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Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen

Realism is a literary movement that began in France during the mid-19th century. It later

spread in across Europe, through Russia and further overseas to the United States of America. It

is concerned with establishing real life, where the realist writers focus on illustrating the

meaningfulness of ordinary life. Besides, in a realistic play, the characters demonstrate freedom

and independence in their actions. Henrik Ibsen is known as the father realism since his plays

focus on values in the society. His plays led to the development of the realistic theatre, which is

currently the predominant form of theatre. They deal with the problems in the society, their

actions are in a contemporary setting, have a socio-critical perspective, and they present daily

situations and people. This essay discusses realism in the play Hedda Gabler and the

characteristics of the poem.

Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler is a realism piece of poetry, which focuses on the problems

within the society. The play is about the struggles of a woman, Hedda, who tries to evade her

boredom with the society by committing suicide at the end of the play. The three deaths

established in the play illustrate the reality of how bad life can be without sugar-coating any

event. Ibsen over dramatized the daily events to show the audience how life should be taken

seriously since it is not a fantasy. Besides, Hedda displays freedom and independence in her

actions. She rebels against the forces that work against her by threating to kill another character

and further committing suicide. The actions illustrate an act of independence and freedom. As a
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whole, Hedda Gabler is a realist play that illustrates how harsh life can be without any romance.

Hedda’s character of independence and freedom also establishes the realism of the play.

Hedda Gabler and Thea Elvsted are used by Ibsen in the play to establish the place of

women in the society. The two women, Hedda and Thea, are married to George and Eilert

respectively. The similarity between Hedda and Thea is that they are both discontented with the

limitations the society placed on them. However, they are both married to men who would bind

them to the same restraints. Besides, both women have issues with their partners in their

relationship. Hedda and Thea represents the struggles that women the current society encounter

in their marriages. In contrast, Hedda is different from Thea in the manner in which they handle

their challenges. Hedda is a masculine, aristocratic and manipulative while Thea is feminine kind

and passive. Thea represents women who are socially submissive to their feminine role in the

society and dedicate themselves to the child-bearing task. On the other hand, Hedda is

manipulative with the desire to have power over other characters. She is dissatisfied with life and

regards childbearing as despicable. Thea is portrayed as powerless but she is able to organize her

life to match with her desires. Hedda is powerful but unable to control her uncomfortable life,

which leads her to commit suicide. In general, Hedda and Thea represent women in the

contemporary society but differ in their character. Hedda is powerful and manipulative while

Thea is less powerful and submissive.

Henrik Ibsen demonstrates various forms of triangulation in the play Hedda Gabler. One

of the triangulation is between Hedda, Lovborg and Thea, where Thea was married to Lovborg.

Hedda got into the triangulation to control the relationship through her manipulative power over

Lovborg, who was once her lover. She is jealousy of the success that Lovborg and Thea have

created. She wishes she was part of the success and be an inspiration to Lovborg. Her focus is to
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destroy the relationship between Lovborg and Thea with her destructive nature. Thea inspired

Lovborg to write a manuscript, which was a symbol of redemption from the past life of Lovborg.

They highly valued the manuscript, treating it as their child that could lead to their brighter

future. Hedda is jealousy of the progress of the couples and aim at destroy the manuscript.

Hedda’s manipulative nature coupled with the lack of self-control in Lovborg enabled her to

acquire the manuscript and destroyed it. The difference between Hedda and Thea is also

displayed in the triangulation. Thea highly values the manuscript since she treats it as her child

while Hedda commits suicide yet he was pregnant, illustrating her lack of care for the child. As

a whole, Hedda got into the triangular relationship because of her jealousness regarding the

success of Lovborg and Thea. She manages to destroy the manuscript, which was a symbol of

the bright future of the couples.

There are various themes that are established in the play Hedda Gabler. Two of the

themes include manipulation and death.