A previous post we touched upon Victorian women, however, through Hedda Gabler there is much more to said about Victorian women. Firstly, the entire play is set within the confines of the drawing room in which the play unfolds through a succession of characters. This choice of a singular setting is deliberately done by Ibsen to represent the core of Gabler’s problem: she is limited and caged within a Victorian society. Therefore, the drawing room serves as the focal point of the play in representing an oppressive society. Apart from the setting, the character Hedda Gabler seems to be a contradiction, or rather, an anomaly in the play. Gabler, being raised by General Gabler, is shown to have an independent, strong-willed, and untamable personality. Her love for pistols outwardly expresses how unconventional a woman she is to her friends and to Ibsen’s audience. She also possesses a talent for bending people to her will. This is shown when Lovborg inquires about how he can not resist telling her his secrets and on how the characters seem to revolve around her. Surely, these characteristics are unlike the behavior a Victorian woman should possess. After all, Victorian women were expected to be pure of character, virginity, and display.

Like many women of Gabler’s time, women in the Victorian Era were limited to household duties. They were expected to have an essence of innocence so they may be suitable for marriage. Their power in wealth was essentially nonexistent since all property ultimately belonged to the male of the household. After marriage, they were limited in options economically and intellectually. Victorian standards deemed that a women’s role strictly remained in maintaining the house and assisting their husbands. Hence, this passive lifestyle frustrates Gabler and thus she emanates her desire by stating ” once in her life to have power to mold a human destiny.” Having no means to exert her passion for life, she turns to manipulating the people around her since society deems her for little purpose. Gabler accomplishes this by getting Lovborg back on to alcohol and convincing him to commit suicide. She also burns his manuscript and allows Tesman to cover for her. Despite her efforts, Gabler’s control over herself comes to an end when Judge Brak threatens her with a scandal. This pushes Gabler to relinquish all desire for her life since being caged once again is attributable to death.  This destructive and dark path is only the result of a woman who longs to live the life she desires in a Victorian society.

However, many critics view Gabler as either a tragic heroine or a coward. Her desperate yet narcissistic attempts to fulfill her desires isn’t the product of her weakness but rather a product of social repression. Hence, her vicarious solution holds a sympathetic tone of a woman born ahead of her time. On the other hand, we see  Mrs. Elvsted, who shares a similar boredom for life, pursuing her desires in a constructive manner. She actively plays a role in Lovborg’s life and the reconstruction of of his manuscript. Furthermore, in the last seen Mrs Elvsted is shown to deteriorate Hedda’s influence on Tesman in her own constructive way.  It seems that Mrs. Elvsted has found a way to subvert authority and pursue her desires freely. Therefore, when juxtaposing Mrs. Elvsted with Gabler, readers deem Gabler a coward. A coward since Gabler refuses to break social standards, in which Gabler is aware of, and for ultimately choosing to live and die in the confines of the drawing room. Regardless, it is undeniable that the typical Victorian women lived in a patriarchal society where social and economic mobility were nonexistent. Their lives were strictly defined as a woman who marries in order to take care of household chores. Hence, they did not share the same freedom as men when it came to life decisions.