Released in early January of 1963, “Hedda Gabler” starring Ingrid Bergman is a successful film adaptation of its original written by Henrik Ibsen. After watching the first ten-minute opening, I have noticed several changes to the original that director Alex Segal has made in his film version. The differences are subtle yet noticeable. First, in regards of the movie setting, even though the drawing room comes across as “large, pleasantly and tastefully” as it does in Ibsen’s illustration, the furniture is arranged differently. For example, the portrait of General Gabler hangs above a wooden table instead of a sofa. Moreover, in trying to capture the grandiose features of the drawing room, Segal seems to drift his focus away from natural scenery through the window, where “the covered veranda”, along with “trees in autumn color” can be seen. Another and perhaps more significant change that catches my attention is the diminishing presence of the maid Berte. Apparently, in Ibsen’s version, Berte interacts more frequently with her former master Ms. Juliane and Mr. Tesman. The purpose is perhaps to get rid of scenes where the supporting characters don’t necessarily help to demonstrate the disposition of the main ones. Last but not least, besides the maid, minor adjustment has also been made to the protagonist Hedda to narrow the magnitude of her impoliteness to Aunt Juliane. This is most evident in the manner by which Hedda greets Juliane. In fact, she grudgingly kisses Mr. Tesman’s loving aunt on her cheek instead of merely “extending her arm”. Additionally, at the end of the film’s opening, Hedda showed barely any reaction to Aunt Juliane’s kiss on her hair. On the other hand, the original demonstrates how she explicitly expresses her discomfort and disrespect to Miss Tesman through her saying “Ah! Let me out!” Overall, the film adaptation of “Hedda Gabler” strives to grasp the meat of the first part of Act I by curtailing unnecessary natural scenes and the presence of minor character. However, would it be better to let Hedda stay as impolite and as ungracious as described in the original?

“Hedda Gabler” is one of the most interesting play written by Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright. The play has been adapted for the screen many times. One of them, which is the most popular, is a television production of the play in 1963, with Ingrid Bergman. In the first act, in the film and in the lay, are introduced the main characters of the play and their problems. From the beginning of the first act we learn that Hedda is married to George Tessman, but she is still called Hedda Gabler, not Tessman. She is brought up in high social rank as the daughter of General Gabler. Hedda give us the impression to detest all about George Tesman and his lifestyle. In her first appearance, she maliciously offends Aunt Julie, by complaining that it is the servant’s hat lying in the armchair, while she had bought the hat for Hedda’s sake.

After Miss Tessman leaves, George tells Hedda to be kinder to Aunt Julie. He also asks Hedda to call Miss Tessman “Aunt Julie”, but she refuses saying that she will call her Aunt once in a while and that’s enough. All this because she do not feel part of the family. We does not see this dialog in the film. Maybe the filmmaker wants to show to the audience that even Tesman knows his wife’s discourtesy, he do not want to accept the real problems. Being the daughter of well-known General Gabler, Hedda is used to people always show respect and obey to her. In fact she treats her husband in the same disrespectful way as she does with other people. Tesman tries to please his wife and fulfill all her desires so that she can feel content and happy. He is concerned in pleasing Hedda and is not capable to understand that she does not love him. He also refuses to accept any problem in his marriage. I think the play gives us a clearer description of characters than film.

The portrayal of the characters plays a fundamental role in comparing the film and the text of Hedda Gabler. We can see a more dynamic interaction between Tesman and his Aunt Julie in the film. Although the text gives a noticeable bond between the two characters, the film captures the unmistakable fondness that Tesman and Miss Tesman have for each other. Their way of speaking to each other is significantly less formal in the film, which tends to support the notion of familiarity. Additionally, films depict a character’s expression and we see that Tesman has a very cheerful disposition. On the other hand, Hedda remains stoic and bad-tempered. The contrast between the groom and the bride is obvious by Hedda’s lack of acknowledgement for Miss Tesman. Both the film and the text portray Hedda to be unapologetic for her rudeness.

The pace of the piece tends to be quicker in the film. Often, some details are omitted in the play such as in the scene when Tesman comes back from escorting his aunt out the door. In the text, Hedda says, “But where did she (Miss Tesman) get her manners, flinging her hat around any way she likes here in the drawing room. People just don’t act that way” (789). This was left out of the play an Tesman simply tells his wife to be more affectionate toward his aunt. Additionally, the film leaves out the part when Hedda is seemingly dissatisfied with the piano in the room. Personally, I believe the text brings out Hedda’s personality more clearly. She is depicted as more materialistic and selfish in the original text, primarily because the small details that reinforce her self-indulgent personality is not as apparent in the film. Although the film does not entirely capture the essence of the characters, it does provide a dynamic insight of the relationships between them. The actors’ tone and their expressions make it easier to understand their interactions.

Read Acts I and II of Hedda Gabler. Then, using the link below, watch the opening scene of the film version of the play, made for television in 1963, starring Ingrid Bergman.

Watch until Thea Elvsted enters. In a blog entry of 300-400 words, compare the written and film versions of the opening of the play. How might we view the film as an interpretation of Ibsen’s original text? Where has the filmmaker made changes to Ibsen? To what effect? What do we notice when we watch the film that we may have missed upon first reading the play?

