In Henrik Ibsens play, Hedda Gabler, Hedda is a character whose obsession for freedom and power causes her to manipulate those around her. After learning more about her character we can conclude that her desires are driven by having control over people, she finds much satisfaction that Løvborg says she had power over him. In act two we can see how she enjoys using her manipulation over Løvborg, [Hedda]: “Because otherwise people might get the idea that you don’t, deep down inside feel really bold, really sure of yourself.” (2. 814) Here Hedda is manipulating Løvborg back to alcohol in hopes to ruin Thea’s trust in him. We can see her motives when she is talking to Mrs. Elvsted, [Hedda]: “Just once in my life I want to help shape someone’s destiny.” (816). Here it is obvious that she wants to be able to have control and she does that by urging Løvborg to commit suicide and providing him with one of her pistols so that he may do so. She makes it out to have an element of beauty, for her this is a provocative moment that is stimulating. Marriage, domestic life and middle class society all fail to satisfy her. Hedda sees herself as poor because of her emotional needs that aren’t met. Her ideas on life are very different to that of her family, she is driven to create her own life and be free which ultimately leads to her death.
assignment 3
September 26, 2015 Written by k.vataj | 3 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
3 responses so far ↓
v.barreras // Sep 26th 2015 at 3:20 am
I really enjoyed what you wrote here. I definitely agree! During that time it was hard for woman to be able to get any type of power or freedom. She found a way to gain power through manipulation. She definitely was against societies norms for the time and she needed more productive things to do. This could be a reason why she committed suicide as well; to prove her courage and her herself from the values of the time.
For the first quote I recommend something to start it off like In Act 2 you see… Other than that I thought it was very good. Excellent work.
t.zar // Sep 26th 2015 at 6:16 am
I like how you used the quote regarding destiny in your writing. I fully agree with you about her trying to make life as entertaining for herself as possible through manipulation. Clearly she enjoys manipulating others due to the element of beauty and irony she tries to integrate into her deceptions. Also, I agree with you that her lifestyle is not stimulating enough to satisfy her. She constantly tries to complicate other people’s lives due to the fact that she feels as if she is missing something from her own life. Her desire for freedom and separation from others is clearly the driving force behind her eventual death, as you stated.
JMERLE // Sep 26th 2015 at 3:29 pm
Krystal,
You make two very important comments about Hedda (her need for controlling someone’s destiny, her idea that suicide should be “beautiful”). It would be more effective to choose one of these (and you develop the other in another paragraph). That way, you can go much more deeply into a single incident, creating a more focused, in depth analysis overall.
Grade: 9/10