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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. When Julle leaves at the end of Act 1, what are her plans for returning?

2. What state of mind is Mrs Elvsted in when she arrives?

3. In Act 2, why does Julle send word she will not be visiting Hedda and Tesman that evening?

4. Who does Tesman invite over to their house for evening in Act 1 of HEDDA GABLER?

5. Why did Tesman buy the house he did?

Short Essay Questions

1. Despite it's great reception, what does Lovborg say about the book of his that was recently published? What about the next one?

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

3. What is the main question of importance that Lovborg has for Hedda when they are talking in private?

4. What is the only thing that Mrs. Elvsted knows about the woman from Lovborg's past?

5. What leverage does Brack acquire over Hedda?

6. What reason does Hedda give Lovborg for her asking him all the details of his dissolute life when they knew each other previously?

7. When Julle and Tesman discuss Hedda, what do they usually focus on?

8. Describe Hedda Gabler's character.

9. Why didn't Tesman tell anyone he had Lovborg's manuscript? What were his plans with it?

10. At the end of Act 3, what does Hedda say to Lovborg about vine leaves? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the complexities and challenges of developing the plot in HEDDA GABLER and other similar plays.

Part 1: The entire play happens in one room in the Tesman household over two days. Are there advantages and disadvantages in choosing such a limited stage setting? What difficulties does it present and what might it simplify? What affect does an entire play in one room have on the audience?

Part 2: In the play HEDDA GABLER, Ibsen uses various techniques to make the play flow despite the limited setting and lack of a narrator or asides. How did Ibsen develop his characters? How did he give his audience the information they needed to understand who everyone was? What techniques did he use to help his characters seem natural? How did the action of the play get conveyed to the audience?

Essay Topic 2

In the play HEDDA GABLER, Hedda is distraught about the loss of power she has over her own life. She confesses to marrying because Tesman could take care of her and wasn't ridiculous. The society she lives in gives her few choices about her life, and the only option she has is to marry despite the fact that she quite clearly does not want a family. Write an essay about the roles and responsibilities of society and the individual.

Part 1: Hedda ends up by destroying both a brilliant man and herself. Was she a pawn to an unjust society or careless and self centered?

Part 2: Given the society that Hedda lived in, and her fear of scandal, what options did she have to avoid the loveless marriage she found herself in? What opportunities might there have been for a lady of wealth and intelligence to maintain a semblance of her lifestyle if she chose not to marry?

Part 3: Does this understanding make her character more understandable and tragic? Is Hedda's behavior at all justified by the times and society that she lived in? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Write a full analysis comparing and contrasting the two characters of Tesman and Lovborg.

Part 1: Compare and contrast their abilities, their weaknesses, their strengths, their motives and other attributes of the two characters. Discuss both their personal and professional aptitudes.

Part 2: What point do you think the author was trying to make by contrasting them?

Part 3: The character Hedda is clearly the center of the play and these two men act as a way for us to see more about Hedda. What does each one tell us about her? How do they each shed light on the nuances of her character?

(see the answer keys)

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