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Literary Development In Henrik Ibsen's Captivity To Hjalmar

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The theme of captivity begins as a literary tool in the progress of the female protagonist through the brilliance of dramatist, Henrik Ibsen.
The term “captivity” implies images of imprisoned animals, slaves in bondage, and prisoners behind bars. Captivity in relation to the literary development of the female protagonist, and the performance portrayal of the female protagonist, contains all figures of mental and emotional oppression to an external entity. The idea of captivity as the dominant idea of a literary work, explores the imprisonment of a character’s inner being. Captors using non-physical imprisonment spoil the character’s common judgment and passion, forcing the character into mental or emotional subjection. Ibsen’s female characters …show more content…

Ibsen recognized many problems facing the women of his day, including a masculine biased judicial system (Farfan 1).The mental and emotional pull of captivity also affects the development of the character Hedvig in The Wild Duck. Captivity to Hjalmar. The theme of captivity as a literary tool in the development of the female protagonist is prevalent in the character of Hedvig in The Wild Duck. Hedvig blindly adores her father Hjalmar, and is held captive to his selfish moods and unrealistic ideology. At age fourteen, Hedvig is blissfully content to live in a simplistic world of imagination. Hedvig also has the opportunity of playing in the family’s attic that is filled with various live birds.
The Ekdal family created an indoor forest for enjoyment that is home to Hedvig’s wild duck. Hedvig’s childlike imagination is formed by playing with this wild duck. In the article, “The Wild Duck and Critical Cliche,” Hallett recognizes Hedvig’s vast imagination. This female protagonist spends her whole life in fantasy and make-believe (61). Hedvig’s life of fantasy is encouraged by her parents and grandfather. In the book, Ibsen’s Women. Templeton observes that Hedvig seems much younger than her fourteen years because she has been encouraged to remain young

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