The Wild Duck: Theme of Illusion

[Last Island]

The theme of “The Wild Duck” is the importance and contrast of illusions as distinguished from reality. It is the tension between illusion and reality which is liable for the tragic ending. Gregers, an idealist, preaches the ‘ideal’ which stands for unveiled reality. He insists people to shed their illusions to face the truth. Relling, the realist, believes in illusions. An illusion is a ‘saving lie’ behind which a man may find comfort from the strain of reality. If illusions are taken away from an ordinary man, happiness in his life would be lost. As Gregers fails in his mission, the play becomes a satire on his transcendentalism.

Hjalmar and Gina are happily living their married life for fifteen years with their daughter, Hedvig. Hjalmar finds comfort in the fact that he has a devoted wife and a loving daughter and that he would complete his invention and restore to his father the dignity and make Hedvig’s whole life carefree. Hjalmar also has illusion that he is going to invent a machine that will bring revolution in photography and it will earn for him fame and wealth.

Gregers, an intruder, meets Hjalmar after sixteen years and learns that Hjalmar is married to Gina. A doubt comes into his mind that Gina was his father’s maid in whom he was sexually interested.

Now Gregers wants to reveal the truth to Hjalmar, who is living in illusion, so that he should face the reality and reconstruct his married life in the light of true facts. He then reveals the secret of Gina’s past and Hedvig's disease to Hjalmar. Hjalmar’s grief knows no limits. Hjalmar accuses Gina of deceiving him and finds it difficult to adjust himself with the situation.

Hjalmar begins to hate Hedvig and cannot bear her sight. He no longer wants to stay in this house and decides to leave.

“This house is no place for me anymore.”

As long as Hjalmar had the illusion that Gina was a chaste woman and Hedvig to be his own daughter, he was happy. But now his illusions are shattered and the reality is painful.

Hjalmar’s hatred for Hedvig makes her upset and she shoots herself. Thus the disclosure of true facts leads to a domestic tragedy. Gregers fails as the missionary hero. The play becomes a satire on his claims of the ideal.

Relling warns Gregers against meddling in Hjalmar’s life. He wants Hjalmar to remain in illusion.

A vital difference between Gregers and Relling is that, while Gregers thinks Hjalmar an extraordinary man, Relling knows Hjalmar an ordinary man. Relling considers that Hjalmar should have been allowed to live with “the saving lie”.

Relling gives the example of Molvik that he would by now have collapsed under his feeling of despair if Relling had not given to him a saving lie that Molvik was a ‘demoniac’. In a fit of depression, he drinks spree and derives comfort from the illusion that some evil spirits are responsible of his failure. Relling says:

“I have made him a ‘demonic’. That’s the particular cure I had to apply to him.”

Relling also has given an illusion to Old Ekdal that he is still a Lieutenant and a great hunter. Therefore, when Old Ekdal goes into the dark garret, he has the illusion that he has entered a thick forest and the pet animals and birds in the garret are wild animals. While shooting a pet rabbit, he has an illusion that he has shot a wild bear. Thus Old Ekdal, whose life would otherwise have been intolerable because of his poverty and disgrace, can find some comfort in the illusory belief that still he can hunt in a forest and shoot wild birds. Relling shows the importance of illusion in these words:

“Take the life-lie away from the average man and straight away you take away his happiness.”

But Gregers still insists on idealism. He says:

Hedvig has not died in vain. Didn’t you see how grief brought out what was noblest in him?

Relling opposes that most people behave nobly in the presence of death and Hjalmar would soon forget his grief. But Gregers does not believe in that and says:

“If you are right and I am wrong, life will no longer be worth living.”

On this Relling says:

“Oh, life wouldn’t be too bad if only these blessed people who come canvassing
their ideals round everybody’s door would leave us poor souls in peace.”

The play ends with Gregers’ complete failure in his self-imposed mission. Relling comes out triumphant in the story. The play is a victory for the illusionist Relling and a complete defeat for the transcendentalist Gregers.

The clash amid Gregers and Relling is a clash between idealism and realism. Gregers’ idealism demands recognition of reality. Relling’s realism demands illusions. Illusions sustain the lives, but reality shatters the happiness.

Reality and its acceptance is important but only for extraordinary intellectual heroic and exceptional people. Truth is a special thing and it is only for special people. An ordinary man can't sustain the truth and its bitterness.