Decorah-area readers can join a free discussion of Henrik Ibsen’s 1884 play The Wild Duck from home this fall when Vesterheim hosts its next online Bokprat program. The Zoom conversation is scheduled for 7 to 8:15 p.m. Central time Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.
Participation is free, but advance registration through Vesterheim’s event page is required. The page provides the information needed to join the meeting, including access details for the 7 p.m. start.
How to join the Vesterheim Bokprat discussion
Readers planning to attend should complete the registration process before the event date. After registering, participants can add the program to Google Calendar, iCalendar, Outlook 365 or Outlook Live, according to the event information.
Because the program is remote, attendees will not need to travel to Vesterheim or gather at the museum. The online format allows readers in the Decorah area to participate from home in a conversation focused on Scandinavian literature and culture.
Participants are encouraged to check Vesterheim’s event page again before the discussion begins for the latest Zoom details. Readers should use that page for the registration and joining information.
What readers will discuss
First published in 1884, The Wild Duck follows the Ekdal family after its fragile peace is disrupted by Gregers Werle, an idealist determined to expose concealed truths. The play also examines the relationship between an idealistic son and his corrupt merchant father, whose duplicity is revealed.
Werle’s effort to rescue the people around him ultimately destroys those he hopes to help, and the family’s circumstances begin to unravel. Through that collapse, the drama explores deception, betrayal and the disillusionment of modern life.
The work combines serious and comic elements through comedy and satire. Vesterheim describes it as realistic, while literary scholars have also associated it with symbolism. The play is regarded as the first modern masterpiece in the tragicomedy genre, giving the Bokprat group an opportunity to consider its family conflict alongside its mixture of humor, satire and tragedy.
Part of Vesterheim’s recurring Bokprat series
The October event is part of Vesterheim’s recurring Bokprat series, an online book group centered on Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. Its remote format gives local readers a way to discuss Scandinavian literature without attending an in-person gathering at the museum.
Vesterheim announced the program in August 2026. Readers interested in taking part should register through the museum’s event page and review it again before Wednesday, Oct. 28, for current Zoom access information.