, "His family, who assist him in his business, touch up not only actual photographs, but also his image; his friends, who help picture him not as he is but as they would have him be; Hjalmar himself, who is self-deluded" (26). The Edkal's daughter lives most of her life in an imaginary forest in the attic where she tends a wounded wild duck. This sets up the installation of the dramatic irony.
Dramatic conflict builds during the phase of exploitation in The Wild Duck. Tension and Hjalmar's unawareness are exploited for the audience and in the characters, since we know Gregers is resentful Hjalmar leads a life of illusion and wants to make him face the truth. As Gina and Hedvig let Hjalmar sleep and dream, play his garret and make excuses for him; he is able to maintain his life-life. As Gina tells him, "I'll take care of the photography, and you can go on puzzling with your invention" (Ibsen 91). Because we know
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