Antonio Vettraino

Hedda Gabler Reflection

The play Hedda Gabler written by Henrik Ibsen, which premiered in 1891 is a very

interesting play and I feel very out there for its time. I remember last year we had to read A Doll’s

House, also by Ibsen for both Acting the Instrument and Acting the Script, so I was very

intrigued to pick up another Ibsen play this time. I feel like in reading this play I picked up a lot

more on the themes I believe Ibsen was trying to present. It is interesting to see another play

written by Ibsen at this time with a very out there female character for the time it was written. It

is even stated that by Joseph Wood Krutch that Gabler is “one of the first fully developed

neurotic female protagonists of literature.” I see a big connection to the two main characters of

Ibsen’s plays I’ve read. Both Nora and Hedda share this craving for freedom throughout their

storylines, which they both eventually do end up getting, in this one with Hedda ending her life.

Gabler is also a woman ahead of her time with the themes/ways of manipulation throughout the

play as she is constantly trying to control others to gain power essentially. Like how Hedda

manipulates her own way of convincing Loveborg to kill himself, but in a beautiful way.

What’s really interesting about reading this play and also reading A Doll’s House is to think

about the idea of standards of the 1800s and how the plays either enforces those set standards of

that time, or bend them in certain ways. This connects to how Hedda is such a manipulator of

multiple people in the play when at this time as a woman of that household she should’ve just

been more respectful of certain people of power and not try to take advantage of people.

Overall, I liked the messages the play brought out, I feel like I liked A Doll’s House a bit more

for some reason, but this play still intrigued me.