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HIALMAR: [comes in with some manuscript books and old loose papers, which he lays upon the table] That portmanteau is of no use! There are a thousand and one things I must drag with me.
GINA: [following with the portmanteau] Why not leave all the rest for the present, and only take a shirt and a pair of woolen drawers with you?
HIALMAR: Whew!—all these exhausting preparations—! [Pulls off his overcoat and throws it upon the sofa.]
GINA: And there's the coffee getting cold.
HIALMAR: H'm. [Drinks a mouthful without thinking of it, and then another.]
GINA: [dusting the backs of the chairs] A nice job you'll have to find such another big garret for the rabbits.

This excerpt comes from Act V during Hialmar's comic return to the household. Much of The Wild Duck's action consists of domestic activity, generally performed or supervised by the ever-practical Gina. Gina will, for example, tabulate the day's expenses, prepare and serve lunch, clean the apartment, and onward. In contrast, Hialmar cannot bear these banalities—they only divert him from his "mission" to redeem the family name. Ibsen repeatedly deploys petty household concerns to deflate Hialmar's fiery tirades in his attempt to undermine the romantic stage hero. Even if he screams that he cannot stomach living amongst traitors, Hialmar has no intention of leaving his home as it is there that he is cared for. Moreover, as the first act makes all too clear, it is only here that he can play what Relling describes as the "shining light," the idealized father and provider even if, as Gina's quiet management of the household economies reveal, this is hardly the case.

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