The two narratives “The Loophole of Retreat” and “From the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” written by Harriet Jacobs resonate deeply with me and generations of Jacobs’ female readers. Her stories add important and dynamic increments to my understanding of the American slavery system from the standpoint of a woman slave. Jacobs successfully emphasizes the dreadful living conditions of African Americans in the 19th century as well as the inconceivably inhumane relationship between female slaves and their white male masters. Whereas Frederick Douglass reveals the petrifying conditions of those living and working on plantations under the barbaric tortures of their masters, Jacobs focuses more on the many challenges of slaves in their pursuit of freedom. Even though the two kinds of slaves were in two utterly polar contexts, either with or without freedom they both experienced horrifying situations. The image of “dripping blood” from the torturing scene of Douglass’s aunt was just as obsessing and haunting as Jacob’s bed (In “The Loophole of Retreat) which was “never occupied by anything but rats, mice and shingles.“ More interestingly, both elaborate on the separation of black mothers from their own children at birth if their babies were the offspring of their own masters. Nonetheless, the two authors demonstrates distinctive literary styles. While Douglass’s stories are well-known for heroic elements, those of Jacobs express a softer sentiment as she aims to relate her experience with women of differing races and classes.
2.
• According to U.S. Department of State, China is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. A significant portion of this human slave business are women and children from neighboring Asian countries, including Vietnam, Burma and Laos.
• According to Gvnet.com, in my country Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of young women of sixteen to eighteen years of age, in trying to escape poverty, are being lured to foreign marriages with men of various shapes and sizes. Most of the victims were poor, unemployed and uneducated, according to the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
• In the U.K, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is an Act of the Parliament which is designed to limit the activities relating to human trafficking and slavery. I find this very interesting in a sense that modern slavery, unlike that of the 19th century in America, takes many different forms. For example, in businesses’ supply chains, slavery emerges in the form of labors exploitation. Thus, a key component to the U.K.’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 lies in its ability to prevent businesses from using human slave and human trafficking as an implement to cut cost.

1) Harriet Jacobs, with herself as a prime example, makes it clear to me the lengths some slaves were willing to go to in order to avoid the egregious ownership and back breaking work that comes with it. She made it clear multiple times in “The Loophole of Retreat” excerpt. Assuming the worst of cases, in which a runaway or slave in hiding was caught? One cannot even begin to imagine what sort of punishment they may face. However, those slaves knew the consequences, but still took the risk knowing that any ounce of freedom is almost always likely to be better than what they go through every day as a slave. Jacobs’ message differs from Douglass’ ever so slightly. They both paint a clear picture of their time as slaves, but Jacobs describes how the owners would taint the mind of slaves. Slavery definitely took a psychological toll on Douglass, but many of his troubles came from slavery and its physicality. Jacobs told how her owners deliberately made several efforts to damage the minds of all of their slaves. That they know their place in society and that they know what it is like in the outside world. The result would be completely broken slaves; they know what they’re missing, yet they know how unachievable it may be. Tired, depressed, and continuously dragged lower, work becomes all they know and all they will ever do.

2) Although slavery has been illegal for some time now, it is important that the social definition is understood aside from the dictionary definition. A slave is not just one who is owned by a master, a person who’s superior has complete control over him or her, regardless of pay (as little as that may be), can still be considered a slave.

The most shocking stat may be that it is estimated that at least 21 million people are considered enslaved, today.

As many slaves in the world are undocumented, immigrants or not, it is very easy for them to remain in forced bondage. Whether paying back an insurmountable loan with work, or being forced into labor by threat these people have no recourse with the law and nowhere to turn. So, they remain as slaves until this day.

In her work, Harriet Jacobs gives us a glimpse about the horrors of slavery from her own experience. As she explains, the principles and lessons that she was taught by her grandmother were tainted by her cruel slave master. Jacobs says “. . . For years, my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy the pure principles inculcated by my grandmother, and the good mistress of my childhood.” Her words relate to the horrible mental impact slavery had on people, in which Frederick Douglass was also able to portray to us. The slave masters did not spare even the child slaves from the many abuses of slavery. Adults and children were beaten, whipped, raped and so on. The physical effects are obvious, but like Douglass, Jacobs points out how these things had a lasting mental impact on the young slaves.

