Wild Duck- Option 1

Ibsen creates many boundaries in The Wild Duck. I think the most important boundary that he creates is the stage. While I am reading this I like to imagine it actually being acted out on the stage, and I think that many boundaries arise as a result of the stage. For example in the beginning of Act 3 Ibsen describes Hjalmar as sitting at the table retouching photos. Ibsen limited the creativity of the reader by writing this in. However it is interesting that Ibsen makes Hjalmar retouch photos at this point in the play. Just as Hjalmar decides to become his own man, and become independent, he retouches photos. I think Ibsen is showing through photography how Hjalmar  thinks he can change the past and become independent when in reality not very much changes. The important thing to note is that Ibsen set the boundary of Hjalmar retouching photos for a reason at this point. How the actor actually acts this scene out though is something to consider. Hjalmar could be smiling while he is retouching photos. He could be frowning. Depending on either of those the entire meaning of what Hjalmar says later is changed. By making this a play for the stage Ibsen has granted a huge amount of freedom and made many boundaries disappear unlike other books. In the same passage in the beginning of Act 3 Ibsen writes that there are many photos on the table with Hjalmar. This could be representing all of the memories that Hjalmar would have to fix in order to truly become independent. Again though the importance of this is how few boundaries Ibsen has set on the actor. The actor playing Hjalmar could have basically any facial expression, any body posture, and all would change the meaning of the text. It is interesting how little boundaries Ibsen puts on the character of Hjalmar when one considers this text as a play as well.