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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who are the first two characters to appear in Act 1 of Hedda Gabler?

2. What does Tesman focus on when he talks about the future?

3. What does Mrs Elvsted tell Hedda that Lovborg has done for her specifically because he knew she wanted it?

4. What does Tesman ask of Hedda in Act 1 of HEDDA GABLER?

5. What part of Mrs Elvsted does Hedda find "irritating"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Hedda Gabler's character.

2. What does Hedda mean at the end of Act 2 when she tells Mrs. Elvsted that at ten o'clock Lovborg will return "with vine leaves in his hair"?

3. At the end of Act 1, what is the one thing Hedda says she still has one thing to amuse herself with?

4. What does Hedda give Lovborg as a keepsake as he leaves her house in Act 3?

5. What reason does Hedda give Brack for her marrying Tesman?

6. What leverage does Brack acquire over Hedda?

7. Where did Tesman find Lovborg's manuscript and why didn't he return it at once?

8. What does Hedda reveal to Brack about the house that Tesman does not know?

9. What is the financial situation of the newly married couple?

10. When Tesman and Julle are discussing future prospects, they are talking about different things. What does Tesman talk about, and what does Julle talk about?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about Henrik Ibsen.

Part 1: Write a brief biography of Henrik Ibsen. When and where did he live? What was his life like?

Part 2: What was the society that Ibsen lived in like? What parts of it influenced his writing? Did he have any message about societal norms that he tried to express in his plays?

Part 3: Discuss Henrik Ibsen's works. Was his work well received? What reaction did the society of his time have to his works? Was his work influential in theater as we know it? How?

Essay Topic 2

In the play HEDDA GABLER, Lovborg is inspired by Mrs. Elvsted and reforms his life for her. Despite this, he says she is "stupid" in interpersonal matters that he discusses freely with Hedda. Indeed, Mrs. Elvsted, like Tesman, seems blind to much of the social happenings going on around her. Write an essay about these four characters and discuss how they inspire and motivate each other.

Part 1: Why is Hedda inspired by Lovborg? Why does Hedda long for influence over Lovborg but doesn't care for the influence she has over Tesman? How are Hedda and Lovborg alike? How are they different?

Part 2: How are Mrs. Elvsted and Tesman alike? In what way is this a strength and in what way are their similarities a weakness?

Part 3: Why is Lovborg inspired by Mrs. Elvsted, but Hedda is not inspired by Tesman? Is the difference in Lovborg and Hedda or in Mrs. Elvsted and Tesman?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about suicide.

Part 1: Discuss different views of someone taking their own life. Has it ever been acceptable or condoned? Do different cultures see it differently? In what circumstances has it been seen as acceptable or even advisable?

Part 2: What are your own views on someone taking their own life? Is there any circumstance that it is understandable or ok?

Part 3: In the play HEDDA GABLER, is Hedda's final act a liberating act of courage or a cowardly avoidance? How does Hedda see it?

(see the answer keys)

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