THEMES IN HEDDA GABLER
SEEKING POWER AND CONTROL OVER PEOPLE
Every character in Hedda Gabler looks for power, influence, and control of some kind.
According to a critic, Hedda Gabler is the record of continually events of personal
campaigns for control and domination over oneself, over other people, and the whole
universe. Most of the power struggles are of little importance. For example, Tesman desires
to get more knowledge than anyone else about medieval domestic crafts and the rest of the
things. He does this to get professional and social power. He also does this to get a
prestigious professorship. In the same way, Judge Brack wants to have an upper hand over
Hedda. He asks her to allow him to the house whenever he wants to come. He does this so
that he can have sexual access to Hedda. Additionally, Ejlert Lovborg desires to control the
whole world by seeing into its future. It is ironic to know that he can’t control himself when he
is drunk. When Mrs. Elvsted comes to know that Lovborg has come to the town where the
Tesmans live, she wants to impress Lovborg. She wants to save him from his self-
destructiveness.
Thus, most of the characters in the play want power and control for practical reasons.
However, Hedda tries to control and dominate others to remove the boredom from her life.
For this reason, she makes others suffer to entertain herself and enjoy it. According to
Ibsen, it is a demonic thing about Hedda that she wants to exert her will on others. She finds
no satisfaction in whatever she already has. She exercises her will by hurting others that
relaxes her as an expression of her power and influence. She orders Berta to call Tesman
as a doctor and not as a mister. Her desire to rule over people and their lives becomes so
terrifying that she insists Lovborg to commit suicide. In this way, Hedda is an example of
such a person in society who craves power. Just like her father who kills people on the
battlefield, Hedda kills men from the comfort of her drawing-room.
LIMITATIONS
Hedda Gabler is well-educated and well-traveled. She still lives in a very small world. It is
true to say that she lives in a provincial world. The streets she traveled as a young with her
father General Gabler, are the same streets she walked after getting married to Tesman.
Tesman is one of her early admirers who is now her husband. When they go on a
honeymoon and spend almost six months, Tesman ignores the cultural wealth of Italy and
keeps himself busy in libraries. When Tesman and Hedda face financial crises, Hedda’s
social life gets stagnant. Her days lack variety and freshness. As a result, she feels
imprisoned. She lacks intellectual interest or moral enthusiasm. She starts spending her
long and dull days planning to buy expensive things that she and her husband cannot afford.
She also talks to Judge Brack and fantasizes about freedom. Hedda restrained her
considerable intelligence and passionate lust for life.
PATRIARCHY
, Hedda is the example of a woman who is living in a society that is ruled by men: patriarchy.
The men in her social circle are addicted to war, politics, wild drinking habits, and parties
that define their actions, thoughts, and feelings. In contrast, the women in the play mostly
take care of the men and serve them to the best of their abilities. For example, Tesman's
Aunt Julia takes care of her nephew. She arranges a maid for him and also pays the
security of his house to reduce his expenses. In the same way, Mrs. Elvsted tries to impress
Ejlert Lovborg. Tesman takes care of Hedda because he treats her as a prize and as the
mother of his child. Lovborg shares a romantic relationship with Hedda and sees her as
someone who inspires his writing. Judge Brack also develops feelings for Hedda and
begins to treat her as a pet and a toy. No one sees Hedda as a human that she is. As a
result, she suppresses her womanhood. She avoids the topic of her pregnancy as much as
she can. She starts participating in the field that was originally dominated by men
. For example, she establishes a relationship with Lovborg to challenge her father’s
authority. According to Hedda, a young girl wants to know about a world that is hidden from
her. For this reason, General Gabler's pistol fascinates her. It is a symbol of authority for her
and therefore, Hedda enjoys owning and using a pistol. It can be said that Hedda’s unkind
and unusual behavior is the product of patriarchal oppression. Due to limitations and
patriarchal setup, Hedda is in a constant war against all these factors.
ORDINARY VERSUS EXTRAORDINARY
In his play, Ibsen has always depicted modern society and the heroic individual. However, it
has always favored the latter. According to this reflection, the common people of the society
are more materialistic and unattached to things. They just want to maintain the status quo
and advance their petty interests. Jorgen Tessman is just such a person.He mostly relates
himself to bourgeois comforts and conventions. His academic specialization in history and
medieval domestic crafts is based on an arbitrary selection. It is right to call him a secondary
man in all senses. He reads only what other men have read. He does not do or create
anything for himself.
At the end of the play, he decides not to imagine the future of civilization for himself and
create a masterpiece, but to reconstruct Lovborg's destroyed manuscript on this topic.
According to Judge Brake, Tesman is a wonderful man only because he has a socially
prestigious academic position, earns a good amount of money, and is married to a beauty
like Hedda. In this way, Judge Brack is also an ordinary man. He seeks intimacy with a
married woman who is very tradational. In contrast to the characters of Tesman and Brack,
Lovborg and Hedda are visionary and extraordinary. After falling from social grace, Lovborg
gets back to academic prominence with the publication of a book that receives a lot of fame
and praise.
He writes in the book that everybody can agree with. It suggests that to rise in one’s society
from disgrace to a graceful position, one must know the prejudices and beliefs of that
society. Lovborg is not a secondary man like Tesman. He does not rely on others to do
something for him. He writes a manuscript and puts himself into it. The manuscript talks
about the future. The subject suggests that only visionaries like Lovborg can speak on this
SEEKING POWER AND CONTROL OVER PEOPLE
Every character in Hedda Gabler looks for power, influence, and control of some kind.
