Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen - Term Paper Example

HEDDA GABLER Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is one of the greatest playwrights Norway has ever witnessed. His socio-psychological plays won applause andgot popularity all over Europe. The works produced by Ibsen wide opened new avenues of thoughtfulness by pointing out the prevailing so called social norms and values targeting the individual freedom and liberty of the people at large. All his plays including A Dolls House, Wild Duck, Rosmersholm and others serve as a remarkable satire on the self-imposed moral values as well as the intermeddlers preaching and implementing self-articulated discipline, mores and laws causing the destruction and turmoil of personal, domestic and social life of individuals consequently. His celebrated drama under the title Hedda Gabler also describes the conflict between individuals and existing social values in his environment. The play revolves around the manipulative, arrogant, grumpy yet attractive and intelligent personality of Hedda Gabler who is the central character of the play. Born in an aristocratic-military household, Hedda experiences complexity of her socio-economic mobility from elite stratum of society to the middle class; it is therefore, it becomes very hard for her to adjust herself according to the changing circumstances. The feelings of pride, isolation, jealousy and self-praise dominate her intellect and sobriety, and she becomes critical and moody while interacting with the members of her in-laws family. Hence, she always pretends to be a haughty lady who persuades others to choose disappointing path leading towards unpleasant and uneven consequences, as she inspired Mrs. Elvsted to desert Lovborg in his dissipation on the one hand, and encouraged Eilert Lovborg to commit suicide with her pistol out of utter distress and perturb mental condition. Her arrogance and pride also led her towards her own fateful demise as she did not want to remain under the threats and influences of any other person including Brack and Tesman even. Plot structure of the Play Plot structure refers to the administration of the developments and incidents in a poem, play, prose or drama. Aristotle has described in his Poetics that an excellent tragedy presents the plot that contains a beginning, a middle and an end skillfully interlinked with one another. The construction of plot is knitted in such a way that if one incident is omitted from the play, it must jeopardize the very unity and coherence of the whole play at large. While discussing the plot structure of the play Hedda Gabler, it becomes evident that one single character of Hedda Gabler is so authoritative and powerful in the drama that all other characters look as minor ones in the play. The sluggish and complying Dr. Tesman, too subservient and submissive Auntie Juliana, always worried and anxious Mrs. Elvsted, drunkard, irresponsible and impatient Lovborg and naïve and timid Brack cannot have any audacity to challenge the powerful character of arrogant and confident central figure Hedda, who remains dictatorial and domineering throughout the play consists of four Acts from the beginning to the end. Act I of the play mentions how Hedda keeps others under her strong influence that everyone looks busy just to please and gratify her. She criticizes Auntie Julianas act of placing the hat on the chair by declaring it an old one. In addition, she appears in a commanding position while instructing Juliana to cover the French window panes with curtains. Her apathy towards Tesmans excitement on finding his childhood slippers and refusal to have even a look on them instead of his insistence proves her the commanding character of the drama, playing pivotal part throughout the four Acts of the modern tragedy. Hedda appears indifferent on the excitement of the family while finding her pregnant. She has least care regarding the feelings of others, and forces them gyrate around her till the play finishes. Ibsens A Dolls House also portrays almost the same picture where the story revolves around Nora only, though she is not as strong and authoritative at all as Hedda looks. In the same way, his Wild Ducks Hjalmar is also not as strong as Hedda to capture the attention of all the characters and audience alike. Hedda appears as a bold, decision-making, free and independent young lady particularly in Act II and III of the play. On finding Lovborg surpassing and superseding Tesman in intellectual achievements with the publication of his new book, she provokes him to indulge in drinking again, causing the loss of the manuscript of his intellectual work. The plot structure supports Heddas character again, when she burns Lovborgs manuscript, conceived by both Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted, out of utter jealousy and envy. Her act not only startles Tesman, but also paves the way towards future developments in the drama including suicides of both Lovborg and her own in the Act IV. The play resembles a bit with absurd drama in characterization, while many developments take place during the course of time though at a snails pace. Lovborg is devastated on the loss of his manuscript as he believes that it is the loss of Mrs. Elvsted too, who contains equal share in conceiving of the ideas, though he is not too much disappointed to think of committing suicide. It is Hedda who shows him the path of total destruction and demise. STORY LINE SETTING OF THE PLAY The play reveals the setting in autumn season with withering dry but golden