Character Analysis Of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler, the main character in Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play titled Hedda Gabler, presents a unique role that many aspiring young actresses have been drawn to for decades. She was a woman before her time, her repellent personality can be argued as evil incarnated or simply due to a misunderstood and misplaced life. Regardless of the motives, it is no doubt that Hedda’s actions throughout the play are fascinatingly malevolent. This seemingly unmerciless character can be portrayed on the screen or stage in many styles because of her mysterious nature (Isherwood). It is one thing for a person to make a mistake, and then there are Hedda’s actions which are something else entirely. Yes it can be argued there were direct causes behind some of her wickedness, but from beginning to end, she presented almost zero positive attributes to counteract this behavior. Hedda Gabler represents evil personified and is an anti-heroine for the ages. The play starts with Hedda and George Tesman just returning from their honeymoon. We discover through George’s dialogue with his Aunt Julia, that the trip was

In substitute of taking responsibility for own mistakes in life, she decides to leverage everyone else’s faults and mistakes in order to control them. While other characters seem to be naturally drawn towards her in a positive manner, she uses this against them to draw power toward herself. To top it off she uses this power in such a reckless manner that she is not even able to make a successful conclusion for herself. The story ends with her taking the cowardly way out by committing suicide. The suicide should be deemed spineless and not from a victim-like perspective due to the fact she created her own problems out of pure evil