Thomas Johnson English 209 Chuska The Admirable Qualities of Hedda Gabler Great characters in literature often stand out because they possess some quality, trait or even in some cases flaws that separate them from all the others. There is something about them that makes them unique and worth remembering. Great characters withstand the test of time as they manage to hold their appeal, throughout which countless generations continue to enjoy them. Hedda Gabler the main character in Henrik Ibsen’s famous play, is such a character, despite her flaws.

Many would argue that Hedda is not great at all; based on some of her actions throughout the play, they could easily say that she was merely nothing but a shallow, jealous wife who was only concerned for her own well being. Even in a brief synopsis of the play Hedda is referred to as, “bored… with life fueled by jealously, social ambition, and a need to dominate others, [and] who lead to the death of a former admirer” (Jarvi 1). Although that can be argued, nevertheless she was a great character and should be admired.

Hedda Gabler should be admired because she was a forced to marry due to the social structure of her time period, she was a free-willed spirit who spoke her mind despite being a woman, and she was smart enough realize that she had the power to bend people to her will. Because of these reasons her character should be thought highly of, not chastised. Many great literary characters are remembered because of their flaws, sometimes a character discovers those flaws can actually help them realize what true greatness really is.

Hedda used her character flaws to her own avail, she had already made the realization that flaws can be used a strength given the right situation. The time period in which Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” takes place holds strict social rules over women. Women when compared to men of the same time had virtually no rights. They lacked the power to vote and were held to certain expectations that society laid out for them. One expectation that hung over Hedda was that she was getting a little too old not have been married.

Typical women of the day were married several years younger than Hedda was. People would begin to think less of a woman who was not married by a certain age range. Hedda seemed to feel as if she had no other alternative than to find someone to marry her. “Hedda must bear the responsibility for the marriage, however. As she acknowledges, she had been the one to fashion it, not from love, but from her need for comfort and respectability… she is victim”(Answers 15).

She had apparently wasted time with Lovborg in a relationship with no future, not to mention countless suitors, because it was stated that she was a beautiful woman,” Look … how charming and attractive she is…Hedda’s been lovely all her life” (Ibsen 1417). Hedda dreaded scandals of any sort; “Oh I’m much too afraid of scandal” (Ibsen 1441). She realized that she had no other choice than to marry the first willing and acceptable suitor even if that person did not fit her ideal match.

Unfortunately for Hedda she ended up marrying someone who would turn out to be her total opposite, despite the fact that the alternative would be even less pleasant in her and everyone else’s mind. Hedda deserves recognition of this; one must admire the ability in her to cope with such an unfair moral social system. Had the mores of the time not been so rigid and unflinching, perhaps she would have never married at all. Constant worrying about her standings in the eyes of everyone else must have been a heavy burden to bear indeed.

How often would people like to have the ability to go back in time if only to speak what was truly on their mind in certain situations because they lacked the courage to do so the first time? People who possess the unique ability to speak their true mind hold admiration in many people’s eyes. Hedda was quick to speak her mind, “Look, she’s left her old hat lying there on that chair. What if someone came in and saw that (Ibsen 1417). Those two lines were some of the first the audience is exposed to, obviously to set the tone of her character.

The audience of the play should remember in that time period women were not equal to men in social standing. To have the kind of courage to defy that stigma is very admirable. Most people, man or woman, would never be able to summon the courage to deliberately insult someone to their face in such a manner as that, especially if they knew they were not on the same level as everyone in a social sense. That kind of boldness should be admired and revered, “How did you sit there and question me so fearlessly? (Ibsen 1440) One should respect the shear gumption it takes to just speak whatever thoughts no matter how uncouth or even true they are. Because Hedda did feel free to speak her mind, despite her social standing, she was able to use the knowledge that boldness is a sign of authority in order to help her get her way. She seemed to be able to find a way of cutting right through any uncertainness in a conversation and get to the point, such as in one of the “secret” conversations with Judge Brack, “I see- The one cock of the walk-that’s your goal” (Ibsen 1452).

Hedda’s character seemed to possess a power that could force other people to obey her suggestions, no matter how insignificant the suggestion might be. Her ability was not merely limited to men, although they seemed to be the most susceptible. Women too, were at the mercy of her powers of suggestion. Hedda did not always use her ability with a direct command; she merely “planted seeds” in the subconscious, such as how she in one fail swoop goaded Lovborg into falling completely off of the wagon and to attend Judge Brack’s party. rHerHhHer character affects nearly every character within the play with this ability in some capacity. Hedda is by far the craftiest player in this tale, second only to the cunning and slyness of Judge Brack, “he is as cold-bloodedly cynical as Tesman is naive and good-natured, and his one purpose throughout the play is to engineer an affair with Hedda” (Hand 4). The fact is that Hedda was possibly the smartest character because she not only fooled two so-called geniuses completely, but nearly everyone in the play.

Taking it a step further, it should be noted that she possessed street smarts and in certain situations and on certain people street smarts provided the upper hand. George, who had virtually no common sense or any sort of street smarts was completely oblivious to the fact that he was be out-witted the entire time by Hedda. An example of Hedda’s control over George is how she managed to divert his attention away from Aunt Julie’s constant remarks alluding to her pregnancy such as Whenever George’s uriosity was peaked from the way Aunt Julie would hint at Hedda “expecting” she would quickly make a remark that would throw his guard off. George commented after a scene with Miss Tesman,” Didn’t you think Aunt Julie was acting strange just now. What do you suppose got into her? ” (Ibsen 1418) To which Hedda plays it off and again diverts George’s attention by replying, “I really don’t know her. Isn’t that the way she usually is? (Ibsen 1418) Lovborg on the other hand realized the power that Hedda possessed, “Ah Hedda – what kind of power was in you that drew those confessions out of me?

I can’t account for it in any other way” (Ibsen 1440). Hedda had the uncanny ability to be able to say just the right thing that would persuade someone to do what she wanted. She could simply imply something or better still she provoked. She unnerved some people and it often caught them off guard, which can easily be seen when confronting Thea Elvsted in their first meeting since going to school together. Thea stated, “Whenever we’d meet on the stairs you always used to pull my hair… and once said you’d burn it off” (Ibsen 1422).

Hedda’s response was bold because it was a lie and basically changed the flow of the conversation, “No, I didn’t do that… Oh, [it was] just silly talk, you know? ” (Ibsen 1422) Very cunningly Hedda had managed in one brief moment to disarm Thea’s hostility toward her and turn her attention to another subject. This type of cunning is extremely intriguing and should be recognized by admiration. In conclusion Hedda Gabler does deserve to be admired and not thought of as an abusive character. She merely played the hand she was dealt in life, although she did try to control the game.

She was a woman who was forced to choose a husband because of societal influence, who chose what she thought, would be at the very least be a good provider. Even after she realized that she had not fully understood who she was getting involved with, she had the fortitude to continue on despite feelings of regret. She had the admirable quality of being able to say what she really thought, a quality that few possess today, much less a woman in her time who did not possess all the rights and social ranking of women today. Hedda’s remarkable ability to weld control over others is something that most people would wish to possess.

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