Death/Decay/Illness Motif & effect
Although not one of the words stated above, Ibsen implements an injury to the Wild Duck in the play with the same name. Injuries are still akin, because all of those words show an impairment of some sort, just like an injury is. In the discussion that happened in class today, it was made clear the connection that Hedvig has with the Duck. Old Werle "shot for her [the wild duck], but ... he only winged her... so she couldn't fly" (Ibsen 153). At first, It was not apparent at first that this connection was seen in Hedvig too. But with a close reading there was more evidence that both entities were being held back and incapable of doing normal activities. One could say that Hedvig has a sickness, although this is not completely accurate. In reality, Hedvig has a disability due to her poor eyesight. This disability is never proven, but her parents seem to take it very seriously. When asked if she goes to school, Hedvig responds with, "No, not anymore. Daddy's afraid I'll hurt my eyes" ( Ibsen 162). Ibsen uses the motif of impairment to further the connection between the Wild Duck and Hedvig, as well as show the downsides of being over-protective. It seems that Hjalmar Ekdal will not let his daughter do many things that she wants to do. The main reason he has for doing this, is apparently the concern for her eyesight. Hedvig wants to help her father do some retouching work, but Hjalmar is concerned. "But don't ruin your eyes! Hear me? I won't take the blame; you can take the blame yourself—you hear me?"(Ibsen 161). The play goes on to show that Hedvig does a fairly good job of retouching. If only Hjalmar would be less controlling, maybe she could develop her art into a talent or sorts. The over-protection that Hjalmar shows seems to be unnecessary and without warrant. In general, one could say over-protection is a bad thing and limits growth.
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