Character Analysis
Lieutenant Ekdal
Werle's former partner is now a broken old man. He does odd jobs of copy work for Werle's bookkeeper which provides him with enough means to buy an occasional bottle of cognac. Fourteen years ago, when old Ekdal was active at the Höidal works, the company appropriated a large quantity of lumber from government-owned land. Ekdal paid for this crime by serving a jail sentence and losing his reputation. He now lives with Hialmar and Gina.
The other characters bear brief mention. Dr. Relling, the realist of the play, lives in a downstairs apartment from the Ekdals. His roommate is Molcik, a weak-charactered clergyman. Hedvig, Ekdal's adolescent daughter, is the sensitive innocent who suffers the most in this drama of misapplied idealism.