 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
|
Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents Gregers believes that his father has helped the Eckdals because of his guilty conscience, not just out of good will. It is obvious that he is very cynical about his father. Hialmar also has a strained relationship with his father. When Old Ekdal enters the room to leave the house, the son turns his back on him. In fact, Hialmar refuses to acknowledge that he knows him, much as Peter had denied knowing Christ. Gregers is shocked at his friend's behavior Gregers then turns and confronts his own father. He states that he does not believe that it was only Ekdal who was responsible for cutting the timber illegally; he is obviously accusing his father. He also blames his dad for sending his mother to an early grave because of his many affairs. Finally he says it is shameful that Werle forced Gina off on Hialmar. Werle tries to defend himself. Werle compares old Ekdal to the wild duck, which is unable to help itself. He states that he has helped both Ekdal and Hialmar financially, by giving the old man a job for which he is paid too much and for helping Hialmar set up the studio. Many critics think that Gregers suffers from an Oedipus complex. It is obvious that he is strongly attached to his mother, almost worshipping her memory. As he talks to his father, more and more of the family history is revealed; it is a literary device known as "retrospective technique," where the present is understood through the past. When Werle tries to deny having an affair with Gina, Gregers claims that his mother told him about his father's unfaithfulness; it is no wonder that the son feels his mother was ill treated. Then he is infuriated when Werle dares to compare Mrs. Sorby, the housekeeper whom he is to marry, with Gregers' mother. Hoping to overcome their hostilities, Werle offers Gregers a partnership in his firm. He tells his son that he is losing his eyesight and needs his help in the business. The poor eyesight is an important point for two reasons. First, Werle is now blinded both physically and emotionally; he has no understanding of the pain he has caused his son or his wife. Secondly, Hedvig's eyes are also weak, indicating she is probably Werle's daughter, as Hialmar later suspects.
Not surprisingly, Gregers openly turns down his father's offer. He is certain that the reason that Werle is being so nice is that he wants to pretend to the world, especially to Mrs. Sorby, that there is no animosity between the two of them. Gregers bitterly laughs, "We are to get up a pretense at family life!" Gregers wants no part in it. He decides he will leave his father's house forever. By the end of Act I, the audience (or the reader) has been introduced to the key characters and conflict of the play. Werle and Mrs. Sorby are clearly established as realists, while Gregers and Hialmar are presented as incurable idealists. The act has also developed an image of the stuffy, provincial society of Ibsen's time. Finally, it sets the mood of the entire drama and foreshadows the tragic ending that will occur. Table of Contents | |
|
|
|||||||
