By: Kierstyn Sutherland Hedda Gabler By: Kierstyn Sutherland

Author: Hedda Gabler was written in 1890 by Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen was a major 19th century Norwegian playwright, director and poet. He was born in 1828 and died in 1906. As a child, Henrik showed no interest in theatre, and was very poor- he even had to quit school and begin working at age 15. It wasn’t until his late teenage years that he actually began to show his true theatrical genius. Unlike many other authors from his time, Ibsen was actually happily married to his wife, Suzannah. Together they had one son, Sigurd. Ibsen had a son from another woman- a maid during his apprenticeship- but he never got to meet him, although he financially provided for him. Henrik was exiled from Norway in 1862 and moved to Italy, where he wrote his famous five-act tragedy, “Brand.” In 1868, Henrik moved to Germany, where he wrote, “A Doll’s House.” Henrik wrote many other important works during his time, before he moved back to Norway a hero in 1891. In 1900, he had a series of strokes that left him unable to write. He managed to survive for 6 more years, until he died in 1906. His final words were, “To The Contrary!” (in Norwegian).

This is Henrik Ibsen!

Characters in Hedda Gabler: Hedda: The daughter of a former general; used to luxury and high class living. She is intelligent in an evil way, and is not afraid to manipulate her friends and family. Tesman: Amiable, intelligent, young scholar. Married to Hedda. Annoying for his age; was raised by his Aunt Julle. Aunt Julle: Raised Tesman after his parents died. Wants Tesman and Hedda to have a baby, and lives with Aunt Rina. Judge Brack: Friend of Tesman and Hedda. Has many connections and is first to tell Tesman about any alteration in the possibility of his profession. Enjoys meddling in others’ affairs; worldly and cynical. Ejlert: Tesman’s biggest competitor. After a series of scandals related to public drinking, he was once an outcast, but has now returned to the city and has published a book to rave reviews. He also has another manuscript that is more promising. Mrs. Elvsted helped him with both; he once had a close relationship with her. Mrs. Elvsted: She is meek but passionate. Hedda tortured her in school. Bert: Servant of Tesman and Hedda. She used to be Aunt Julle’s servant. She tries very hard to please Hedda, but Hedda hates her. Aunt Rina: Dying at the start of the play; helped raise Tesman.

Summary of Hedda Gabler: Hedda Gabler is a play about a newlywed couple- a young scholar (Tesman) and the wicked daughter of a late general (Hedda). The main character, Hedda, is bored and dissatisfied with her marriage and her life, and has the urge to influence someone else’s fate. As we read the story, we see how Hedda manipulates everyone and has the desire to be in total control of everything. We also see how rude she is to Tesman’s family and their friends, and is never satisfied with anything. As the story progresses, we learn that Hedda is wanting to influence someone else’s fate, regardless of how the outcome is or damage she may cause, because she is bored and dissatisfied with her own life. Long story short, Hedda manages to ruin a man’s life and cause his death, which consequently causes her own death.

Major Themes There are many themes that can be pulled from Hedda Gabler: Power and Influence; Marriage, Love, and Jealousy; Manipulation; Obsession; etc. Power and Influence: Every character in the play seeks power and influence of some kind. Here are a few examples: Hedda wants to control everyone and everything, Tesman wants to be the best scholar and university teacher, Judge Brack wants the power associated with being involved in everyone’s business and Ejlert wants to build his reputation back up with his writings. Marriage, Love and Jealousy: Hedda and Tesman are married, but Hedda is unhappy and dissatisfied, while Tesman tries everything he can to make her happy; Mrs. Elvsted is in love with Ejlert- who has feelings for Hedda and went to a “whore house” (for lack of a better term); Judge Brack and Hedda are flirting and eventually Judge Brack tries to blackmail Hedda for sex because she won’t ever do anything with him. Manipulation: We mainly see Hedda’s acts of manipulation throughout the play, but at the end we see Judge Brack trying to manipulate Hedda by black mailing her. Obsession: Hedda is obsessed with control and manipulation; Tesman is obsessed with becoming the best scholar and university teacher; Mrs. Elvsted is obsessed with Ejlert; Ejlert is obsessed with his manuscripts and boosting his reputation; Judge Brack is obsessed with everyone else’s lives; Aunt Julle is obsessed with trying to please Hedda and the idea of Tesman and Hedda having a baby.

My Opinions/Views of the Play: Hedda Gabler was a very twisted play in my opinion, but it was interesting and expressed some interesting themes. I think Hedda definitely had some sort of psychotic rage/mental disorder for behaving the way she did. No sane person desires to ruin someone else’s life and then takes their own life; not to mention she was unhappy and complained about every possible thing. Hedda’s overall character was just evil. I really enjoyed the ending, because I really wanted (and expected) Hedda to die, but I didn’t like that she got to end her own life. I felt like her ending her own life was just another way for her to express her control, I would have really enjoyed if Elvsted or even Tesman would have killed her! Overall this was a good read to me, but I just wish things would have ended differently.

What Did I Learn From This Reading? I definitely learned how psychology in an individual can play out in different situations. For example: Hedda’s manipulation and control (which may or may not have stemmed from the way she was raised), Ejlert’s mental breakdown after being manipulated into drinking again, losing his manuscript, and being told to kill himself; Aunt Julle’s desire to please Hedda even though Hedda is rude to her all the time and is never satisfied with anything she does; etc. I also learned that there was a sense of “justice” or “karma” – Hedda lost all control, her husband didn’t want much to do with her anymore, the girl she used to bully in school was now above her and eventually she ended up killing herself; Ejlert’s manuscript was being restored in his honor and Tesman was actually free from Hedda’s control and began to stand up for himself.

Sources: "Henrik Ibsen." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 03 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. "Hedda Gabler Themes from LitCharts | The Creators of SparkNotes." LitCharts. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. All images came from Google.