Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen Analysis Essay Example

The play “Hedda Gabler” by Henrik Ibsen dives into a cynical Hedda Gabler who fights societal gender expectations in order to gain a secure life; additionally, instead of adapting to the new lifestyle she marries into, Hedda pushes the limits of George’s pocketbook due to the difference in their socioeconomic status that she refuses to give up living even after being married. Hedda understands the role women are supposed to play in society for the time she is alive, but she takes her role which is supposed to be quiet and peaceful, and turns it into a role of chaos and control in order to pursue her own mental venture curing the illness of boredom and being the remedy to the lack of capital in George’s name all while serving the purpose society told Hedda she is supposed to play, but she has taken and weaponized it into manipulative, mental warfare. Ibsen shows his perspective of the bored housewife and what happens when societal expectations are unable to be met through Hedda and her subtle role that she is forced into because society tells her that is the right way to go.  

Hedda came from silver and George came from lead which did not set in until she realized that their, although miniscule, livelihood could be stripped away if George did not fight for the position against Eilert Løvborg. She knew George was not strong enough to take Løvborg on as a competitor; therefore, to secure their future she thinks it is best that she takes matters into her own hands. The societal expectations of genders within Norway in the 1800’s is very traditional in comparison to a modern-day America which is why Hedda Gabler being the one to handle the Løvborg situation for George is very strange for the time the play is being written. But the way Hedda addresses the issue is what makes her character brilliant and unique since she is sly and efficient, able to evade detection and move with the societal drift. The man of the house in the Norwegian 1800’s is supposed to handle issues like the one that faces George while Hedda is supposed to stay at home and act almost like a trophy for George, at least that is what would be expected for Hedda in 1800 Norwegian society. George is the warmer yet weaker of the couple and Hedda who may be cold remains in control of the household and outcome of the situations the puts herself in the middle of which negates what would be deemed appropriate for women within the time the play was prevalent. Hedda getting in the business discreetly even is inappropriate for her time because it is not her type of business to get into the first place but since she is permitted to be within conversation and in relation with those that George associates with, then there is no reason for anyone to suspect Hedda of meddling in anything. Ibsen is pointing out that women in their society serve a bigger role than that of simply housewife for the feminist movement in Norway is very prevalent at the time and Ibsen is very supportive of equal rights. Ibsen is proving the power that women hold and that it is unjust for society to keep women in a servitude role because keeping a person’s world so tiny is inhumane since it is impossible to expand one’s curiosities. The idea of basing Hedda off her beauty is repeated throughout the play which puts emphasis on the idea that Hedda is simply to be looked at by society as a trophy to George. Hedda’s looks also provided her with protection from detection in which she was capable of pursuing as much drama as she pleased with no suspicion due to her looks being persuasive. Society held women to simply aesthetic and functional purposes, Hedda wanted nothing to do with what society expected of her which made her the malcontent but because of the overlooking of women in society since society never would have suspected Hedda to be deviant she was able to get away with the manipulative games she wished to play. Ibsen almost emphasizing that because of the lack of confidence society at the time has in women, women will eventually take advantage of the system and use it to suit their best interests. However, economic instability during the time provides a good amount of reason for how Hedda ended up as miserable as she has found herself. 

It is believable for Hedda to marry into the lifestyle that George leads because of the economic instability that Norway experienced in the mid-1800’s therefore creating a smaller upper-class pool and expanding upon the bourgeois. Ibsen points out the issues with the upper-class from his perspective as a lower-middle class citizen by creating a materialistic, aristocratic Hedda and genuine, average George in which he portrays the issues that the upper-class face as the middle class grows. George does his best in attempting to please Hedda but always seems to fall short. The house that he bought with financial help from Miss. Tesman did not remotely touch Hedda’s heart and she shows no gratuity for the house. The extended honeymoon that George and Hedda took that she demanded to be taken on was again no match for her expectations. Hedda is used to a more grandeur lifestyle that she is relentless about giving up and reminds George about it all the time. The lack of expensive furniture that the house holds lingers in Hedda’s mind as she is always reminding George at the lack of her preferred furniture for the house. The activities that Hedda and George partake in differ immensely which represents the break in not only the gender barriers but also the socioeconomic barriers that George and Hedda have faced. George is driven by work, he has always had to lead a simple life with simple pleasures and work; therefore, it is shown in his personality that work is important to him. Hedda is driven by nothing and takes pleasure in the idea of adventure and recreational activities like shooting; therefore, showing that Hedda has led a leisurely, worry-free lifestyle. The clash of classes shown is relevant for the time that Norway is experiencing. The economic turbulence that the country is facing expanded the middle class and shrunk the upper-class leaving people like Hedda in predicaments of the need to follow societal expectations but while sacrificing individual happiness due to transition of a lower standard of living. Ibsen being raised in a poorer family is almost mocking the upper-class in the luxury of their lifestyle. He is almost pointing out and saying that the upper-class would not ever be happy if they had to shrink down into a simpler lifestyle and that the upper-class themselves look down upon those that do not have any socioeconomic value. Ibsen establishes this view with Hedda’s lack of enthusiasm for George’s hard work in pleasing her. George attempts to give Hedda the dream life she desires but is incapable of doing so because of the lack of socioeconomic value that George has. This points to the idea that enough is never enough for those who greed for more. Hedda is greedy in the lack of appreciation she feels that she owes George and the desire for more than what she knows is possible. 

Ibsen reflects Norwegian expectations of women and the lack of humanity that was held towards women in the 1800’s along with the cultural differences that the classes experienced through legally binding them together and letting them live it out. He also reflects his own life story within his play by putting his perspective on the upper-class as a commoner and living it out through Hedda. Although cynical, Hedda is fighting from where society expects her to be thus not raising any alarms or shame, but by the same token undermining all of those around her in order to have security in what little lifestyle George could afford and to ensure that there was a lifestyle that her and George could live out together. Ibsen put a twist by making George academically inclined and a bit behind in life while it seems Hedda was living beyond her time socially but was incapable of expanding academically for society did not permit it. Hedda steered the ship, an oddity for a woman in Norway in the 1800’s, and eventually sunk but only did she sink because of her limited capabilities.