Hedda is the daughter of the famous General Gabler; as a child she was used to luxury and high-class living. As the play begins,
she is returning from her honeymoon with Jürgen Tesman, a scholar with good prospects but not as much money as Hedda is
accustomed to. Her married name is Hedda Tesman. Hedda is an intelligent, unpredictable, and somewhat dishonest young
woman who is not afraid to manipulate her husband and friends.
Jurgen Tesman
Tesman is an amiable, intelligent young scholar. He tries very hard to please his young wife, Hedda, and
often does not realize that she is manipulating him. In fact, he often seems foolish for his age, and when
he annoys Hedda, the audience has reason to sympathize with her. Tesman is hoping for a professorship in
history, and at the beginning of the play it seems that his one great rival, Ejlert Lövborg, a notorious
alcoholic, no longer stands in Tesman's way. Tesman was raised by his Aunt Julle.
Auntie juju
After Tesman's parents died, Aunt Julle raised him. She is well-meaning, and she is constantly hinting that
Tesman and Hedda should have a baby. Aunt Julle tries to get along with Hedda, but the difference in
their class backgrounds is painfully apparent. Aunt Julle lives with the ailing Aunt Rina, another aunt of
Tesman's.
Judge Brack
He is a friend of both Tesman* and Hedda, and he visits their house regularly. He has
connections around the city, and is often the first to give Tesman information about
alterations in the possibility of his professorship. He seems to enjoy meddling in
other people's affairs. He is a worldly and cynical man.
Ejlert Lövborg
Tesman* biggest competitor in the academic world. After a series of scandals related to drinking, he was
once a public outcast but has now returned to the city and has published a book to rave reviews. He also
has another manuscript that is even more promising. Mrs. Elvsted helped him with both manuscripts. He
once shared a close relationship with Hedda.
Mrs. Elvsted
Mrs. Elvsted is a meek but passionate woman. She and her husband hired Ejlert Lövborg as a tutor to their
children, and Mrs. Elvsted grew attached to Ejlert, acting as his personal secretary and aiding him in his
research and writing. When Ejlert leaves her estate to return to the city, Mrs. Elvsted comes to town and
goes to Tesman* for help, fearing Ejlert will revert to his alcoholism. Mrs. Elvsted went to school with Hedda
and remembers being tormented by her.
Berte
Berte is George and Hedda Tesman's servant. Formerly, she was the
servant in Juliane Tesman's household. She tries very hard to please
Hedda, her new mistress, but Hedda is quite dissatisfied with her.
Aunt Rina
Aunt Rina is dying at the start of the play. She never
appears onstage. She helped Aunt Julle raise
Tesman
Plot summary
Act 1
Tesman wakes to find his Aunt Julle has arrived for a visit. Aunt Julle raised Tesman and still supports him
financially. When Hedda enters, however, she is rather rude to Aunt Julle. Tesman asks her to be kinder, but
she clearly has little real interest in him either. Soon, Mrs. Elvsted arrives, bringing news that Tesman's old
academic rival, Ejlert Lövborg, is back in town. Lövborg had been an alcoholic and a failure, but now he has
reformed. Eventually, Hedda gets Tesman to leave, and she convinces Mrs. Elvsted to confide in her. She
learns that Mrs. Elvsted is scared Ejlert will start drinking again and also that she has come to look for him
without her husband's permission. Mrs. Elvsted leaves and Judge Brack arrives. Judge Brack brings gossip
from town, most notably that Ejlert is quite a success and may be poised to take the position at the
university that Tesman is counting on getting himself. He leaves, and Tesman tells Hedda that they will have
to cut back on their expenses.
Act 2
When Brack returns later that day, he finds Hedda playing with her pistols, out of boredom. They talk
privately for a while and agree that they should form a close, personal bond. Hedda tells Brack how bored
she was on her honeymoon and how she has no special feeling for the house Tesman has gone to great
lengths to buy for her, under the false impression that she desperately wanted to live there. Soon, Tesman
arrives and talk turns to the stag party that Brack is throwing later that night. Ejlert Lövborg arrives and talks
in earnest with Hedda while Tesman and Brack drink in the other room. Then, Mrs. Elvsted arrives. Hedda
plays Ejlert and Mrs. Elvsted against each other, making Ejlert think the other was worried he would begin
drinking again. At this hint, he begins to drink and decides to join Tesman and Brack as they leave for the
party. Mrs. Elvsted is very upset, but Ejlert promises to return in a few hours to escort her home
Act 3
Act 3 begins just before dawn, with Mrs. Elvsted sitting up, still waiting for Ejlert to return. Hedda is asleep
on the couch. Soon, she awakes and sends Mrs. Elvsted in to sleep on her bed. Tesman arrives and tells his
wife that he has possession of Ejlert's fabulous manuscript, which Ejlert dropped while walking home
drunk. Tesman plans to return it to him but is called away, hearing that his Aunt Rina is dying. Brack arrives
and tells Hedda that Tesman left before Ejlert got into real trouble, that indeed he has been arrested. Brack
leaves, and Ejlert arrives. He tells a shocked Mrs. Elvsted that he has destroyed his manuscript. She is
crushed and leaves immediately. Then, Ejlert confesses to Hedda that he has, in fact, lost the manuscript
and that he wants to kill himself. Hedda does not tell him she has the manuscript; she simply gives him
one of her pistols and tells him to have a beautiful death. He leaves, and she burns the manuscript,
referring to it as the child of Ejlert and
Act 4
Act 4 begins with the living room in darkness. Aunt Julle arrives. Everyone is wearing black as a sign of
mourning. We soon learn through dialogue, however, that it is Aunt Rina whose death they mourn: Aunt
Julle announces that she must find another invalid to take care of now. She leaves. Mrs. Elvsted arrives,
reporting to have heard that Ejlert is in the hospital. Brack arrives and confirms this but reports to the
company that Ejlert is, in fact, already dead, having wounded himself in the chest. Tesman and Mrs. Elvsted
immediately sit down to try to reconstruct his manuscript in honor of his death, based on notes Mrs.
Elvsted has kept. In private, Brack tells Hedda that it was actually an ugly death, that the pistol went off
accidentally, and that scandal might ensue for Hedda. Hedda leaves the room and, after playing the piano
for some moments, shoots herself.
Themes
Obsession
Munipulation
Female agenda
The suffering of women
Wealth
Respect & Reputation
Keeping up appearances
Courage
Control
Class conflicts
Power
Context
women in this time were talked down to, they
were expected to not do or say anything. Their
job was to look pretty and talk with class
Henrik Johan Ibsen was a
19th century Norwegian
writer who specialised in
playwriting, directing and
poetry.
A lot Ibsen’s work was not truly appreciated at the time of
publication due to the strict European ideals and morals
imposed in Sweden-Norway at the time; his work lacked
conformity to these ideals.
Henrik Ibsen is also known
as the ‘Father of Realism’
In the early days of his writing Ibsen was suffering from depression and went through a
more macabre phase of writing. The thoughts of suicide in Hedda Gabler mirror the
emotional state that Ibsen was in during the time of writing the plays.
During the 19th century there was a diplomatic struggle
between Sweden and Norway about the unequal
representation of the issues in Norway.
Henrik Ibsen was
an enthusiastic
supporter of
women’s rights