The Wild Duck Journal 2

       To what extent have you found it possible, in your consideration of literary works, to separate the individual from his or her public role?
       In both the plays "Oedipus the King" and "The Wild Duck", there is a certain emphasis on reputation and public image that is predominantly superficial.  To answer the question, I think the authors Sophocles and Ibsen are both examining the idea of a public image and what must be sacrificed to uphold it.  It is possible to separate oneself from one's public role, but at the expense of some important relationships and perhaps one's own personal identity.
       In "Oedipus the King", the most important public role is Oedipus's.  His people look up to him to be a great leader and to save their city from the plague.  However, in his attempts to be a good leader, he has to kind of put his private life on the back burner, ie his fate/prophecy.  When he brings his private life out into the public and starts to discuss the prophecy with messengers and his family, that is when his downfall begins.  He is mixing his private and public lives, which results in a public discovery and Oedipus's heroic demise.
       In "The Wild Duck", reputation is an often-mentioned topic.  On page 173, at dinner, all the characters are talking about one man's hair and what color it is.  This represents their reputations and how everyone participates in the gossip yet tries to uphold their own precious images.  Relling says, "is it really gray hair he's got, or is it white?  HJALMAR: It's really a little of both.  But as a matter of fact, he's scarcely got a hair on his head."  This reflects the artificiality of the reputations all the distinguished men are trying to uphold for their friends.  They are sacrificing trust in their relationships for the sake of appearances.  Their public roles are essentially more important to them than their personal lives and their families.  This is also represented when Hjalmar comes home and has forgotten to bring Hedvig candy.  He dismisses his mistake and continues prattling on about his business endeavors while his wife and child are expected to listen politely.  He has a reputation to uphold as the man of the house, the family breadwinner.