Cirrus@Austlit

'Ibsen’s “Wild Duck” is perhaps not so well known as his “Ghosts” or “The Doll’s House,” but it displays every facet of Ibsen’s many-sided talent. It concerns itself with the problem of “Truth versus Illusions,” a theme which Ibsen handles with dispassionate skill. Hjalmar Ekdal is happy in his illusions, then the young Idealist, Gregers Werle, who believes in the reality of the ideal, enters his life. Gregers Werle believes that real happiness is impossible without truth, honesty, and sincerity—at the end of the play, he, like the audience, is left wondering! The clever psychology of the plot, and the deft characterisation, render “The Wild Duck” a play of absorbing interest. Little Hedvig, the fourteen-year old daughter of Hjalmar Ekdal, is unforgettable in her loving wistfulness.'

Source: [Radio guide], Wireless Weekly, 7 December 1934, p.31.