way. This emotional boundary is created through Hjalmar's character when he neglects Hedvig by never noticing her as a person, or the things that she does for him. This creates an emotional strain on Headvig in which she is never able to please her father. Hjalmar has his own internal and external limitation in that he is blinded by the lies that Werle tells him. He doesn't question what he is being told rather accepts it as fact and moves on. This is internal because it is a mental problem but is external because it is influenced by an outside force. This goes into the idea that Hjalmar is not able to think for himself. This is shown in the novel when Gina and Hedvig are always doing his work.