In the play for Hedda Gabler there is very little room for interpretation with so much being written as far as describing how the set looks and the movements of the characters. With so much detail in the play of how the character is so supposed to move and what he is suppose to say it is quite easy to get an image of how the character where to look and act if it were to be adapted in to film. When watching the film small details that do not follow the text can be spotted such as changes in the lay out of the set. These are very small changes that does not seem to take away from the story, but there are some acting choices that when reading the play you envisioned a certain way but was acted differently that sometimes strengthens the idea you have a particular character. For example the relationship between Tesman and his aunt Miss Juliane Tesman when reading it in the beginning I interpreted their first official reunion to be one in which Tesman was not so happy, because he in the text it gives the directions of Tesman “shaking his aunts hands” which gives out in impression of being cold and informal but in the movie he greets her with open arms and a kiss hello. With this small change of direction for me it changed the entire relationship between the two to be one of genuine love instead of this confused vision that i had of him being concerned for his aunt and not to thrilled with her being there. Another action change that although subtle gives a bigger impact than words is when the first meeting between Aunt Tesman and Hedda with Tesman present in the text both Tesman and his aunt are speaking about Hedda and how fortunate he feels about his marriage and he see Hedda coming from afar and acknowledges her presence. While in the film when Hedda is coming down the stairs and she sees Tesman and his aunt she attempts to walk in a different direction but is seen by Aunt Julie and is obligated to make conversation with them. This change in direction here strengthens the image of dislike or discomfort that Hedda has towards Aunt Julie and it shoes how a small change in direction can enhance the text.

A picture paints a thousand words.  The film really helps me to better understand the play. due to the unfamiliar historical Victorian culture background and the 19-century language which caused lot difficulties for me to understand the whole play.   The author, Henrik Ibsen, loves writing female as the main character in his play.  This film directed by Alex Segal with Ingrid Bergman’s excellent performance indeed build an impression in my mind. Ingrid’s performance demonstrates complete understanding and ownership of the role of Hedda Gabler, so completely that it almost seems that Ibsen had her in mind for this role.  Before watch the film, just by reading the story, I see Hedda Gabler is like a spoiled rich family-grown young lady with a strong arrogant and affected attitude to everyone who are not as rich as she is.  However, from the film, Ingrid Bergman portrays Hedda Gabler as a sensitive, hopeless, and desperate woman. There are several changes that the film made changes to the original text. First, in the film, when Ms. Berta appears, she is burning fire at the fire place, on another side, in the text there is nothing mention about fire.  This change to me is that the film makes trying to put a foreshadowing to the audience. Fire is a very common used element in literature can represent anger, passion, love, pain or death.  Especially this fire is in the beginning of the film which will definitely catch the audience’s attention to predict the future of the play.  Another big change to me that the film made from the text is, when Hedda Gabler holds a rectangle box appears from the bedroom, she tried to walk away as soon as she sees Ms. Tesman in the living room with her husband.  This part the book has no mention too.  However, I love this change of the film, although just a movement by Hedda Gabler, it is a very detailed piece of showing Hedda’s isolation from the family.  Plus, she walks directly to her General father’s photo.

The film version of Hedda Gabler does a great job recreating Ibsen’s text. Such a good job in fact, that the film was nearly exactly how I had imagined the story in my head. Between the two, there are a few differences that struck me. Immediately, I was surprised that the actors playing Mr. Tesman and Hedda seem significantly older than what is mentioned in the text. On page 783, we learn that George Tesman is thirty three years old, and on page 786 we learn that Hedda Gabler is twenty nine years old. If I had to guess, I would say that the actors are approximately ten years older than the characters that they are portraying. As far as the content of the film goes, there are a few insignificant text edits, like in the text when George Tesman asks Hedda to call his aunt Auntie, but in the film he only asks her to be more affectionate towards his aunt. Her response is the same in both. The only big difference that stands out to me is my perception of how Hedda treats George Tessman’s aunt, as well as how she seems to feel when George Tessman is telling his aunt how he believes that Hedda has “filled out nicely”. In the text, I get the impression that Hedda is incredibly rude to George Tesman’s aunt to the point where I feel resent towards Hedda because of the way she treats family. In the film version,  while Hedda is not the best host, I do not feel resent towards her because we can see her smile towards George Tesman’s aunt. She also does not order the aunt to close the curtains, George does it. The film version of Hedda is much more apologetic when she mistakes the hat to be the maid’s. In the film, I can sense Hedda’s insecurity when George Tesman and his aunt are admiring her. This is not present for me in the text.

