What one reviewer said about Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, Henryk Ibsen, Juliet Stevenson, Maloney, Emma Fielding:
hedda is a highly electrifying woman stuck in a loveless alliance with a bumbling fool. this steely woman lives by her poetic fantasies-- 'beauty, courage n freedom' thru lovborg (a brill man). lovborg is the ex-lover on which she lives vicariously as they share a 'bond of our common hunger for life'. hedda is driven to desperation by the masculine society she is born into. she was brought up by a militant father.. hence her fascination with pistols n things political n rejection of pregnancy. being the aristocrat she is, hedda loathes the bourgeoise n want for money.
this unwoman woman is a monster living in 'fear of scandal'. part of her time is engaged in power plays with 'fair' thea n brack, the connoisseur of life. it is amazing to see hedda switch mode frm 'clenched fists' 2 being 'calm n controlled'. as the play progresses, her aim of creating a dionsysian being in lovborg ceases dramatically. it affects her so profoundly she finds no meaning in life. her 'pretty illusion' of seeing lovborg with 'vineleaves in his hair' is dead. similarly, lesser beings were invading her pte sanctuary she holds so sacred ('inner rm').. n tt leads to her timely yet shocking death.
who is the tragic hero of the play? hedda or lovborg? hedda is not as strong n dynamic as we liken her to be. she ends in a brittle yet poignant note. what is so striking is the simplicity in which ibsen used to portray his ideas. the audience is often left dumb-founded by the disturbing n perverse themes-- death n vicarious living. also, his use of greek mythology (apollo, dionysus, diana) is very interesting as it delves deeper into the chac.
Download Hedda Gabler from Project Gutenberg
or find a paper copy
Other books by Henrik:
- An Enemy Of The People
- Ghosts
- The Lady From The Sea
- The Master Builder
- Pillars of Society
- When We Dead Awaken
- Rosmersholm
- The Doll's House
- Early Plays
- Little Eyolf
- Ghosts
- The Feast at Solhoug