Hedda Gabbler and Miss. Julie: The Ultimate Escape from Life Essay

In Hedda Gabler Ibsen presents Hedda as a tormented and difficult character who seems to delight in causing offence to others. She is shown to act in a way that offends all those closest to her, especially her husband and his Aunt and at times it is hard for the audience to have any sympathy for her. Critics over the years have referred to her as the “female Hamlet” as her behaviour is full of contradictions and her dissatisfaction with the situation she finds herself in has repercussions that not only damage her family, but are catastrophic for her former close friend Lovborg, also ending with her taking her own life, and that of her unborn child. Ibsen shows through dialogue, action and symbol that Hedda is the opposite of all that a

Henrik Isben’s “Hedda Gabler” is a problem play that deals with several social conflicts that a newlywed woman experiences when we arrives back to her home town from her honeymoon. As the daughter of General Gabler, Hedda Gabler has been born into and grown accustom to being at the top of her town’s social hierarchy. Because of Hedda’s social status and undeniable beauty she has the ability to control and manipulate those around her – but to a certain extent. The time the play was set in, women did not have a lot of freedom to do anything outside of getting married, having children and attending to the house. Hedda did not fit this mould that was created for women of that time. She was not very maternal individual and reactive negatively

The stage description, introduces Hedda’s as an aristocratic lady who physically embodies “breeding and distinction”. Through the nouns “breeding” and “distinction”, Ibsen conveys a sense of being moulded by Norwegian society to conform to societal norms. A depiction that positions her as being forced into proper societal etiquette

If only one had that… Then life might be livable, in spite of everything” (Act two 221). It is astonishing to observe that Hedda is neither completely insane nor her behavior is completely normal, but the writer depicts her as a neutral individual, who suffers from social phobia of being less powerful and less privileged. Therefore, Ibsen makes a deliberate effort to portray courage as a negative quality held by Hedda. The reason behind this technique is based on Ibsen’s idea of relation between power, class, and manipulation. Not only Hedda, but every other character seems to be courageous in one way or the other.

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

Hedda uses the ordinary metaphor of life as a journey to describe the situation that she has created for herself. Hedda constantly use and manipulate the people around her. Ibsen may be utilizing this metaphor somewhat ironically. After all, the image of life as a journey usually indicates growth and progress. In Hedda Gabler none of the characters seem to make any improvement over the course of the play. The only change appears to be backward. For example, Tesman reverts into a childlike state at the conducting of Auntie Julle. Lovborg’s seem to fall from grace. Hedda commits suicide at the end of the play when she decides that there is no other way for her to express her autonomy. Hedda and the other characters lives is one that has a sense

In Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Hedda is a very manipulative and unpredictable individual, who cannot seem to accept her life as it is. She, who is a general’s daughter, marries the scholar Tesman, who is awaiting his university post. Upon wedding Tesman, Hedda becomes unhappy; she is used to living in luxury, while Tesman is from a lower class. Hedda, who seems to be miserable in her marriage, lashes out at Tesman often through her impatience and stuck-up attitude.

The character Hedda contrasts wildly with the “ideal” woman that someone would expect to meet in the 1890’s. She is very sociable and comfortable talking to men as if she might be “one of the guys.” She is also portrayed as manipulative and cruel, and she uses the darker parts of her personality to torment others for her own entertainment. In the first act of the play she humiliates Aunt Julia by “mistaking” her hat as the maids and saying that she won’t last because of it. She later tells Brack, “I pretended I thought it was the maids (1505),” while smiling at the cruel joke she had made. She continues with this mischief by manipulating Mrs. Elvsted, and burning Lovborg’s manuscript. Ibsen also uses her husband Tessman, who has more of a “feminine” personality, to contrast with Hedda’s. We see him showing more emotion and excitement throughout the play, whereas Hedda is more closed off and disinterested. Hedda is constantly annoyed by Tessman and his need to show her off as his beautiful wife. It comes across as though she feels pestered by him, and is only with him for the sake of being married and having a home. These are things she is pressured into feeling like she needs to have, and not things that she actually wants. She even makes a point to correct Tessman when he says “we” when talking about their or his future, because she is not happy to be stuck in a

In the play, the author, Henrik Ibsen, describes Hedda as a women caught up with only the aesthetic aspects of life. She cares not for the feelings or well-being of those around her, but rather how those same people view her. As any woman in this time period would desire, especially a prestigious one being born from a general, a spotless and well rounded reputation is essential in obtaining respect , gaining power, and going on about simple day to day living. As described by one scholar, “Their work ranged from the grand sweep of politics to the minutiae of everyday life” (Maitzen). Often, Hedda would put aside responsibility and other tasks to focus on her beauty and how she was viewed. Her beauty was one of the many

Within Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler the protagonist pushes the boundaries of what people are able to do and get away with. Some may consider Hedda to be a true romantic longing for a little excitement but beneath the mask behind which she hides, lies a truly selfish and arrogant woman.

