October Bokprat: The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen (Online)

Vesterheim hosts a monthly bokprat (book group) where we discuss Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. Join us in October for a discussion of The Wild Duck, a play written in 1884 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In The Wild Duck, the idealistic son of a corrupt merchant exposes his father’s duplicity, but in the process destroys the very people he wishes to save. It focuses on the Ekdal family, whose fragile peace is shattered by Gregers Werle, an idealist who insists on exposing hidden truths, leading to tragic consequences. The play was written in a realistic style, but literary scholars have pointed out the play’s kinship with symbolism. It blends themes such as deception, betrayal, and the disillusionment of modern life with moments of comedy and satire, and is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy.