Hedda Gabler Essay, Research Paper
HEDDA GABLER – LONG ESSAY
Henrik Ibsen portrays a microcosm of nineteenth century Norwegian society
in his play Hedda Gabler. Hedda, the protagonist, exhibits a mixture of
masculine and feminine traits due to her unique upbringing under General
Gabler and the social mores imposed upon her. However, although this society
venerates General Gabler because of his military status, his daughter Hedda
is not tolerated due to her non-conformity to the accepted gender
stereotypes. Hedda’s gender-inverted marriage to Jorgan Tesman, her desire
for power and her use of General Gabler’s pistols are unacceptable in her
society and motif of “One doesn’t do such a thing!” that is alluded to
during the play and expounded upon Hedda’s death that shows that Hedda’s
uncertain stance between masculine and feminine gender roles and their
associated traits is not tolerated by her society.
Ibsen employs a reversal of traditional gender roles within Hedda and
Jorgen Tesman’s marriage to emphasises Hedda’s masculine traits. Hedda
displays no emotion or affection towards her husband Jorgen. This appearance
of indifference is a trait that is usually common to men: Tesman – “My old
morning shoes. My slippers look!…I missed them dreadfully. Now you should
see them, Hedda.” Hedda – “No thanks, it really doesn’t interest me’. In
another gender role reversal, Hedda displays a financial awareness, which
her husband, Jorgen does not posses. Although Brack corresponds with Tesman
about his honeymoon travels, he corresponds with Hedda concerning the
financial matters. This is a role that is usually reserved for men.
Hedda does not only display traits, which are definitively masculine, or
feminine, she also objects to and often defies the conventions established
for her gender by society. She rejects references to her pregnancy as a
reminder of her gender: Tesman – “Have you noticed how plump (Hedda’s)
grown, and how well she is? How much she’s filled out on our travels?”
Hedda – “Oh be quiet!” Hedda is reminded not only of her feminine role of
mother and nurturer here, but also as wife and “appendage” to Tesman: “And
to think is was you who carried off Hedda Gabler! The lovely Hedda
Gabler!…now that you have got the wife your heart was set on.” As a woman
of the haute bourgeoisie, Hedda is “sought after” and “always had so many
admirers” and has been “acquired” by Tesman as hide wife. Hedda resents the
gender conventions that dictate that she now “belongs” to the Tesman family
— a situation that would not occur were she a man: Tesman – “Only it seems
to me now that you belong to the family…” Hedda- ” Well, I really don’t
know…”
Although these traits displayed by Hedda are masculine, they are not those,
which her society cannot tolerate. To entertain herself in her “boring”
marriage she plays with her father’s, General Gabler’s, pistols: Hedda —
“Sometimes I think I only have a talent for one thing…boring myself to
death!” “I still have one thing to kill time with. My pistols, Jorgen.
General Gabler’s pistols” Jorgen – “For goodness’ sake! Hedda darling! Don’t
touch those dangerous things! For my sake, Hedda!”. These pistols are a
symbol of masculinity and are associated with war, a pastime which women are
excluded from other than in the nurturing role of nurses and are thus not
tolerated by society. Tesman implores Hedda to cease playing with them, but
even his “superior” position as her husband does not dissuade Hedda, who is
found to be playing with them by Brack at the beginning of act two. Brack
also reminds Hedda of the inappropriate nature of her “entertainment” and
physically takes the pistols away from Hedda. Hedda – “I’m going to shoot
you sir!” Brack – “No, no, no!…Now stop this nonsense!” [taking the pistol
gently out of her hand]. If you don’t mind, my dear lady….Because we’re
not going to play that game any more today.”
As a parallel to Hedda’s masculine game of playing with General Gabler’s
pistols, Hedda plays the traditionally female role of a “minx” with Brack.
Hedda – “Doesn’t it feel like a whole eternity since we last talked to each
other?”
Brack – “Not like this, between ourselves? Alone together, you mean?”
