Hedda Gabbler and Miss. Julie: The Ultimate Escape from Life

What causes a person to commit suicide? This has been an age-old question that is never easily (if ever) answered. Literature has been a great source in which to address the complexity of such a horrific self-act. Two exemplary dramatic literary authors tackled this subject head on within two years of eachother in Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 “Hedda Gabbler,” and August Strindberg’s 1888 “Miss Julie.” A woman’s life in the late 19th century was very difficult. James McFarlane frankly generally describes a middle and upper class women’s dilemma during this time period in his introduction to Henrik Ibsen Four Major Plays: “These women of the modern age, mistreated as daughters, as sisters, as wives, not educated in accordance with their talents, debarred from following their real mission, deprived of their inheritance, embittered in mind…what will result from this?” The protagonists in both aforementioned plays, Hedda and Julie, both commit suicide. Does the plight of 19th century women, as suggested by McFarlane, give compelling reasons why Hedda and Julie are justified in killing themselves? Even though these reasons may be what defines the “tragedy” in both of these plays, Hedda and Julie must be held accountable for their actions. It is true that their childhood rearing and societal mores influence their mental state, however, Hedda and Julie show a significant amount of individual choice and self-resolve, even in their ‘put upon’ circumstances. They also made the conscious choice to see only the negative side of their existence; while coveting a selfish and delusional “ideal” of a fairytale life. The true tragedy is that neither allowed their actual potential to have a chance at life.

From the beginning, Both Hedda and Julie are de...

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...ld only see their life through a glass ‘half-empty.’ Perhaps if they would have been able to recognize redeeming qualities in the life they had before them, they would not have felt so hopeless and helpless. They poured so much time and effort into focusing selfishly on the negative and undesirable circumstances in their life, they neglected to simply step back and recognize the positive things that could have given them just as much, if not more joy, than the pessimism they seemed so determined to harbor. They were just too trite to fight for it.

Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik; Translated by James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Henrik Ibsen Four Major Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Strindberg, August; Translated by Michael Robinson. Miss Julie and Other Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.