Hedda Gabler

There is a sliding scale with regard to the use of the terms "naturalism" and "realism." Most critics and commentators would probably regard naturalism as a kind of subset of realism. More often...

This one used to be a massive problem in Ibsen criticism and everyone went a bit crazy over it. It has since, you'll been glad to hear, been largely settled. Vine leaves in the hair is...

Hedda Gabler is morally responsible for her actions. Yet at the same time, the society in which she lives doesn't allow individuals—especially women—to express themselves freely. In such an...

Judge Brack explains his reasons for not marrying in his extended Act Second conversation with Hedda. The question of why she married George comes up, “My accepting George Tesman, you mean?” and...

The foreword tells us that the inspiration for Hedda's character is likely the wife of a Norwegian composer in Ibsen's day. Accordingly, the woman burned her husband's latest completed symphony...

The differences in character between Hedda Gabler and Hamlet, the Danish prince, are numerous and clearly evident to readers, but Ibsen's tragic heroine shares some interesting similarities with...

As the other educator has pointed out, the theme of motherhood is introduced through two main characters: Mrs. Thea Elvsted and Hedda Gabler. At the beginning of the story, we learn that Jurgen...

At the beginning of Hedda Gabler’s second act, Judge Brack arrives to see George Tesman, only to discover that Tesman is not home, but his bored wife Hedda is. Through a revealing and flirtatious...

I'm not sure I would necessarily agree that symbolic objects are a major element in Hedda Gabler or in Ibsen's plays overall. Ibsen is a writer who presents things more literally than one might...

When Henrik Ibsen finished writing Hedda Gabler in November of 1890, he sent the play to Count Maurycy (Maurice) Prozor, to have it translated into French prior to publication. In December, 1890...

Ibsen devotes nearly 300 words to describing the interior of the villa as the prelude to Act I. This demonstrates the importance of the theme of home in Hedda Gabler. Other relevant aspects are...

Hedda Gabler is arguably the most unsympathetic heroine in all of Ibsen’s plays. She seems to have everything a person would need. This beautiful young woman is recently married to a very nice...

First of all, Hedda Gabler is a great stage play with a strong and suspenseful plot. The storyline itself is enough to keep the audience enthralled. Each act ends with a dramatic "cliffhanger,"...

The main triangular relationships in Hedda Gabler concern Hedda herself. The most significant one links her to her husband, George Tesman, and her former lover, Eilert Lovborg. A second triangle...

In order to understand why suicide is significant in Hedda Gabler, you should explore two important themes in the play: death and power. After all, suicide is the ultimate way to reclaim one's...

In Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler, the title character is quite complex. Although the play begins just after Hedda and Tesman come back from their honeymoon, we can gather bits and pieces of what her...

I would argue that Hedda experiences both a modern and a classical tragedy. A classical tragic hero is a man or woman of high status who experiences a downfall because of a tragic flaw in his/her...

Judge Brack's last line (actually the last line of the whole play) aren't actually directed to Hedda, but to Tesman who has just shouted out that Hedda has shot herself. His remark, "Good God...

Hedda Gabler is a modern tragedy and Hedda, the character, is a tragic hero with a fatal flaw, her romanticism. In addition, Hedda is a very intelligent woman who is not well educated, but instead...

Hedda Gabler is one of several women in Ibsen's plays caught within a social system which gives them relatively little scope for action or creativity. The heroines of both "Hedda Gabler" and...

Hedda's frenzied act of playing the piano is an outward manifestation of her inner frustration and fury, which culminates in her own 'beautiful death'. Even as early as act one, when Tesman...

Since Hedda Gabler was written in the late nineteenth century, one would expect the relationship between George Tesman and his new bride Hedda to be based on the social mores of a typical community...

The various elements of stagecraft should be used in Hedda Gabler to bring out the class issues central to the plot and character of the protagonist. Interior design can be used to show the...

Yes, Hedda Gabler is a realistic play; it is, in fact, famous for its realism. If we compare it to Hamlet, we can easily see how it is realistic in contrast to Shakespeare's play. In Hamlet, a...

The motif of hair in this brilliant play is used to signal the way in which Hedda is more preoccupied with the aesthetics of life rather than the messy relaities of day-to-day living. She has a...

