By Jennifer Ingrao
“Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen was definitely a work that surprised me a few times. I would be sitting there reading it, never quite bored, but sometimes assuming I knew where it was going. But several plot twists kept the story moving at a fast past and me very interested. I was very surprised to see the connection between Hedda and Mr. Lovberg definitely didn’t see that coming during her first meeting with Mrs. Elvsted.
Hedda seems to suffer from some type of mental illness, what exactly, I’m not sure. It is first brought up when she is describing to Judge Brack her inability to control her actions. She says:
“Well, you see—these impulses come over me all of a sudden; and I cannot resist them.”
Judge Brack suggests she may be unhappy or depressed, but I think as the play goes on we can see there is much more going on here. She also seems to have a problem containing herself, as several time s throughout the play, namely in Act III she is referred to as speaking ”involuntarily”.
One quote that Hedda said really stuck with me and this was “One is not always mistress of one’s thoughts.” I feel like this does a great job of describing her character and her struggles in a nutshell. She seems to have images in her head that she thinks are fact and they ultimately drive her to act irrationally. Her continuous reference to Mr. Lovberg with “vines in his hair” is very disturbing and I don’t really understand it but I can only connect it to some type of mental disorder.
Another thing that came across clear was Hedda’s jealousy of Mrs. Elvsted. It seems pretty obvious that they have some time of past together, and it was not a pleasant one. It is interesting to me that Hedda attempts to refer to their past as one of camaraderie and friendship, yet doesn’t even remember Mrs. Elvsted’s first name correctly.
The relationship between the judge and Hedda was interesting. I think there was a sexual nature there but I’m not quite sure. I’m also not quite sure about what some of their conversations meant. The way they kept referencing a triangle was very strange and it seemed that Tesman was always clueless to their secret conversations.
This brings me to my next point, the character of Tesman. Tesman seems to be a fairly simple man, and who throughout the play demonstrates a lack of common sense. He seems to have no idea about Hedda’s motivations and also seems like a guy who doesn’t think too much into his decisions, as he purchased a home without even being sure of his position and income. He seems to have no real thoughts of his own. He even refers to this himself when at the end of the play they are discussing putting together Mr. Lovberg’s manuscript and he says, “Arranging other people’s papers is just the work for me.”
It seems like Hedda is calling all the shots both outwardly and behind the scenes. She refers to trying to get Tesman into politics. This is another indication of the power she has over him, and she seems to know it. It is an interesting role for the female to take. Henrik Ibsen seems to be trying to give power to women in this play, and showcase how outwardly she seems to be attentive to Tesman (as much as a woman of her independence can be) and to follow the confines and demands of society, but in fact something else is going on entirely. It reminds me of his other play, A Doll’s House, in that respect.
The ending of the play was very ironic. The fact that Hedda’s manipulative plot ended up blowing up in her face was another thing I didn’t see coming. History seems to be repeating itself as Mrs. Elvsted is now in the exact same position she was when she fell in love with Mr. Lovberg, but now with Hedda’s current husband. It seems his attention to Hedda begins waning when he announces his dedication to work on the manuscript with Mrs. Elvsted. Also the character of the judge being the one to come out on top in the end was another twist I didn’t see coming. Hedda referred to shooting oneself as “courageous” and that is probably what she was thinking when she committed suicide. She realized her power and freedom was completely lost and probably felt she was doomed to be controlled by the men around her. Therefore, suicide was a way out.
All in all I really enjoyed the play, and the writing style made it easy to read and interpret. There were a lot of great quotes that I think I will remember long after reading it.