The character of Hedda Gabler in Ibsen’s play is a unique and extraordinary person. There has been a lot of public dislike towards her and seen as a very manipulative, cold and even masculine portrayal of a woman. As stated by Jones “has imagination, and an intense appetite for beauty, she has no conscience, no conviction: with plenty of cleverness, energy, and personal fascination she remains mean, envious, insolent, cruel in protest against others ' happiness, fiendish in her dislike of inartistic people and things, a bully in reaction from her own cowardice." (2). Her personality was considered to be too different for the time that she lived in; it was seen as obstinate, and people went as far as to say she was less of a woman for the way …show more content…
And if so, who was she? The suggested solutions to this problem are numerous, and opinions are abundant. “Ibsen’s love letters to Emilie Bardach, the 18-year-old woman that Ibsen had met in the summer of 1889, many believed that this young was the model for Hedda. A historian by the name Halvdan Koht suggested that Ibsen modelled Hedda after an actress he had met in Munich called Alberg, which is an anagram for Gabler. Most in the literary world have rejected the notion of a real-life model for Hedda Gabler. Michael Meyer, a translator and author, suggested that Hedda was a more of an unconscious self- portrayal, showing the more repressed and crippled side of Ibsen’s emotional life” (Nilsen 1). Ibsen had a few references to the future, a future that Hedda would never be a part of, he tried very hard in the play to make the audience see Hedda as entirely rational in the beginning and then hopefully pick up the subtext that would indeed start revealing the true nature of the situation. Ibsen was conceiving her as a powerful and energetic character, he frequently used terms in describing her, that when taken together, create a good final product: “attraction”, “aspiration”, “drawn”, “demand”, “desperation”, or even “hysteria”. (Jones 8). Ibsen is hailed as the ‘father of modern drama’ while Freud is known as the ‘father …show more content…
Throughout the play, there is a feeling that the room gets darker and less lively with the piano removed as well. The play takes a turn to Hedda being more clear and intentional with her manipulations. She is very bored and irritated in her general life. Her obsessive nature to cause trouble and trying to control everything is evident very early on in the play. She starts out in a quite middle-class setting and seems very annoyed at Tesman, she does not want to be close to him, yet they just returned home from their honeymoon which is supposed to be the most romantic thing at the beginning of marriage, but hers seems just tolerable. She appears to enjoy the fact that Tesman gets worried about the competition with Lovborg, it appears to give her new “fun” activity in her life. There are parts of the play that lean towards Hedda seeming slightly hysterical or bipolar as she goes from being bored and calm to loading pistols as if it is not a big deal and then grasps Thea wildly announcing her expectations for Lovborg. She seems obsessed with trying to control those around her because she has no other “outlet” to her life. Physically, she is repelled by marital sex and, however, flirtatious with the Judge, frightened by extramarital affairs. Like so many women, she is left miserable among the
Hedda from the story “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen, wanted to have freedom or wanted to control her own life. However that desire never come true. Throughout the story we see that Hedda who want to dictate her own life simply couldn’t. One such example is that Hedda got marry. In 1800s, women ought to get marry. Women can’t find any job or have a business, therefore women cannot really survive if they choose to be independent. Hedda is no exception, she is bounded to get marry “I’d dance myself out, dear Judge. My time was up. [Shudders slightly.] Uch, no, I’m not going to say that or even think it.” (Ibsen, 1503) and the only choices she has is to whom she would marry to and after a she gets marry; she wouldn’t be able to live a life she wanted to because in the 1800s women couldn’t control how they live their life. They exist simply to find a men and serve their husband. Even though Hedda has to get marry and live a life that she didn’t want, but she didn’t give up the idea of controlling her own life and go against the society. One such move is that she tries to manipulate the people around her, one such person is her husband George Tesman “You’re right – it was a bit more costly. But Hedda just had to have that trip, Auntie. She really had to. There was no choice.” (Ibsen, 1486) The reason for her manipulation is because she want to
Hedda elicits sympathy from her audience because it is very obvious she is unhappy with her life. Women are suppressed by society and considered inferior to men. That is even more so in this time period. She expresses boredom with the life she has chosen during her conversation with Judge Brack in Act II. She talks of how she has these “impulses” to do these little things, assumingly to add a little spice to her life (Ibsen, Act II).
This time period also saw rising tensions against widows and church members that would disobey. Individuals who defied the Puritan leaders would often be exiled. (Campbell, 2013, 2015; Hallenbeck, 2002). Hester Prynne is the prime example of these two aspects as she is publicly humiliated because of her “sinful” passion. In the narrative, it states, “… the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes, all fastened upon her… she felt, at moments, as if she must needs shriek out with the full power of her lungs, and cast herself from the scaffold down upon the ground, or else go mad at once” (Hawthorne 40). This event leads to the seclusion of Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl, from society (Gayatri, 2014). At first, it seems like a religious victory for the Puritans, but as time goes on we see Hester developing into an independent woman away from the Freudian society which tried to conceal her and her sin. Even though the Puritanical society exiles her from their community, Hester represents the strength in women by not letting her past actions decide her future (Symbols, Society and the Individual). Over time, she is reflective of her actions and develops into a charitable, and able person. In the narrative, it states, “Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to
In the play Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House, Ibsen tackles sociological issues that were troubling in the 19th century. The main problem both Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House refer to is the position of women in society. This issue is represented by the main characters of both plays: Nora Helmer and Hedda Gabler. At first glance, Nora Helmer and Hedda Gabler are complete opposites, but both women are actually quite similar in how they coped with their very limited life opportunities, and in the way they were victims of being women in the 19th century. In this essay, the first thing discussed will reflect how Nora and Hedda are different. The second topic discussed will present how these women both use their fantasies to entertain themselves. The final topic discussed will be the similar restrictions put on both women because of their gender.
Hester Prynne, convicted of Adultery and forced to wear the Letter A as punishment, goes through the hypocrisy of the Puritan colony and the raising of a queer child, Pearl. Hawthorne’s passionate and tenacious protagonist, Hester Prynne, suggests that whatever strenuous event may overcome her, she uses it to better herself as a person.
Hedda Gabler is a text in which a very domineering society drives a woman to her suicidal death. Many argue that Hedda’s death is an act of courage, as rebellion against the rules of the society, however other believe that Hedda’s actions show cowardice, as she is unable to cope with the harsh reality of the her situation. Hedda's singular goal throughout the play has been to prove that she is still in possession of free will. Hedda shows many examples of both courage and cowardice throughout the play, differing to the character she is with.
Hedda is worthless and damaging because she only cares about her own feelings and lives her life hating the boring standards women had during the 19th century. This causes her to express cruel behavior to people she surrounds herself with. Throughout the play Hedda shows a lot of cruel behavior as an expression of her inward frustrations at the social limitations imposed on women in the 19th century.
In both plays, Hedda Gabler and A Streetcar Named Desire, the authors create very complex characters whose obsession creates conflict regarding their private lives. Tennessee Williams creates Blanche, whose the heroine and the antagonist Stanley, whose the antagonist. On the other hand, in the play Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen creates Hedda, the heroine and the antagonist, Judge Brack, the antagonist. Both authors establish antagonists, such as Stanley and Judge Brack, containing some sympathetic elements to help the reader understand their motivations towards the heroines, Blanche and Hedda. The characters of Stanley and Judge Brack obtain motivations analyzed by the reader to be known as vengeance and scornful but sympathetic acts to oppress the protagonists of the story.
Ibsen created an environment for women to question the society they lived in. Nora and Hedda, two feminists living in a masculine household bereft of happiness, desired to evade their unhappy life at home under the guidance of a man. Eventually, both women escaped from their husband’s grasp, but Hedda resorted to suicide in order to leave. Nora agreed with Lois Wyse by showing her strengths with pride to everybody, while Hedda hid her strengths like a coward by killing herself. Ibsen used numerous literary elements and techniques to enhance his writing and to help characterize the two protagonists.
The characters of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Hedda Gabler have problems relating to and surrounding their feelings towards the expectations presented to them by their society. The motivation behind their actions denote a fear of losing their respectability and status in their towns while implying a desire to be free of the expectations on them. The looming punishment of losing reputation and credibility in a community forces the characters in these plays to tiptoe around each other while trying to gain an upper hand and not be exposed in a possible scandal. The character’s actions are driven by a fear of losing respect in the community, being deemed disgraceful by neighbors, and damaging the character they have been building in the eyes
Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen is a play about Hedda, a woman living in Christiana, Norway in the 1860’s who manipulates others, but her efforts produce negative results. During this era, there were Victorian values and ethics which were followed by almost all. The main values comprised of women always marrying and, their husbands taking care of them. Women were always accompanied by chaperone and were not allowed to be left alone with an unfamiliar male. It was Bertrand Russell who said “It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly”.
Hedda Gabler was raised by her father, General Gabler, and that is how people know her. She is not someone’s girlfriend, wife, mother, or friend. She has always been and always will be General Gabler’s daughter. Being raised without a mother, Hedda was left with only her military father to look to as an example, so she learned to shoot, ride horses, be prideful, and coldhearted. She learned to set her sights on something and not stop till she got it. Like her father, Hedda takes an aristocratic view on life. She attended all the social gatherings and had many suitors, but they never interested her. She wanted something different than what they had to offer; she wanted freedom and control over her own life.
sure the children don’t see it till it’s decorated this evening”(Ibsen 892). There is also a
Life is unpredictable and we are the one who make it. It is up to us if we want to have a good or bad life or just chose to end it. Hedda Gabler is a naturalism type of dramatic writing, written by Henrik Ibsen who narrates Hedda Gabler as a scandalous, coward, egotistical and a deceiving character who wants to have freedom to do something and achieve it. However, all the things that she wants to happened always failed. Starting from having an unwanted marriage with George out of sympathy;