There are many differences between the original play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen and the screen adaptation. Just the scene itself is described differently in the play than shown in the movie. The drawing room furniture is shown to be arranged in a different manner than described in the play. The room is supposed to be large and spacious, but seems more condensed together in the film, plus the piano was not shown either, which takes out the part where Hedda has a problem with the piano. Everything in the movie is also quite sped up, assuming just to fit the plot into the allotted time. However, some parts from the play were taken out of the film, such as when Tessman was walking his aunt out the door, there was a line taken out of Hedda’s dialogue, but instead her husband just tells Hedda to be nicer to the aunt. The characters are better portrayed in the written play because the words are able to describe the characters more thoroughly. Hedda’s personality and attitude towards the other characters are better shown in the play than the film, especially her attitude toward Aunt Juliana. The discomfort and constant disregard toward her is not really shown in the film compared to the play. Hedda is shown as a more negative character in the text, but this cannot truly be seen in the film adaptation. She lacks any kind of proper affection or care for anyone in the family, including her husband, which is better shown in the movie, compared to the play. Overall, the film is a good representation of the play in many aspects.

When comparing the text of Hedda Gabler to the film, the most noticeable differences were seen through character development. I read the textual version first in order to develop my own, uninfluenced visuals of the text. The written version dives in depth to describe Hedda and the type of character that she is. Any situation that happens during the opening scene of this text shows how Hedda feels and how the scenarios relate to her. The text gave me a strong sense that Hedda is a stuck up and rather disrespectful person. One example of her personality was given to us by the introduction of her old friend, Mrs. Elvsted. She shares of how Hedda used to tease her by pulling her hair and things alike. Hedda however completely disregarded her friend and changes the topic. Another example of Hedda being outright disinterested and disrespectful is when Tesman wants to present Jurgen’s old slippers to her. As made obvious by the text, Hedda is an upper class woman that Tesman is eager to please. He tries to use the slippers to entice her, however, he fails miserablh when she pays no mind to the slippers. She even interrupts him to inform Aunt Julie that the hat she is wearing is ugly. She continues to insult her by saying she thought the hat belonged to the maid. Furthermore, the text painted a very vivid image of Hedda and her relationship with the rest of the characters.

On the other hand, I felt that the text did not dive as deeply when describing the character Hedda. In the film version, a lot of the dialogue and textual evidence that tells the audience who Hedda is was missing. Instead, the actions the characters took told us about her personality instead of words. For example, you can see that aunt Julie was offended by Hedda’s comments not through what she says but by how she acts. In the film, she offers a minimal verbal response and scolds Hedda. We see through her appearance that the ladies are displeased with each other. Resultantly, in terms of character development the film and text both have a lot to offer, however they present it in different ways. While the texts shows a lot of examples to paint a picture, the film uses visuals to fill gaps in the dialogue.

When I first saw that this assignment required comparing and contrasting a written text of “Hedda Gabler” to a film version, I was immediately intrigued. Many times throughout my life I have read some book where a film was created depicting it soon after, and my excitement for the film would ultimately end in disappointment after seeing the way the director decided to interpret the text. This was not the case however with the play of “Hedda Gabler”, and Alex Segal’s interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s original text in his film. The most essential part of comparing the film and the text is to see how the major/dynamic characters are depicted in the text compared to the film. In this regard, there is consistency with the main characters from the play to the film. Hedda Gabler is a narcissist who clearly shows distaste for anyone she believes is not as good as her. The only difference is that in the film the audience is able to see her body language and facial expressions which adds even more to the thoughts we have of her while reading the text. It is clear that Ibsen and Segal both intended to make sure the audience knew of the type of person Hedda is. One subtle difference from the film may be Aunt Julie’s relationship with Hedda and George. It is clear that Aunt Julie and Hedda don’t have a good relationship in the text, but the point is drawn even clearer in the film where we see George begging Hedda to be kinder to his dear aunt. With George we see how close he and his Aunt Julie really are, their relationship is so genuine and sincere. Another key in the film is the diminishing role the minor characters were given. Maid Berte who we see in the text having a big role with George and Aunt Jules, is not given the same role in the film. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with how the film depicted the text through the first two acts of this play.

Hedda Gabbler is one of the famous play written by Henrik Ibsen. In the TV version of Hedda Gabbler in 1963, it was adapted by Phil Reisman and directed by Alex Segal. In the film is more fast pace, dramatic and intensify on the social class on different roles, the line in the act is more and colloquial while the original text is more calm and conversational in an equivalent way.
As an audience of both text and film of Hedda Gabbler, I can understand why filmmaker made changes on the line from original text Ibsen. “Upon my word, I don’t believe they are stirring yet.”(782) The film version is easier to be understand by audiences when filmmaker modify the line on the Television version of Hedda Gabbler.
In the film version, the play is more dramatic and emphasize the social status and class between different roles. For instance, in the opening scene, Miss Tesman was on upstairs quite listening the outside of the room of Hedda’s and says “They are not even up yet.” Meanwhile, Berta was still remain on the floor, she look up too Miss Tesman and answered “With the steam is so late, and Mistress would insist unpacking until she goes to bed.” while the original text was arranged more equivalent way when Miss Tesman comes in from the hall and followed by Berta with a bouquet wrapped in paper.
In the friendship between her and Mrs. Elvested, we can see when youthful and charm of Mrs. Elvsted walked in makes her feel insecure and caused a problem, as the guys shifted attention away from Hedda to her. In the film version is more dramatics on different roles and focus on the personality of Hedda Gabbler and already conveyed that she is spoiled.
In the film, the filmmaker also make the main character Hadda Gabbler appear to be much older. In the profile setting of the original text by Ibsen, Hedda Gabbler is a young lady who is 29 years old, but in the movie, she (starring by Ingrid Bergman) is appeared much older, as she announced several times that she has had to make the hard decision of settling down with Tesman because of her age.
In conclusion, the film is more emphasized not by her beauty but for her cunning, dishonest manipulation personality towards to men. We did not see nearly as many emotional outburst with the play, with the play showing her character with less dramaticism, Hedda’s sense of entitlement-letting reader comes to the conclusion that she is “spoiled.”

