Comparison Of 'Oedipus The King' And Hedda Gabler

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Sophocles, Oedipus the King, both of the main characters conform to the same classic tragic hero formula. Oedipus suffers a life based on a pre‐birth prophecy, whereas Hamlet finds himself burdened with the task of avenging his father’s death. In both situations, two kings must leave their innocence behind as the truth leads them first, to enlightenment and then to their downfall. They battle between the light, the truth and the darkness, the lie. Both Hamlet and Oedipus are similar in that they both showcase their mental state and stability, they are able to make swift decisions, and they both deal with relationships with women. Despite similarities between Hamlet and Oedipus, it is Oedipus’ consideration to do what is best for his people and city that makes him the more honourable man.

Jordan Baker (nodding): Well it is getting late. (She says softly.) Wake me at eight, won’t you. Good night, Mr. Carraway.

“Good morning, bros and sis!” I exclaimed. They all responded with a good morning and joined me by watching our favorite show, Blue Bloods. After I was going to refill my glass, I walked into the

This paper is the rough draft version. There are grammatical errors and other such errors in it.

“Good afternoon to you too, sour-puss.” Cotton clicked his clogs together twice. “We would have been here an hour ago if the creepazoid in the silver suit hadn’t held us up.”

Helga feels the effects of her taboo social status early on when she is alienated because of the absence of her family. This absence becomes critical to Helga's acceptance by James Vayle's family when they are discussing their possible marriage plans.

Towards the end of the novel, Hester gets the break in life she’s been waiting for. She put up with seven years of shame and guilt, to finally be the person she used to be. Her rekindled love with Arthur makes her happy again, and everything just seems right for them. She’s filled with hope that her life will finally turn back to normal again. She feels redeemed, and the guilt is no longer on her shoulders. She’s now ready to take on the world, and start her life over to the way it was before the “A” entered her life. Having the courage to show her face in the colony again is just a sign of her bravery.

She wants to have a certain control and power over her life and this means pushing away those who are close to her. Limited by the new responsibilities, she is facing, Hedda points her attention to others around her.

Hedda tears down everyone throughout the play, with Lövborg and Brack as the only exception. After being born to a high standing family, her expectations of power are high, but due to her biologic form as a woman she is trapped and unable to take control, “because Hedda has been imprisoned since girlhood by the bars of Victorian propriety, her emotional life has grown turbulent and explosive” (Embler). However, after succumbing to marriage with Tesman, whom she only marries for money and respect, she loses her place in society as she, as a mere woman, cannot retain it. This slowly unwinds Hedda and eventually leads her on to her fatal path. By

Hedda arouses sympathy from the readers through her own personal conflicts. She is a woman trapped by herself in a loveless marriage to an “ingenuous creature” (52 Ibsen) named George Tesman. Tesman is a simple soul with very little to offer. Not only is he an entire social class below Hedda, but he is oblivious, insecure due to his own banalities, and overly reliant on his Aunts’, despite being thirty-three-years-old. Hedda married George due to a “bond of sympathy. . .” (31 Ibsen) formed between them and she “took pity. . .” (31 Ibsen) on George. This brings a sense of sincerity to Hedda that was not turned to such a high magnitude preceding this discussion between Judge Brack and herself. Hedda is a lonely, yet independent, soul that wants sexual freedom without

Ibsen uses the relationship and conflict between Hedda and Brack to illustrate Hedda’s struggle to assert her free will and power in a male-dominated society. The two characters are united as social equals who are members of the aristocracy as

After some light conversation, Hedda is quick to insult Aunt Julia’s bonnet. “Hedda: (pointing). Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying about on a chair…. Just fancy if anyone should come in and see it” (Ibsen pg. 9). The standard for a proper housewife is to be accommodating and friendly to guests of her home. The husband in this case would more than likely enact some aggression towards his wife who spoke unkindly to a guest, however Hedda differs herself from the normal housewife this way by disregarding the customs for treating other people in her home. This also shows the lack of respect towards her own husband, Mr. Tesman, for she treats his own family members with little regard. Hedda displays little respect towards her husband mainly because he is not able to provide for her enough to maintain the standard of living which she is used to. Mr. Tesman bought Hedda a brand new home just to woo her yet she is displeased and disinterested in her residence reciting that she only mentioned she would like to live there due to an awkward night where neither could think of anything to say, so she just decided to comment on a villa which they happened to be walking by. (Ibsen pg. 31). Hedda makes this comment to judge Brack with whom Mr. Tesman is closely affiliated. Comments like these are not only an example of Hedda’s rudeness but also delve into a much deeper darker aspect of the character of Hedda

When comparing Oedipus and Medea we see the battle of good versus evil, as there is in any story that has a heroic or non heroic figure in the, but this time it is a little bit different from a normal good versus evil story since they are of course both tragedies. The question, in these stories, is whether or not Oedipus or Medea display any heroic qualities during the tragic battles, and the answer is yes but also no. As we know, there are many differences between Medea and Oedipus, but they both end up destroying everything they love and cherish around them because of the choices that they have made with the poor judgment that they had while they were fueled by anger.

Upon returning from their honeymoon, however, Hedda begins to realize the folly of her plan when she learns that Tesman cannot bring to fruition her ambition of climbing the social ladder. Having endured what was for her a painstakingly dull six months abroad with Tesman, Hedda must now endure the fate of a bored housewife bound in a union she dare not break for fear of impropriety.

Hedda is the product of aristocratic birth.  She is, as I mentioned earlier, the daughter of General Gabler, whose portrait hangs over this play not unlike the portrait of the absent father in Williams' The Glass Menagerie.  And in case we have missed the significance of the portrait in the stage directions or have overlooked it as an audience member, Miss Tesman rivets our attention to it and the reality of Hedda's aristocratic life:  "Well, you cant's wonder at that--General Gabler's daughter!  Think of the sort of life she was accustomed to in her father's time.  Don't you remember how we used to see her riding down the road along with the General? In that long black habit--with feathers in her hat?"  (Ibsen  2).  Her aristocratic birth and her past is contrasted by her choice of a husband who has neither noble blood nor bourgeois money.  We are told that this motherless child of an aristocratic general often gave in to fits of cruelty as a child:  "At the finishing school the presence of a girl with a head of abundant, wavy flaxen hair irritated her and provoked her to outbursts of cruelty which had their source in equal measure, perhaps, in envy and in a deep-seated temperamental antipathy; for dearth of abundance, physically and temperamentally, is a characteristic of Hedda's nature" (Weigland  246-247).