Analysing The Characters Of Hedda Gabler English Literature Essay

Analysing The Characters Of Hedda Gabler English Literature Essay We are introduced to Hedda Gabler as the daughter of the venerated General Gabler, and as a woman born into an extremely wealthy aristocratic family. Though having lived a pampered life, she believed her time as a single woman was growing thin, leading her to marry George Tesman, a man she clearly no longer has feelings for – if indeed she ever did. Throughout the rest of Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler, we observe how Hedda’s obsession with freedom and free will conflict with the norms of nineteenth-century society which surrounds her, leading her to manipulate those around her, and eventually her own death. It would seem that Hedda’s greatest asset throughout the play is her ability to manipulate the individuals around her. The tediousness of monogamy is most likely the largest driving factor for her scheming all through the play: â€Å"How mortally bored I’ve been†Ã‚   [ 1 ]   as she conveys it to Judge Brack. The deception of others i s one of her solutions to the suppressed life she must lead under the nineteenth-century societal standards. We witness her feign friendship in the conversation between her and Miss Tesman, all the while deviously making remarks about her hat: â€Å"Look there! She has left her old bonnet lying aboutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fancy, if anyone should come in and see it!†.   [ 2 ]    We witness her clandestine motives when she burns Eilert Là ¸vborg’s manuscript and convinces her husband that she did it because she â€Å"could not bear the idea that any one should throw you [George] into the shade†.   [ 3 ]   We also see evidence of her suppressed emotions as she â€Å"walks about the room, raising her arms and clenching her fists as if in desperation†.   [ 4 ]   Her greatest skill however lies with her ability to extort information and secrets from others; as Eilert remarks about their past relationship: â€Å"[I] told you about myself, things that no on e else knew†.   [ 5 ]   She frequently displays her talent of asking questions without actually answering any on her part; soon after, Eilert asks: â€Å"What was the power in you that forced me to confess these things?† to which Hedda replies elusively: â€Å"Do you think it was any power in me?†.   [ 6 ]   Hedda feels as though she can suppress the boredom in her life by obtaining power over others. When asked by Mrs. Elvsted why she is manipulating Eilert so, she replies: â€Å"I want for once in my life to have power to mould a human destiny†.   [ 7 ]   Although Hedda is wealthy, she considers herself lacking in influence, and thereby poor. If Hedda cannot attain any sort of power – whether it is political, authoritative, or pecuniary – then she must find power through the lives of others. Because Hedda is proscribed from carrying out the life that she wishes to live, she finds that she must live vicariously. However, the life of another woman – namely Mrs. Elvsted – would not suit Hedda’s criteria, for she is just as subdued as any other woman during that time. We come across this notion when Hedda asks to Là ¸vborg: