Character Development and Plot Analysis of Henrik Ibsen
Character Development and Plot Analysis of Henrik Ibsen
The play written by Henrik Ibsen entitled, Hedda Gabler, focuses on the distress of the main character of Hedda and the conditions of her life that drive her to her own death. At the end of this Ibsen play Hedda Gabler, Hedda kills herself. The protagonist of the play has several reasons for wanting to end her own life. One of the main reasons Hedda reveals for taking her own life is the fact that she is not happy with her living conditions, mainly seen through the circumstances of her life and her surroundings. Hedda's unhappiness seems to come from not having fulfilled her wishes and the source of her discontent is her sense of dissatisfaction with her perception of a lack of accomplishments. Hedda even goes so far as to tell Judge Brack that she did not marry George Tesman because she loved him, but because her time was up, and she needed to make a match. She confesses and confides in the judge about her marriage. Hedda went ahead and married Tesman not for love, but because she felt an obligation to settle down with a lifelong companion once and for all. The setting in which this play took place implies some of the preconceptions for the play. In the past, a stable marriage was a necessity for any type of respectable woman. So if Hedda ever wanted to be accepted into the society in which she lived, she would have to get married to a respectable man before she got too old. The stage setting at the live performance foreshadows the subsequent events of the play. The setting in which Hedda is surrounded by and lives makes it almost obvious that she would eventually take her own life due to the depressing atmosphere. Interestingly though, in the written work of Henrik Ibsen, the audience is shocked to learn that Hedda takes her own life. In the written play, the occurrences of the story, and even the tragic events that take place, are presented in almost a comedic light. This comedic sense is achieved through presenting Heddas character as sarcastic, in a funny way. Heddas use of witty commentary about other characters boosts Heddas self esteem, so that she feels better about herself by depreciating others. She does some evil things to the people that trust her, such as burning Eilbert...