The Intelligence of Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen, is a play about the obstacles some women face trying to be independent in male dominant societies. Hedda Gabler talks about a universal problem that women faced many years ago, and still do in many third-world countries and traditional societies. This problem is, the inability of women to be treated equally to men, and be given equal independence.

In the play, Hedda Tesman, a cunning and intelligent woman is also faced with this dilemma. She, like all woman during her time had a hard time participating in the world outside of their houses, as it was believed that women were not equipped to work outside their families. Most woman were to assume the responsibly of either being a housewife or to work as a maid. Hedda, though, did not want to be either of these things, as she did not want to be an average woman. Instead, Hedda wanted to be free and she had a craving for being independent.

Because of Hedda's inability to gain complete independence, she expressed her frustration in negative ways by destroying anything she could not accept. Examples of this can be seen when, she undermined her husband with coldness, denied her pregnancy, and burnt Mrs. Elvsted and Eilert Lövborg's work. Finding no outlet, she eventually ends up committing suicide. She was constantly torn between her desire for independence, and the importance that she placed on looking good during social events. Throughout the play, she refused to admit to the fact she was a woman.

Hedda, being the daughter of the famous General Gabler, got married to George Tesman out of great desperation, as but she found him to be a very dull person. During their wedding trip, George spent most of his time in the library doing history research for a book that he wanted to publish. He hoped that if his book was good enough, then he would be able to receive a position at the university.

After seeing the all struggles Hedda had to go through just to try to become independent, it can be said that the theme of the play Hedda Gabler is, "Achieving full independence does not come easy." Although this theme does not really apply to women who live United States, it still applies for women in many other countries and societies. When Henrik Ibsen wrote this play, he was probably trying to tell his audience that women are people too, and that they want and deserve the same independence that men get, even if they don't say it.

The play takes place in the Tesman's new house. George Tesman and Hedda Gabler just returned the night before from their honeymoon. George wakes up in the morning to find his Aunt Julle has come to visit. When Hedda enters, she is rude to Aunt Julle, and because George is financially dependant on her, he asks Hedda to be kinder.

When Mrs. Elvsted, an old friend of Hedda's comes to visit, she tells her that Eilert Lövborg,
When Eilert visits the Tesman's house, Hedda offers him a drink, but he refuses it. Hedda, jealous over the influence that Mrs. Elvsted has had on Eilert, manages to tempt him into taking a drink. After drinking, Eilert decides to go with George Tesman and Judge Brack to a party, where ends up loosing the manuscript to his next book while he was drunk. When George Tesman returns home, he is carrying Eilert's manuscript, with full intentions to return it back to him. When George hears that his Aunt Rina has died, he ends up leaving immediately, giving Hedda the manuscript. Out of jealousy, Hedda burns the manuscript while George is gone. When Eilert comes back to the Tesman's house, he tells Mrs. Elvsted that he has destroyed the manuscript. When Mrs. Elvsted hears this, she leaves immediately, heart broken. When Hedda and Eilert are alone, he confesses to Hedda that he has not destroyed the manuscript, but in fact lost it. He tells her that he is a failure, and that he is thinking of committing suicide. Hedda, instead of discouraging Eilert of this dreadful act, encourages him by handing him one of her pistols and telling him to at least die "beautifully."

In the end when everyone is at the Tesman's house, they find out the Eilert died through a bullet wound in his stomach. George and Mrs. Elvsted decide to reconstruct Eilert's manuscript in memory of him, using Mrs. Elvsted's leftover notes. After hearing this, Hedda leaves the room, takes her pistol, and commits suicide.

Although Hedda Gabler was translated into English from its original Norwegian text, it still retains the same use of language, grammar, and vocabulary as many other plays before and during the time of its creation. Unlike Tartuffe, by Moliere, Hedda Gabler is not broken into little scenes, instead it is made up of large acts. This is mainly because the whole play takes place in one place, so there is no need for small scenes.

In conclusion, Hedda Gabler is a great play that is still quite modern as compared to other plays, and the issues mentioned in this play still apply to some societies today. During the time of this play's creation, women were not given the same rights and freedoms as men were given. Henrik Ibsen must have decided to create this play because of this controversial issue. He obviously wanted his audience to think about this issue in hopes that it would spark a change. Hedda Gabler is completely centered around this issue of women's rights, and it carries a great overall impact on its viewers.