Despite being melodramatic and predictable, the final act is powerful. Unfortunately, the great ending can't make up for the rest of the drama, which doesn't merely telegraph its symbolism, but flat-out announces it directly through character dialogue.

I'd love to see this performed, since the ending is so perfect for theater. I also think this would make a good play to teach high schoolers as an introduction to Ibsen. Unfortunately, compared to other Ibsen dramas, this one just feels too staged for my liking. (We even get a literal instance of "Chekhov's gun.")

As usual with Ibsen, the drama's theme is one that becomes so important in the 20th century, especially in psychoanalytic study: when we take away the structuring fantasies of our lives, then what we understand to be "reality" crumbles.

Lest 1 og 1/2 gang

This is definitely my favorite play of Ibsen's so far. I really like the way Ibsen builds his characters and how he uses the symbol of the wild duck so that it relates to so many characters. I don't think I can say something smarter about this play because it was too good to express in words.

3.5*

"Dzika kaczka" to pierwsza lektura od dawna, która mi się szczerze i czysto podobała. Trochę tęskniłam chyba za dramatami i dramą.
Po omówieniu jej na lekcjach podoba mi się jeszcze bardziej.
Bardzo podoba mi się to, jak skrajnie przedstawione są postaci i ich podejście do prawdy.
Czyta się szybko i przyjemnie.

3/5

Interesting play. All too familiar if you're into Khaliji soap operas. The dialogue got a bit too awkward towards the end.

I had to read this for a class. When introducing the play the professor said that we would either love it or hate it. I was definitely in the latter group. Hjalmar is weak. He can’t handle it when he is presented with the truth and is unwilling to listen to reason (Gina) and Gregers is a pretentious asshole who believes he knows what is right. Even at the end, he doesn’t see that he did anything wrong. He doesn’t see how he tore a family apart. I also have to read “A Doll’s House” for a different class and I’m hoping I’ll like that a lot more.

Edit: I had to read some essays and reviews about the play as well and I think I would like it much better if I were to watch it. That’s the trouble with some plays, only reading the script can make you miss some major things. I have changed my rating to three stars because I have spent more time dissecting the philosophical and psychological aspects of the show. I don’t believe that just because a story deals with really “deep” themes it’s a good one. I think a really good production could eloquently highlight these themes and some more sympathetic characterization could make the characters more enjoyable to watch. However, a poor production could definatly prove all of my criticisms. I usually rate and review based on overall enjoyment which usually doesn’t include heavy analysis but I do think I found more enjoyment after the analysis I had to do for class.