Theme Of Modernism In Hedda Gabler

Due to the Victorian time period and setting, Henrik Ibsen incorporates inspiration from the 1890’s into elements of modernism in his play Hedda Gabler. He uses specific symbols throughout the play to express the reality of what actions result from not going by obvious archetypes. Prevalent through his use of thorough descriptions of setting in the play, relationships between the characters exist due to the use of symbolism to accompany and accentuate pivotal movements and to foreshadow later events, which typically goes against societal norms at this time and place. Ibsen uses symbols usually associated with elegance to falsely predict actions that occur at the end of the play.

A piano is typically seen as an item to provide elegance and simplicity within a setting however, in Hedda Gabler, the piano described is represented as a symbol that foreshadows death near the ending. It is seen to display a sense of security and protection for Hedda from the reoccurring action of her moving towards the piano after pivotal events such as the realization of Lovborg’s death. From the beginning of the play to the end, the reader can infer that Hedda has some sort of burning passion and inner frustration collected within her. As a result, she refuses to die in a way that doesn’t suit her own desires. She claims that death is ugly and because of that she forces the idea to “stay free from everything ugly” (Hedda Gabler. 3) As early as act one, the piano doesn’t seem to “fit” into the drawing room, just as Hedda’s character doesn’t seem to fit into the ideal theory of a elegant Victorian woman. With her father carrying the role of being a general, Hedda is seen to sustain that label and maintain her aristocratic lifestyle. Hedda settles to ma...

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...at the end in the last tense scene of the play. As Hedda grows tired physically and emotionally, she “goes into the rear room and draws the curtains after her” (Hedda Gabler.4). She shuts out her distractions and turns to the piano, a symbol of comfort to protect her inner frustration. Ultimately, this foreshadows Hedda’s fate at the end of the play.

Symbols are utilized in a way that creates false diction and contradicts the expected actions and reactions to emotions at the end of the play. Physical features including hair and the physical ambiance, comprised of the piano and curtains, are contradictory symbols because they lead the reader into associating them with positive connotation when in conclusion, they lead to negative actions. We can’t always assume things are positive, because with every good there’s usually something bad associated with it as well.