Hedda – “Yes, more or less that”
Brack – “Here was I, every blessed day, wishing to goodness you were home
again”
Hedda – “And there was I, the whole time, wishing exactly the same”
At the beginning of act two, Hedda encourages Brack’s flirtation with her
by telling him the true nature of her marriage to Tesman that it is a
marriage of convenience: Brack – “But, tell me…I don’t quite see why, in
that case…er…” Hedda – “Why Jorgen and I ever made a match of it, you
mean? Hedda – “I had simply danced myself out, my dear sir. My time was up.”
Brack is emboldened by Hedda’s seeming availability and pursues the notion
of a “triangular relationship” with Hedda. Not only does Hedda’s
“coquettish” behaviour towards Brack exhibits the feminine side of her
nature, it also demonstrates that in some instances she conforms to
society’s expectations of females. Hedda’s reference to “(her) time (being)
up” shows the socially accepted view that women must marry, because they are
not venerated as spinsters. By conforming to this aspect of her society’s
mores and marrying before she becomes a socially unacceptable spinster,
Hedda demonstrates that she is undeniably female and accepts this.
Hedda’s constantly seeks power over those people she comes in contact with.
As a woman, she has no control over society at large, and thus seeks to
influence the characters she comes into contact with in an emulation of her
father’s socially venerated role as a general. Hedda pretends to have been
friends with Thea in order to solicit her confidence: Thea – “But that’s the
last thing in the world I wanted to talk about!” Hedda – “Not to me, dear?
After all, we were at school together.” Thea – “Yes, but you were a class
above me. How dreadfully frightened of you I was in those days!” Once Hedda
learns of Thea’s misgivings about Lovborg’s newfound resolve, she uses it to
destroy their “comradeship”.
Hedda – “Now you see for yourself! There’s not the slightest need for you
to go about in this deadly anxiety…”
Lovborg – “So it was deadly anxiety …on my behalf.”
Thea – [softly and in misery] Oh, Hedda! How could you!”
Lovborg – “So this was my comrade’s absolute faith in me.”
Hedda then manipulates Lovborg, by challenging his masculinity, into going
to Brack’s bachelor party and resuming his drunken ways of old. Hedda’s
“reward” for this is to find that Lovborg’s manuscript, his and Thea’s
“child” falls into her hands, where she burns it, thus destroying the child
and alto the relationship, both of which Hedda was jealous of.
Similarly, Hedda seeks to push her husband, Jorgan, into politics: “(I was
wondering) whether I could get my husband to go into politics…” This
would raise Hedda’s social standing and allow her to attain and maintain
power. Hedda’s manipulation of people in order to attain power is a trait
that is stereotypically predominant in men. The society of nineteenth
century Norway venerates the image of submissive, static passive and pure
women. Roles of power are normally allocated to men in such a society.
The society in Hedda Gabler demonstrates its intolerance of Hedda’s
masculine behaviour by contributing to her death. Hedda is found to be
playing with her pistols in act two by Brack. After disgracing himself and
returning to his “immoral” ways at Hedda’s behest, Lovborg is manipulated by
Hedda into “taking his life beautifully” and she gives him one of General
Gabler’s pistols. However Lovborg dies from an accidental wound to the
stomach rather than a patrician death from a bullet to the head and Brack,
utilising his position of power within the judicial system, sees the pistol
that he accidentally killed himself with. Recognising it as being General
Gabler’s pistol, he returns to Hedda to stake his claim. Hedda refuses to be
in the power of Brack, she had been “heartily thankful that (he had) no
power over (her)” however, her fear is realised as Brack attempts to force
his way into a “triangular relationship” with Hedda (and Tesman) in return
for not exposing the scandal that she had provided Lovborg with the
instrument of his death. Hedda is “as fearful of scandal as all that” and
takes her life, ironically avoiding the scandal surrounding Lovborg’s death
and yet causing a scandal concerning her own. Hedda’s masculine preference
for the pistols to any feminine task of housekeeping and her fear of scandal
due to not conforming with society’s accepted gender roles leads her to kill
herself, thus demonstrating that things which “one doesn’t do” are not
tolerated by her society of nineteenth century Norway.