From my research, I found that modern day slavery in America and around the world still exists today. As pointed out in an article from ACLU, Some forms of this include, but are not limited to:

-Forced labor, by mental and physical threat (very common in the United States)

-Human trafficking, in which humans are traded for the primary purpose for sexual slavery

-Child labor, in which children are forced to work long hours in horrible conditions for very little pay. This often comprises any kind of formal education the child is able to receive and puts them at risk for many diseases

Part I

I never really read so deeply into slavery, and only had a very basic understanding of what occurred before the civil war took place. After reading both Harriet Jacobs, and Frederick Douglass’ narratives on slavery, I was very interested to read about some of the similarities, and differences between the two of them as slaves. After reading both excerpts I learnt so much about the treatment of slaves that I was unaware about before. I think that there is so much to say just about the fact that Harriet Jacobs’ narrative is published under the name “Linda Brent”, and not her own name. It is very challenging to write, or tell stories about being sexually oppressed. I am sure there were other reasons for her publishing her narrative under another name, but that would be my reason if I were her. During slavery a lot of women were abused sexually, whereas men were more physically abused with backbreaking labor. One of the key differences between Douglass’ narrative, and Jacobs’s was that Douglass’ and Jacobs’ narratives are basically the male, and female versions of what life was like as a slave. From reading both excerpts it can be seen that Douglas had a more aggressive personality, and really broke out of slavery, and eventually had a loud voice in the abolition of slavery, whereas Jacobs was a little less aggressive in her pursuit to end slavery. At the end of the day they both had the same ultimate goal.

Part II

1. One form of Contemporary Slavery, also known as modern slavery, is Sex trafficking, when an adult engages in a commercial sex act. It is horrible to think of somebody having to perform sexual acts against their will

2. According to the US department of state there are one million children that are exploited by the global sex trade every year. The average age of these children is 12-14 years old. It is sickening to think that such young children are caught up in this.

3. The International Center for Research on Women estimated that over 51 million girls under the age of 18 were forcibly married. Forced and early marriage are most common in impoverished states in Africa, South Asia as well as the former Soviet republics. However, there are still cases of forced and early marriage in more affluent North American and European countries.

My most significant takeaway from both of the Jacobs excerpts as well as Douglass’ story is that slavery, while on the outside looks like a means of free labor through physical strength, is really a means of absolute control through both physical AND mental control. For instance, take the quote from The Loophole of Retreat, “Dr. Flint, did you bring my mother home? I want to see her. The doctor stamped his foot at him in a rage, and exclaimed, Get out of the way, you little damned rascal! If you don’t, I’ll cut off your head. Benny ran terrified into the house, saying, You can’t put me in jail again. I don’t belong to you now.” Jacobs’ son Benny is apparently no longer Dr. Flint’s possession, but the man is still able to inflict great fear on Benny with the threat of violence. Now Benny must constantly fear his own words and critique every thought that comes to his mind for his own good! Flint is not even his master anymore, the Doctor is able to exert this kind of control just because he is a southern white man. This kind of absolute control is mimicked in Douglass’ narrative when he talks about the slave breaker. The slave breaker would slither out to the fields on his stomach in an attempt to catch one of his slaves slacking off or conversing with one another. By doing this, he is able to instill a constant fear into the slaves and this is absolute rule. Once again, these slaves are forced to critique their own thoughts in order to protect themselves.

Part 2:

1. Indentured servitude, a form of slavery where someone is held to work due to financial obligations, while illegal, is still prevalent in some parts of the world.
2. The U.S. department of State describes human trafficking as modern slavery
3. Child labor, depending on the circumstances, can be considered slavery and is prevalent in other parts of the world.

1. While reading the two excerpts from Harriet Jacobs I saw a relationship between them and the Frederick Douglas narrative when speaking about being a child of slavery. In Harriet Jacobs excerpts it focus more on the time when she was a slave and the things she did in order to protect her children and to try and give them a better future. In Frederick Douglas narrative he empathizes with the slave owner in the understand on to why they get rid of the child that was conceived with the slave, but in Harriet because of this reason she goes to great lengths to try and protect her children from that specific fate. Something that always surprises me when reading these narratives from the perspective of the slave is how hard they are to judge their supposed misconducts while yet lessening that of the slave owners. “With all these thoughts revolving in my mind, and seeing no other way of escaping the doom I so much dreaded, I made a headlong plunge. Pity me, and pardon me, O virtuous reader!” is a quote that stands out to me, because although she is a slave and is put in situation that are completely unthinkable to put another human being, she decides to take advantage of a situation that could favor her but it require doing something that she is not proud of and because of this she instead asks for forgiveness from the reader ashamed for what she is confessing to. She does later explain how because she was a slave she viewed as necessary because no law was there to protect her but it is quite incredible that she believes that it is necessary to ask for forgiveness for an drastic action that she took in order to try and protect her children.
2. Although slavery has been made illegal in our laws for many years it still exists and it is very much known through out our world. One misconception that I found to be quite important is that we believe slavery is more a third world or foreign problem when in reality it is a very prominent problem here with in our own country. The average of a young prostitute is 14 years old and they young girls are forced into these jobs because of circumstance as well and physical and psychological threats. A second thing that I learned from this is that the laws that we currently have in place do nothing to very little to try and help this young women, in reality these laws instead of helping and assisting the young girls, punish and ruin any chance they would have had to try and leave the vicious cycle of slavery. The last thing I learned from this subject is that we have this view of slavery of just being someone who is forced to do manual labor and although that still exists in the world such as in african in the Blood Diamonds mining fields or Dubai with the people who work for no pay, Slavery is much more than just that such as sex trafficking and forced marriage. It is important to not just make the act of slavery illegal but t reform our laws to try and assist all that fall victim to these forms of slavery instead of punishing and further ensuring them into their captures grasps.