dr. relling, molvik, who frequently drinks too much, and the most recent addition, a man named gregers werle, son of the man who had once been gina's employer. as they sit around the table, the men talk of truth, ideals, vision, ambition. dutifully, the mother and daughter do the daily tasks. hedvig's eyes are dim. she must wear glasses at all times. despite the affliction, she, like her mother, helps hjalmar to earn a living by retouching the photographs her father takes in his home studio. ibsen is able to make his story come to life around this table. he can deal with a significant theme within the confines of this room where his characters can develop the story through conversation. but ibsen is clearly interested in doing more than provide us with character sketches of some interesting members of a victorian household. in the wild duck, he is aiming for the exploration of truth itself. in the wild duck, the idealist is gregers werle, determined to force his old friend hjalmar to face up to the truth about his wife and family. gregers is the son of a wealthy man. however, in an earlier s