Use of Theme, Setting, and Time in Ibsens Hedda Gabler Essay -- Hedda

Use of Theme, Setting, and Time in Hedda Gabler Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen, is a work about a wo human being who manipulates the fates of others in gear up to fulfill her own desires. The title character is a woman who has recently returned from a six month honeymoon with her groom, Tesman, a man whom she does not love. She yearns for freedom, merely she feels as if she cannot leave her marriage. To occupy her time, she manipulates the lives of everyone around her. Hedda kills herself after becoming engorged in her own manipulations. Through the use of theme, setting, and time period, Ibsen produces a work that unambiguously portrays the sources of the motivations of this manipulative woman. Whether it be the burning of her former loves manuscript or supplying him with the pistol to shoot himself, Heddas malevolence shows the ability of man to have total disregard for the life of another. Hedda coldly manipulates the lives of everyone around her. Through these manipulative a ctions, she ruins the lives of all of her acquaintances. Because she is not happy in her marriage, she attempts to forbid anyone else to live a content life. For example, after she persuades Eljert Lvborg to consume alcohol, he ruins his reputation and loses something that is most precious to him the manuscript of a book that he had been writing with Mrs. Elvsted. Although Hedda realizes the importance of this manuscript to both Lvborg and Mrs. Elvsted, she chars it. Because Lvborg and Mrs. Elvsted have put their souls into this manuscript, Hedda metaphorically relates her action to burning their child. This cold thoughtlessness demonstrates Heddas disregard for the life of a ally human being. Heddas actions ultimately lead to her demise. After giving ... ...nnot manipulate her own life. She does not want to remain in her marriage, but she lacks the courage to repel out of it. Because of the times and her situation, she feels that she cannot leave her husband. It seems as if thes e manipulations are a sick form of entertainment for Hedda. One could regard this play as a stringently feminist work or as the story of a woman who has no regard for human life. In either way in which it is regarded, Ibsen realistically portrays the motivations of Hedda Gabler through his use of theme, setting, and current events. Works Cited Hemmer, Bjorn. The dramatist Henrik Ibsen. http//odin.dep.no/ud/nornytt/ibsen.html Ibsen, Henrik. Four Major Plays A Dolls House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder. New York Oxford University Press, 1998. Mazer, Cary M. Hedda Gabler. http//www.english.upenn.edu/cmazer/hedda.html.