According to a critic, Hedda Gabler is the record of continually events of personal
campaigns for control and domination over oneself, over other people, and the whole
universe. Most of the power struggles are of little importance. For example, Tesman desires
to get more knowledge than anyone else about medieval domestic crafts and the rest of the
things. He does this to get professional and social power. He also does this to get a
prestigious professorship. In the same way, Judge Brack wants to have an upper hand over
Hedda. He asks her to allow him to the house whenever he wants to come. He does this so
that he can have sexual access to Hedda. Additionally, Ejlert Lovborg desires to control the
whole world by seeing into its future. It is ironic to know that he can’t control himself when he
is drunk. When Mrs. Elvsted comes to know that Lovborg has come to the town where the
Tesmans live, she wants to impress Lovborg. She wants to save him from his self-
destructiveness.
Thus, most of the characters in the play want power and control for practical reasons.
However, Hedda tries to control and dominate others to remove the boredom from her life.
For this reason, she makes others suffer to entertain herself and enjoy it. According to
Ibsen, it is a demonic thing about Hedda that she wants to exert her will on others. She finds
no satisfaction in whatever she already has. She exercises her will by hurting others that
relaxes her as an expression of her power and influence. She orders Berta to call Tesman
as a doctor and not as a mister. Her desire to rule over people and their lives becomes so
terrifying that she insists Lovborg to commit suicide. In this way, Hedda is an example of
such a person in society who craves power. Just like her father who kills people on the
battlefield, Hedda kills men from the comfort of her drawing-room.
LIMITATIONS
Hedda Gabler is well-educated and well-traveled. She still lives in a very small world. It is
true to say that she lives in a provincial world. The streets she traveled as a young with her
father General Gabler, are the same streets she walked after getting married to Tesman.
Tesman is one of her early admirers who is now her husband. When they go on a
honeymoon and spend almost six months, Tesman ignores the cultural wealth of Italy and
keeps himself busy in libraries. When Tesman and Hedda face financial crises, Hedda’s
social life gets stagnant. Her days lack variety and freshness. As a result, she feels
imprisoned. She lacks intellectual interest or moral enthusiasm. She starts spending her
long and dull days planning to buy expensive things that she and her husband cannot afford.
She also talks to Judge Brack and fantasizes about freedom. Hedda restrained her
considerable intelligence and passionate lust for life.
PATRIARCHY
, Hedda is the example of a woman who is living in a society that is ruled by men: patriarchy.
The men in her social circle are addicted to war, politics, wild drinking habits, and parties
that define their actions, thoughts, and feelings. In contrast, the women in the play mostly
take care of the men and serve them to the best of their abilities. For example, Tesman's
Aunt Julia takes care of her nephew. She arranges a maid for him and also pays the
security of his house to reduce his expenses. In the same way, Mrs. Elvsted tries to impress
Ejlert Lovborg. Tesman takes care of Hedda because he treats her as a prize and as the
mother of his child. Lovborg shares a romantic relationship with Hedda and sees her as
someone who inspires his writing. Judge Brack also develops feelings for Hedda and
begins to treat her as a pet and a toy. No one sees Hedda as a human that she is. As a
result, she suppresses her womanhood. She avoids the topic of her pregnancy as much as
she can. She starts participating in the field that was originally dominated by men
. For example, she establishes a relationship with Lovborg to challenge her father’s
authority. According to Hedda, a young girl wants to know about a world that is hidden from
her. For this reason, General Gabler's pistol fascinates her. It is a symbol of authority for her
and therefore, Hedda enjoys owning and using a pistol. It can be said that Hedda’s unkind
and unusual behavior is the product of patriarchal oppression. Due to limitations and
patriarchal setup, Hedda is in a constant war against all these factors.
ORDINARY VERSUS EXTRAORDINARY
In his play, Ibsen has always depicted modern society and the heroic individual. However, it
has always favored the latter. According to this reflection, the common people of the society
are more materialistic and unattached to things. They just want to maintain the status quo
and advance their petty interests. Jorgen Tessman is just such a person.He mostly relates
himself to bourgeois comforts and conventions. His academic specialization in history and
medieval domestic crafts is based on an arbitrary selection. It is right to call him a secondary
man in all senses. He reads only what other men have read. He does not do or create
anything for himself.
At the end of the play, he decides not to imagine the future of civilization for himself and
create a masterpiece, but to reconstruct Lovborg's destroyed manuscript on this topic.
According to Judge Brake, Tesman is a wonderful man only because he has a socially
prestigious academic position, earns a good amount of money, and is married to a beauty
like Hedda. In this way, Judge Brack is also an ordinary man. He seeks intimacy with a
married woman who is very tradational. In contrast to the characters of Tesman and Brack,
Lovborg and Hedda are visionary and extraordinary. After falling from social grace, Lovborg
gets back to academic prominence with the publication of a book that receives a lot of fame
and praise.
He writes in the book that everybody can agree with. It suggests that to rise in one’s society
from disgrace to a graceful position, one must know the prejudices and beliefs of that
society. Lovborg is not a secondary man like Tesman. He does not rely on others to do
something for him. He writes a manuscript and puts himself into it. The manuscript talks
about the future. The subject suggests that only visionaries like Lovborg can speak on this