In the play, Hedda from the upper class, loses her money and social status, and ends up marrying in the middle class for financial security. However she despises the middle class, as she feels they are inferior to her. During those times in Europe, the society prohibited individuality and any form of creativity. People practically lived in “prisons”. Hedda is a typical example of a close-minded person. She does not think for herself. As women of the time, were not supposed to. They were only meant to be wives, mothers and daughters. While men were supposed to be strong generals or politicians or wealthy business men. To gain importance, respect and power. She is so proud that her father was a general. Her father being a general and of the upper class, once again proves how stereotyped the social structure of the time was, and still is. “Well, you can't wonder at that—General Gabler's daughter! Think of the sort of life she was accustomed to in her father's time.” (1.12-3). Military and Politician get the most value in our society. She does not believe in creativity or intelligence. Only wealth and social position, to define a person. She accepts the rules and restrictions of society, without objection, because she belongs to the upper class, and they get all the preferences. In real sense, I think she is a coward. Because she refuses to discover her real self and her real desires and preferences, and chooses to live in stagnation. She truly liked Eilert Lovborg, a creative and talented man, who had a wild nature and addiction to drinking. But she would not date him, because he lost his upper class status and became poor, and she would not break a social prohibition. She is so naïve, and innocent, that I actually feel sorry for her. Her brain has been manipulated, that she does not understand the struggle of life, and at the first challenge life

Though Ibsen depicts Hedda as a cold, unnatural creature who cannot love her husband, her child, or even her lover Lovborg, she nevertheless remains a victim in life and, by her suicide, in death. Society holds no place for Hedda other than as a wife or mother, and the implication remains throughout the play that Hedda, as an intelligent individual, has wasted her intelligence and abilities on her domestic role. Hedda channels her creative energy into a fruitless, harmful end, and the coldness of her character matches the idea that anyone opposing the social roles set forth for them must exist as an unnatural, unfeeling creature. If her life has given her a cage, then her death, which seems to free Hedda, in actuality only gives yet another destructive manifestation of her energies. Ibsen implies, by her death, that the only way Hedda finds freedom from an oppressive system lies in the internalization of her destructive actions, or her suicide.

Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler introduces its audience to a paradoxical protagonist, Hedda Tesman. Ibsen’s delineation of Hedda presents her as a petty and frivolous woman whose sole motivation is to seek her own amusement with no regard to those around her. If some tragedy had befallen Hedda in her formative years and thus shaped her into the cold, callous woman she would become, Ibsen purposely omits this from this play: whatever judgment the audience might make of Hedda as a character must derive almost exclusively from the behaviors she exhibits in each of the work’s four acts. Ibsen does not intend for his audience to readily sympathize with Hedda. By not endearing Hedda to his audience, the subject of her suicide in the final act is

A brutal mix of manipulation, affairs, fear, and death, the play Hedda Gabler is a fine example of unhappiness in marriage and self. The author, Henrik Ibsen, creates a scenario which highlights the faults of his main character, Hedda Tesman, showing the audience where her true priorities lie. Throughout the play Hedda's character begins to regress, obsessively trying to gain control over those around her by plotting characters against each other and skillfully manipulating them. Devolving into a caged manic when she is unable to get her ways, she becomes trapped in a marriage that brings out her worst attributes. Ibsen brings about Heddas instability slowly, using character Judge Brack to show how an already unhappy woman can become a ticking bomb under marital restrictions. Putting her into more and more precarious situations , until, inevitably, she explodes. Ibsen's use of literary foils highlights Heddas weaknesses, revealing her true nature of cowardice. Building to her ultimate demise, brought about between the collision of [her lack of] control and fear. As in trying to gain control of others, you’ll lose control of yourself.

In the play Hedda Gabler, the author, Henrik Ibsen, creates a scenario which highlights the faults of his main character, Hedda Tesman. Throughout the play, Hedda's character seems to regress, becoming more and more obsessed with controlling people through subtle manipulation and plotting characters against each other. Ibsen hints at Heddas instability through her subtexts and the frantic build up of her sociopathic tendencies, showing how an already unhappy woman can become a ticking bomb under marital restrictions. Putting her into more and more precarious situations , until, inevitably, she explodes.. Ibsen's use of literary foils highlights Heddas weaknesses, revealing her true nature of cowardice. Building to her ultimate demise,