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In this 1884 masterpiece by "the father of modern drama", the idealistic son of a corrupt merchant exposes his father's duplicity, but in the process destroys the very people he wishes to save. Led by his conviction that reality is superior to illusion, Gregers Werle forces his friends, the Ekdals, to confront the truth about their lives. Unfortunately, these truths, involving scandal, illegitimacy, imprisonment and madness, only serve to wound the Ekdals further. In the play, the wild duck is a symbol of this injured family, and perhaps, of the loss of Ibsen's youthful idealism. Moving and powerful, this thought-provoking tragedy offers ample testimony to the justice of Ibsen's status as one of the giants of modern theater.