Wild Duck Journal #1

"Notes from a brainstorm session on 'outrageous links' between any two of the plays"

I know this topic is listed in the Literary Topics section, but I feel it belongs more in the Comparison section. There are definitely links between the two plays, Oedipus and Wild Duck. The one that caught my attention the most while reading Act II, was the motif of blindness. The motif of blindness is very apparent in Oedipus, being the Oedipus was blind metaphorically his entire life to the truth, and eventually blinded himself literally. Blindness was a frequently reoccurring idea throughout Oedipus, and in Act II of Wild Duck, it starts to make its appearance. Hjalmar's daughter, Hedvig, is gradually becoming literally blind. The doctor has warned Hjalmer and Gina, Hedvig's parents, of this inevitable illness, but they keep it to themselves. This leaves Hedvig metaphorically blind to the fact that she is going literally blind. With her blindness being the outcome of a gradual illness, tells the reader and the audience that the motif of blindness will appear again in the play.