 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents Notes Before the play opens, Ibsen gives detailed instructions for the stage setting. Since the first act is set in the home of Hakon Werle, a wealthy businessman, it is important that the set be expensively done. Prominent in the set should be "lighted lamps with green shades." The green is symbolic of the natural world, the place where Gregers prefers to work and the place that is recreated in the Ekdal attic. The fact that the lamp is shaded is important and becomes symbolic. Just as the shade covers the brightness of the lamp, the truth in the play is also, at times, shaded. Gregers, however, wants to reveal the whole truth. It is important to notice that only the inside room is brilliantly lit. The room in the center of the stage is dim, suggesting family secrets and skeletons in the closet; before the act is complete, several of the "skeletons" will come out of the closet. The play opens with the servants on stage during a party; the technique is reminiscent of Shakespeare. The servants comment on the principal characters, introducing them before they actually appear. They are surprised that Hakon Werle has made a toast for Mrs. Sorby, the housekeeper, and not for Gregers, the son who has come to visit his father after many years. The servants, therefore, alert the audience to the fact that all is not well between father and son and that there is a special relationship between Werle and Mrs. Sorby.
Old Ekdal's entry causes an interruption. He claims he has come to the house to pick up some work from the office. He is wearing a great coat that was once expensive, but has now grown old; the coat is really much like the man himself, old and broken. He tries to put on an air of respectability, even donning a wig; but the red- brown hair color clashes with his gray moustache. Instead of appearing respectable, he comes across as a seedy, pathetic figure, especially in contrast to the guests attending the party. When Pettersen, one of the servants, is patronizing towards the old man, old Ekdal calls him an "ass". Pettersen then reveals that Old Ekdal is truly one of the fallen gentry. He has spent time in prison and now drinks too much. Even though she is the housekeeper, Mrs. Sorby holds a favored position in the Werle household. She orders the servants about and acts as if she were the hostess. She flirts with the guests, mostly elderly men whose names are not given; they are simply called titles such as a flabby gentleman, a thin-haired gentleman, or a shortsighted gentleman. They are all a bit coarse and tell improper jokes, but Mrs. Sorby does not seem to mind; she easily joins in their merriment, for she is a worldly woman. But she is also sensitive. She acknowledges the presence of Old Ekdal and suggests that something be sent home with him. Hialmar, Old Ekdal's son, is also in attendance at the party; he has been invited because he is Gregers' friend, but he feels terribly out of place. Realizing the young man's discomfort, the older gentlemen are patronizing and condescending towards Hialmar, who tries to remain aloof. In fact, both he and Gregers seem overly serious and almost unhappy. In front of Gregers and Hialmar, Werle mentions that there were "thirteen at table." There is a superstition about being the thirteenth guest; it is an allusion to Christ's Last Supper. Supposedly, the thirteenth at table is destined to die before long, just as Christ died shortly after the Last Supper. The reference is an ominous foreshadowing of death in the play. Hialmar, believing himself to be the thirteenth guest, tells Gregers that he should not have been invited. Gregers brushes aside his objections and assures him that he had wanted to see him. It might be the only chance the two friends have to visit, since Gregers does not plan to stay with his father for long. It is important to note that Gregers thinks that Hialmar has grown stout. Just as the wild duck has become fat and tame in captivity, Hialmar has become fat and tame in marriage. Gregers is shocked to learn that his wife is the Werle's old housekeeper, Gina. Hialmar senses his friend's disapproval and says that Gina is not altogether without education; he also gives himself credit for improving her status. Hialmar also complains about the misfortune of his father's imprisonment and tells Gregers that it is a "miserable subject" for him. Finally, Hialmar explains how Werle has lent his financial support to help Hialmar set up a photography studio. Table of Contents | |
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