Reading Hedda Galber, I particularly liked the character of Hedda, and I was very excited to see how the film will be able to bring to life her characters mischievousness. I was curious to see how her character will be acted without making it seem like she was trying hard, but her mischievousness was really her personality. I was however impressed with its execution. In the film of Hedda Galber, right from when Hedda steps in, you could see her sassiness and poise as the reading had portrayed. The scene I was looking forward to the most was the hat incident with Aunty Juliane, and the facial expression and body language of George, and how he was trying his best to explain to Hedda that the hat was for Aunty Juliane so she could stop talking, just brought the scene brought it to life for me. I also like how the relationship between Aunty Juliane and Berta was played out. It feel like it had more strength in the film than in the text.
The filmmaker made sure to bring the story to light by not adding unnecessary things to the play, he focuses on the story and does not go off track, but he however altered some words which made the play more believable and natural. For example, the conversation between Berta and Aunty Juliane was semi-formal in the text, but in the film, the conversation is somehow informal, but it did not drift away from the original, rather it added more life to it. Also, I felt like the connection between George and Aunty Juliane was stronger in the film as opposed to the text. There was a lot of body contact which the text did not emphasis. For example, in page 783 when George walks in, the text says he shakes her hand, but in the film he hugs her. This is just like how Aunty Juliane and Berta’s relationship is brought to life more, it just made it more natural. One thing that I feel was not really implemented well in the film was the elegance of the house. The house didn’t look as glamorous as the text explained it to be. In general, the filmmaker did a great job with the execution of Ibsen’s Hedda Galber.
Eunice, Thanks for these observations. I am curious about your reaction to Hedda’s character. “Mischievious” seems to be a very kind description of her behavior. After all, we later learn that she knew all along that the hat belonged to Aunt Juju and was deliberately trying to humiliate her! What do you think motivates this behavior?
I totally agree with you professor, calling her mischievous was not the best description of her behavior, because she clearly is evil. I had to finish reading the text for me to really realize this. I feel like the motivation behind her behavior is her unhappiness. She is not happy within herself, and then she feels the need to spread that bad energy, or she spreads it without her even knowing.