Summary:
In the play Hedda Gabler, the author Henrik Ibsen portrays Hedda Gabler as a control freak who is overly concerned with society's opinion of her. He creates a character that treats others in a demeaning manner. Throughout Hedda Gabler, the main character possesses much contempt for her husband, insults others, and resents a former acquaintance. Despite her considerable concern with society's opinion of her, she feels trapped within society's standards to act a certain way.
In the play Hedda Gabler, the author Henrik Ibsen portrays Hedda Gabler as a control freak who is overly concerned with society's opinion of her. He creates a character that treats others in a demeaning manner and repeatedly uses the following phrase: "People don't do such things." Ibsen includes this remark to show how Hedda ostracizes others and their actions; thus, she puts herself on a pedestal, above all in society.
In the beginning when the reader meets Hedda Gabler, one can see how she is quite a high maintenance character by how she complains that the maid has "left the French windows open... and the room's flooded with sun" (Ibsen 1469). Exerting her power over her husband, George Tesman, she demands him to draw the curtains, which he does complacently. Later Hedda notices an old hat lying on the chair and worries that someone may have seen it. When she learns that the hat belongs to Miss Tesman, George's dear aunt, she does not apologize for her comment and sarcastically describes the hat as "really smart," which shows her tendency to belittle others, even if they are family. Hedda utters to her husband, "But what a thing to do, throw her hat down in someone's drawing room. People don't do such things" (Ibsen 1470). The author depicts Hedda as a neurotic woman who criticizes the actions of others in an attempt to demonstrate her self- imposed superiority over others. Her pretentious comment introduces the theme of a high and mighty character, which readers will begin to hate, who eventually succumbs to the pressure of appearing perfect in society.
In the scene where George and Hedda receive news that Mrs. Elvsted, an "old flame" of Tesman, will be visiting, Hedda remembers her as "the one with that irritating hair she was always showing off" (Ibsen 1472). By this remark, the reader can predict that Hedda, very jealous of Mrs. Elvsted, will attempt to flaunt her superiority over her throughout the rest of the play.
Once Mrs. Elvsted arrives, she and Hedda chat about a variety of topics: marriage, love, and most importantly, a man named Eilert Loevborg, with whom Mrs. Elvsted is in love. Admitting her feelings of loneliness in her marriage, Mrs. Elvsted strives to justify her relationship with Loevborg and mentions how happy he makes her when he allows her to help him write, as he is a published author. However, Mrs. Elvsted is unsure of the future of their relationship because "the shadow of another woman" stands between them. After this unidentified woman tried to shoot Loevborg with a pistol, he quickly ended the relationship. As Hedda learns of this, she comments, "What nonsense. People don't do such things. The kind of people we know" (Ibsen 1478). Yet, an astute reader can tell that Hedda is hiding something: she was, in fact, the woman who had previously tried to shoot Loevborg. Ibsen does this to show that Hedda acts in a manner that contradicts her snooty statements.
Later in the play when Loevborg visits Hedda, he confronts her by asking why she married George because it is apparent that she does not love him. Then he inquires if she ever loved him while the two had previously been "good pals," and he reminisced about how he confessed so many secrets to her. "Oh, Hedda, what power did you have to make me confess such things"" (Ibsen 1493) he asked. Mischievously, she responds, "Power? You think I had some power over you"" (Ibsen 1493). All the while, Hedda takes pleasure in knowing that she can control others by exerting her power over them.
Deeper into their conversation, the reader learns that when the two enjoyed a secret friendship, Hedda had threatened to shoot Loevborg, but she did not because she feared the scandal it would have caused. Once again, Hedda proves to be overly concerned of what society thinks. On the outside, she appears to fit the mold of how a woman in society should behave; yet, internally, she struggles with a predisposition to act in a contradicting manner of what society regards as acceptable behavior. She is propelled by this internal conflict during the entire play.
As she is the daughter of a general, Hedda falls victim of her class. The presence of her father, which can be seen throughout the play in a portrait that hangs in the drawing room, constantly reminds her of her social class. One critic writes that the way she behaves is due to "the formerly aristocratic Hedda's inability to adjust to the bourgeois life into which she has married," which causes her much pain. She exhibits this pain in a conversation with Mrs. Elvsted by saying, "Oh, if you could only understand how poor I am" (Ibsen 1498). Hedda is not poor. In fact, she is quite the opposite.
At the beginning of the play, she and George returned home from a five- month honeymoon to a tastefully furnished house with an abundance of flowers. Yet, this lifestyle is not up to par with her previous lifestyle as a general's daughter. Therefore, some critics describe her as a cold and cruel character that is unmindful of the pain she inflicts on others. In her efforts to find amusement in life, she ignores her internal conflicts, which ultimately cause her to relinquish her motto of "people don't do such things."
Earlier in the play, the reader inferred that Hedda envies Mrs. Elvsted because of her relationship with Loevborg; therefore, the reader expects to see Hedda parade her superiority over Mrs. Elvsted. True to her character, Hedda rips out the pages in Loevborg's manuscript, which Mrs. Elvsted helped him write, and throws them into the stove. Crazed, Hedda exclaims,
"I'm burning your child, Thea! You with your beautiful wavy hair! The child Eilert Loevborg gave you. I'm burning it! I'm burning your child" (Ibsen 1508).
Right before this manic event, Hedda urges Loevborg to commit suicide, gives him one of her pistols, and expresses her desire for him to "do it beautifully" (Ibsen 1508).
Once she persuades Loevborg to commit suicide, Hedda can no longer suppress her internal conflicts and shoots herself in the head. The reader can assume that Hedda commits suicide beautifully, as she hoped Loevborg would do. Her motto of "people don't do such things," proves to be false because her actions are exactly what she says people do not do.
Throughout Hedda Gabler, the main character possesses much contempt for her husband, insults others, and resents a former acquaintance. Despite her considerable concern with society's opinion of her, she feels trapped within society's standards to act a certain way. Yet, in doing so, she becomes dejected from others and society as a whole. Repeatedly, she uses the following phrase: "People don't do such things," in an attempt to suppress her internal desires to be like one of those people. By the end, Hedda cannot live torn between two different realities; she chooses to behave like one of those people, and she commits suicide- beautifully, of course.
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