In the works of Chekhov and Ibsen, it becomes clear that the shifting landscape of interpersonal dynamics helps to define the social changes taking place at the end of the 19th Century. Both...

Hedda Gabler is a fascinating woman, and the flaws in her character are obvious and dramatic. She is narcissistic, willful, and manipulative, acting beyond the bounds of ethical behavior. Cold and...

All three works approach death from different perspectives. The Death of Ivan Ilych highlights the reality of death as part of the human experience and the fears that incapacitate those who face...

Henrik Ibsen's 1890 play Hedda Gabler was initially met with bad reviews and little public interest, but it has since become a classic drama and is compared favorably to Hamlet, among others. The...

Hedda is a narcissist, but at the same time, one could argue that she merely sees life more realistically and practically than others do. If her mindset is pathological, this is perhaps less due to...

What is so fascinating about this play is the extreme restriction of the staging. You may have noticed when studying this play that all of the action occurs in the drawing room of the Tesmans'...

Throughout Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen conveys the reversal of gendered roles as a primary component of the Tesmans’ marriage. The two symbols indicate the vast gulf between them and the weak...

In the most superficial analysis, Hedda is frustrated because her marriage has turned out badly. Her husband is a seemingly benign and pleasant man, but he is also remote and nerdish in an...

Hedda Gabler is an 1890 play by Henrik Ibsen that touches on themes of feminism, personal honor, and fidelity in marriage. The honeymooning Jørgen and Hedda Tesman return to their home, where a...

In both of Chekhov’s dramas, the characters are undone by their decision to cling to long-standing illusions and notions rather than accept and embrace change. Chekhov’s Three Sisters was written...

Hedda and Félicité (the protagonist from A Simple Heart) at first glance seem to be very different. Félicité is the faithful servant who lives a long life, finding happiness in the connections she...

You are quite correct in your conclusion that the character of Hedda is far from moral. Moreover, she is also quite careless about people, as she lacks the depth of character that would define an...

As reflected in the play, the status of women in Hedda's society is secondary to that of men in all respects, with the exception that they have the ability to bear children--their "natural role."...

Tesman is the proverbial absent-minded professor, a scholar who is fixated on intellectual matters. His constantly saying "What?" is emblematic of his remoteness from others, including Hedda, and...

There are three significant symbols in this brilliant play that are worthy of attention. The first of these is Thea's hair, which is shown again and again to be abundant and beautiful, especially...

Hedda Gabler, like Ibsen’s other works, is firmly ensconced in the realist canon. It is conventionally structured in acts, its characters generally behave in a believable fashion, and the plot...

Ibsen's Hedda Gabler is something of a romantic. She wants to inspire others to greatness--either in life or in death. When she learns that she is not the inspiration for Eilert's brilliant...

What is a realist text? It produces the illusion of being real and hence the readers' identification of something familiar and authentic. Ibsen's Hedda Gabler can be considered a realist text...

Lovborg's death comes as a rude awakening to Hedda. Or, to be more precise, the manner of his death does. Initially, Hedda assumes that Lovborg's demise was "beautiful"; that he'd exercised his...

Act 3 of Hedda Gabler opens at dawn with both Hedda and Thea asleep by the stove. However, the fire inside the stove is slowly dying. Berta the servant tries to revive the fire, but Thea insists on...

Hedda, Lizzie, and Shen Teh each were in conflict against society. Shen Teh's was by far the most innocent conflict. Shen Teh learned to break the boundaries of society when she discovered that in...

Your question seems to infer that the medium of the novel does all the work for the reader and does not force them to engage their brains in critical thinking in the same way that watching a play...

Thea possesses a beauty, both on the inside and out, but it is her inner beauty that allows her love for Eilert to ruin her reputation. She leaves her loveless marriage to help reform Eilert. His...

Ibsen wrote many plays that challenged Victorian (19thC) notions of women, sometimes creating characters in the form of the “New Woman,” a term used in the press of the day to describe the woman...

When you read the play you will immediately find that, in general, Hedda Gabler has more directions than A Doll's House. This is mainly because, in typical Ibsen fashion, the woman who drives the...