Eng. 272 April 19, 2005 Mr. Turner The Character of Hedda Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler portrays the life of a young newlywed woman named Hedda and her at temps to overpower the people around her. Ibsen successfully depicts the very masculine traits that Hedda displays throughout the play with not wanting to conform to the feminine ways or the accepted stereotypes of her gender in her society. Hedda’s marriage to her husband, Mr. Tesman, only increases her desire for power because it is a constant re-minder that she now ‘belongs’ to Mr.
Tesman which Hedda resents. Hedda considers her life to be boring and finds solace in playing with her father’s pistols, which is considered not a thing for a young lady to do and a very inappropriate form of entertainment for a woman. Hedda is a person that displays characteristics of masculinity and jealousy, and is shown to be very unconcerned about the feelings of others she may in counter. The play begins with Miss. Tesman, Mr. Tesman’s Aunt, greeting her nephew after his six month wedding-tour.
They speak briefly about his journey, and Miss. Tesman comments several times about his new beautiful wife and how lucky he is to have been the one that was choose out of all her other suitors to carry off the lovely Hedda Gabler. Soon after Hedda enters the room, she has already insulted Tesman’s Aunt by implying that her bonnet is the servants: Hedda-‘Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying on the chair’ Tesman-‘But Hedda, that’s aunt Julia’s bonnet’ Miss Tesman-‘Yes, indeed it’s mine. And, what’s more it’s not old, Madam Hedda’ (Act I).
The Essay on Social Comment Hedda Esslin Play
Martin Esslin, in his critical essay written in 1969, comments on works from the beginning, middle and finally the end of Ibsen's career. He chose to write about Hedda Gabler in his section about the middle of Ibsen's career. While his writing is fairly complex, most of it is decipherable. He writes that "Hedda Gabler is the last of his strictly realist plays." (237). He also explains that Hedda ...
Hedda again shows her dis concern when her husband tries to show her the slippers that his aunt has made for him as a gift: Hedda- ‘Thanks, I really don’t care about it’ Tesman- ‘Only think-as ill as she was, Aunt Rina embroidered these for me. Oh you can’t think of how many associations cling to them’ Hedda – ‘Scarcely for me’ (Act I).
Hedda pretends to befriend Mrs. Thea Elvsted (a schoolmate from her youth) in order to solicit her confidence about her situation with an old friend of Mr. Tesman and an old flame of hers, Ei lert Lovborg, who was a drunk back in the day, but has cleaned up his act and has recently written a book and moved back into town. Mrs. Elvsted has asked Mr. Tesman to kind of keep an eye on Lovborg now that he has moved back, since they were such great friends in the old days and are interested in the same studies.
Mr. Tesman assures her that he will do all he can. Hedda, on the other hand, has a feeling Mrs. Elvsted is covering something up and insist that Tesman go write him and invite him over. Now that she is alone with Mrs. Elvsted she convinces her to confide in her the truth about her and Lovborg: Hedda-‘Why, weren’t we schoolfellows?’ Thea- ‘Yes, but you were in a class above me.
Oh, how dreadfully afraid of you I was then!’ Hedda- ‘Afraid of me?’ (Act I).
Once Hedda finds out about the true feelings involved, she plans to use it against Thea to destroy their comradeship. Mean-while, as Hedda waits for her visitors to arrive she plans to occupy her time with her fathers pistols, which frightens most: Hedda- ‘Well, I shall have one thing at least to kill time with in the meanwhile’ Tesman- ‘Oh thank heaven for that! What is it, Hedda?’ Hedda- ‘My pistols, George, General Gabler’s pistols’ Tesman- ‘No, for heavens sake, Hedda darling-do not touch those dangerous things! For my sake Hedda!’ (Act I).
At the beginning of Act II Hedda is visited by Judge Brack, which whom she tells she has missed his company during her long and boring trip. They begin to in a flirtatious manner with one another as she begins telling him the true nature of her marriage to Mr. Tesman, that it is just for convenience and there is no love on her behalf.
The Term Paper on Literary Review Hedda Gabler
... and tells them she's looking for Eilert Lovborg. After Hedda and Mrs. Elvsted (Thea) are left alone, Thea confides in her that she has secretly ... Norwegian capital then) Time Period: 1890 Major Characters Hedda Gabler - (married name: Hedda Tesman) Daughter of an aristocratic general who spoiled her. ... lies that she burnt the manuscript for him as an act of love. Judge Brack - likes to gossip and be ...
Hedda, again manipulating the conversation, encourages Bracks flirtation by her talk of a ‘third person’ being involved. Brack entertains this notion of a love triangle, calling it a ‘great convenience for all parties’. They are interrupted when Tesman returns asking if Lovborg has to his letter. Later that evening, Lovborg arrives and is invited to a supper-party by Brack, which he turns down, planning to spend the evening with Hedda and Thea. Once Thea arrives, Hedda’s games begin. She is p resistant in attempting to get Lovborg to have a drink, which he continues to refuse, she then begins talking about the information she had Thea confide in her earlier: Hedda- ‘You can see for yourself! You haven’t the slightest reason to be in such mortal terror-There, now we can all three enjoy ourselves’ Lovborg-‘Ah-what is all this, Mrs.
Tesman?’ Mrs. Elvsted-‘Oh my God, Hedda! What are you saying? What are you doing?’ (Act II).
At this point Lovborg has picked up a drink and begins toasting to their health and to the truth: Mrs. Elvsted- ‘Oh, Hedda, Hedda-how could you do this?’ Hedda- ‘I do it? I? Are you crazy?’ Lovborg- ‘Here’s to your health too, Mrs Tesman. Thanks for the truth.
Hurray for the truth!’ (Act II).
Hedda manipulates Lovborg into going with Brack and Tesman to the supper-party to resume in his drunken ways of old. By the morning when Tesman returns, he confides in Hedda that he has Lovborg’s manuscript, that he picked it up after Lovborg dropped it during his drunken stupor and he does not no that he has it. Hedda eventually gets her hands on the manuscript and burns it, thus destroying Lovborg and Thea’s work and their relationship. Lovborg arrives at the Tesman house where Thea has stayed the night. He lies and tells her that he has torn the manuscript into pieces because he has torn his own life into pieces, after hearing this Thea, in a state of di spare, leaves the house.
Once alone with Hedda, Lovborg confesses that he has lost the Manuscript, but could not bring himself to tell Thea because her pure soul was in that book. As he begins to leave, Hedda gives him one of her pistols as a ‘moment’ and tells him to do it beautifully, as though she knew he felt he had nothing to live for. Brack arrived later that day with the news that Lovborg was dead, and that he still had the pistol on him when he was found, and that he knew it was one of Hedda’s pistols. He tells her that she would be able to avoid scandal only if he did not tell the police he knew who the gun belonged to, but that meant being in his power, at his beck and call, his slave, and that is something Hedda just could not live with, so she excuses herself, goes in the next room and shoots herself dead.
The Essay on Hedda Gabler Life Lovborg Thea
... homebound. Hedda was Lovborg's inspiration in one of his manuscripts. When Thea took her place as Lovborg's inspiration, she felt hurt. Hedda wanted something that Thea now ... on her by society. She thought she could live through Tesman. To Hedda, he was boring and too caught up in his ... world that she was trapped in. It was appropriate that Brack said in the last line in the play 'people don't ...
