I actually really enjoyed Hedda Gabler. It was a very serious yet tragic play with some comedic undertones. The title character, Hedda, seemed to be alienated or suffocated by those around her. She was a strong woman who knew what she wanted, and was very distant and unemotional in her relationships, which I could personally relate to. Hedda struggles to escape the influences and expectations of the world that surrounded her and live her life for herself. Well, that is, until she took her fate into her own hands. To many people, Hedda would be considered insane, but when you are an unconventional individual existing within a conventional society full of conventional people, “crazy” is always the go-to label. However, Hedda did display some very aggressive, uncontrollable, and even irrational behavior at times in the play. One scene that I found particularly interesting was when Hedda was basically interrogating Mrs. Elvsted. She was very manipulative in her ways in order to get the information she sought. This showed that she would do anything to get whatever it is that she wants, which is not the noblest characteristic, in my opinion. She was also really flirtatious with Judge Brack, since he is rich and possibly more vulnerable to be taken advantage of. Her dominance and intensity were undeniable, and she is very unapologetic about her actions. She definitely did not represent most women, whether from her time period or not. Nevertheless, I believe Hedda represented a real person; an individual; someone who was not ethical, polite, or lived society’s vision or expectation of perfection all the time.
The very at point you made is brilliant. I envisioned of Hedda's character the same way you did. I think that the author's contruction of this intricate character is his attempt at exposing a very harmful but common side of society: the side that only seeks personal gain.
ReplyDeleteI love the points you focused on about Hedda's character. I feel that you have summarized her as a whole and pointed out the things that seem to guide her many flaws. I fully agree to her representing a real individual,"someone who was not ethical, polite, or lived society’s vision or expectation of perfection all the time." This makes me rethink the question, "why is she this way?" I feel that she is a woman who is used to a lifestyle that is different from what is "socially acceptable" and by choosing to marry Tesman, whether her reasons were of social acceptance or not, she made a choice that seemed to result in her chronic boredom. Bored was something she could not stand and because there was nothing in her world that could amuse her enough to maintain her happiness she acted out a much used cliche, "bored to death." By this I mean that her actions out of boredom are what led to her imminent death.
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