leaves on the trees at the advent of twentieth century. Hedda belongs to an aristocratic military family, but has been married to a middle class intellectual Tesman. The picture and paintings of her Heddas father can be seen in the hall where all events of the play take place. There is one single place in the set of the play, containing stove, sofa, flowers, chairs, footrests and tables. Presence of flowers in abundance shows the courteous attitude of the visitors and prevailing norm in vogue in the social set up of that era. In the same way, the setting, body language and visits of guests reveal the return of newly married couple Hedda and George Tesman from their honeymoon trip. In the same way, pistol attains an important place in the only set of the play along with flowers, hat, manuscript and Tesmans slippers. EXPOSITION OF CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY The exposition of a play refers to providing of necessary information about the characters and situation usually in the beginning. The exposition of the central figure, in Hedda Gabler, is made in the middle of Act I with the help of six minor characters in the play. There are only six characters appear in the whole set including Hedda Gabler, George Tesman, Juliana Tesman, Thea Elvsted, Eilert Lovborg and Judge Brack. The maid Bertha is the seventh character, though she appears shortly in the play and is disliked by Hedda. Since the play aims at revealing the character of Hedda, all the characters except Hedda are minor ones in nature, and look at Hedda for support, development and counselling on the one hand, and disclose insight analysis of her character including intellectual dishonesty, selfishness, jealousy and arrogance. The beginning pages of the play introduce the readers with many characters almost simultaneously with the help of minor ones. THE PROBLEM OF THE PLAY: Hedda Gabler describes the frustration of the characters out of despair, disappointment, depression and dejection. The conventional marriage system and traditional state of competition and rivalry between individuals arise tension and stress in the drama paving the way towards a shocking ending carrying three deaths of Aunt Rina, Lovborg and Hedda. The heroines playing with pistol in loneliness to evade boredom also discloses the level of stress and frustration in the play. There are feelings of love and hatred go hand in hand throughout. Hedda loves nobody, but the pictures and paintings in the setting show that she has feelings of admiration for her father. In the same way, Auntie Juliana has reciprocal affection for Tesman and Auntie Rina. She also cares for Hedda as well as the maid Bertha. Mrs. Elvsted contains feelings for Lovborg only, while Brack is free from the shackles of affection at all. Heddas inability to make adjustments to bourgeois family in which she has been married gives a go to the problems making the atmosphere gloomy and sad throughout. POINT OF ATTACK: Point of attack refers to the first idea or thing readers notices regarding a play or a poem. Hence the point of attack in this drama is unabated affection of Auntie Juliana for Tesman; it is therefore she asks Bertha to celebrate his achievements by calling him doctor rather George, and taking special care of his bride and her necessities. RISING ACTION ON THE PLAY: Rising action simply indicates to the part of the plot in a play showing complications and conflicts between the individuals leading towards the climax of the play. In Hedda Gabler, Mrs. Elvsteds breaking the news of Lovborgs arrival and success of his new book arise feelings of jealousy in Heddas mind, and she urged Lovborg involve in drinking again causing the loss of his manuscript. Hence, the loss of manuscript, and Heddas burning of the same is the rising action of the play. FALLING ACTION ON THE PLAY: Falling action is the part of a play containing direct link with the climax. Heddas seducing Lovborg to commit suicide in a beautiful manner, and Lovborgs consequent suicide turn the very scenario of the whole play and serve as the falling action. CLIMAX: Since frustration, jealousy and rivalry dominate the story of the play Hedda Gabler, Heddas act of burning the manuscript, the so called "child" of Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted, is the climax point of the play that turns the whole story leading towards the tragic ending. Hedda Gabler as a Tragedy Aristotle (384 B.C.—322 B.C.) has discussed the kinds and nature of literatures in his wonderful Poetics (written in 350B.C.). According to him, there are two main varieties of literary genres: 1. The Fine, and 2. The Mean. He has placed epic and tragic poetry in the fine variety, and the satire and comedy in the mean variety. Thus the great philosopher considers Tragedy and Epic as the refined form of expressing one’s views and ideas. It also shows that Tragedy has been declared a sophisticated piece of art. Ibsens Hedda Gabler is the true form of a tragic drama containing all the qualities and characteristics of a tragedy. The protagonists of a tragedy, according to Aristotle, must be spondaious i.e. he or she should have some type of prominence without containing absolute goodness. In the same way, a positive character should not fall adversely from the great rise, nor should a negative character remain very successful throughout the play. Hedda fulfills all these requirements of a tragic heroine. The mood of the play is grave and serious, where there is no ray of comedy at all, nor there exists an atmosphere of comic scene or comment. Read More