The film version of Hedda Gabler filmed in 1963 followed closely to the original text by Henrik Ibsen in 1890. By closely following to the original text, as viewers, we can receive a better sense of how the scenery may look like in life. Although there are some subtle change made by the director of the film,  Alex Segal. In the text, the drawing-room is described sounded very spacious, but in the film, the setting was very compacted together, and it did not give the feel of a large drawing-room as written in the text. Also with the settings, there was no sight of the piano where Mrs. Hedda Tesman made complaints about, and later even removed out of the drawing-room as it is in the text.

Other than the setting, the characters in the film acted closely to the text, and if not, it gave the audience a better sense of the relationships between characters that the text cannot give. Especially the relationship between Tesman and Miss Tesman. Miss Tesman’s worries over Tesman on his six months honeymoon, and his payment for the house that him and his wife are to live in, with some of these actions of her’s, it really displays the deep bond between an aunt and nephew. Although the chronology part followed closely along with the text, there are some parts that were left out. The noticeable one was the conversation between Tesman and Miss Tesman where Tesman asked Miss Tesman “Have you heard anything about Eilert – since I went away, I mean?” (786). It is interesting that director Segal has chosen to remove that part of the conversation out because Eilert Løvborg is in some way significant character in the play as he and Hedda Tesman has had a relationship in the past. The movie really helped the viewers to see how frustrated Hedda was with her new family, and although its written in the play, I believe it creates a better image in our heads of how she may feel at that very moment with the visuals.

The original text of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen is masterfully interpreted by Alex Segal’s film starring Ingrad Bergman. In the film/play of Hedda Gabler we are introduced a few dynamic characters that are essential to the understanding of these two pieces. The representation of Berte, Aunt Julie, Hedda, and George is where we can draw the similarities and contrasts from the play to the film. The film is certainly an interpretation of Ibsen’s text, both portray Hedda as an obnoxious and self-centered human being. The film gives the audience a more rounded view of Hedda because in the film you are able to see her body language and facial expressions which show how she is truly feeling throughout the scenes. I think the director of the film chose to highlight the relationship between Aunt Julie and George to a much greater extent than the text does. In the film you really see the importance Aunt Julie has in George’s life and how she would do absolutely anything to make him happy. Their relationship is more of a mother and son’s than the text depicted.  A key contrast between the play and film is the role of the maid Berte. In Ibsen’s text it seems that Berte plays a big role and is constantly interacting with George and Aunt Julie, while in the film her presence is underwhelming and not crucial to the first two acts. It makes sense for a filmmaker to want to diminish the roles of the minor characters and focus more time on the dynamic characters within the play. The depiction of George in the play and the film is certainly consistent, the text introduces him as a scholar who loves books and lives a mundane life. George talks about how he wants to fill the extra rooms in his house oppose to kids with his wife Hedda. The play and the text give the audience subtle different views of the characters, but overall the film is a good interpretation of Ibsen’s original text.

Both the film and the text show Hedda’s impatient and hostile personality, however, it is more difficult to imagine the scenes happening through the text because the text did not make the characters come to life, but the film did, and it truly showed the readers what Ibsen intended. The film’s interpretation of the text is mainly accurate and perfectly displays the emotions and intensity of the scenes. For example, Hedda’s lack of affection towards both Miss Tesman and her own husband. The film also shows us that Hedda’s bitterness towards Tesman is very apparent, and yet Tesman shows nothing but love and affection for Hedda.

The opening scene of when Miss Tesman was over at their new home, Hedda showed that she was not fond of Miss Tesman by being extremely rude, but Hedda’s actions and reactions seemed even more negative in the text because the text cannot capture a person’s emotions and actions as well as the film. Her reaction to Tesman asking her to be more friendly with Aunt Julie was off-putting, “Tesman, for God’s sake, don’t ask me to do that. I’ve told you that before. I’ll try to call her Aunt once in a while and that’s enough” (Act I, 789). Hedda was still reluctant on treating Aunt Julie with more warmth even though she is family just further proves her unpleasant personality.  

In my opinion, the text did lack the image I needed in order to fully comprehend the emotions in the story and to fully capture each character’s personality. I had a slight mental idea of both acts, but the film gave me the full image with more detail and showed me the relationship between each of the characters. Because the filmmakers needed to fit as much of the plot into such a short amount of time, much of the smaller, less important details were left out.