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The Wild Duck
play by Ibsen
Also known as: āVildandenā
The Wild Duck, drama in five acts by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1884 as Vildanden and produced the following year. In the play, an idealistic outsiderās gratuitous truth-telling destroys a family.
Gregers Werle, who has a compulsion to tell the truth at all costs, reveals to the Ekdal family certain unasked-for information about each family memberās past. The knowledge destroys their illusions and their family life. As the final destructive act, Hedvig, the Ekdalsā adolescent daughter, kills herself after Werle informs the family that she may be the illegitimate daughter of a man other than her beloved father.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.
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