Revenge in Hedda Gabler
The nineteenth-century Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen was one of the best playwrights of his time. Being the first writer from his country to become famous, he often satirized the bourgeois in many European countries including France and Germany. Ibsen is known for creating conversation and characters to be very realistic, especially female characters, which was uncommon during his time. In his short story Hedda Gabler, Ibsen creates the character of Hedda to be very realistic. She is a very jealous woman who has lived an aristocratic life until this point. When her life does not turn out like she wishes it would, Hedda does what she has always done - plot revenge and carry it out. While Hedda appears jealous of many characters, she seems to be the most jealous of Thea and her relationship with Eilert. For many years Hedda has secretly wanted to marry Eilert but never has because of his social status. She was raised in a noble family (the daughter of a general), and Eilert is not "respectable" enough for her. Thea, on the other hand, thinks the world of Eilert. She has left her husband to work with Eilert. While working with Thea, Eilert writes what he calls his manuscript and claims it to be th
After hiding the manuscript for a while Hedda decides to burn it in the stove, killing Thea and Eilert's "child". She knows how much this will hurt Thea because Eilert has already told her that Thea's "heart and soul were in that book" and that "it was her whole life" (1293). As she is throwing the manuscript into the fire page by page, she gets satisfaction from knowing that she is hurting Thea. Because of her jealousy Hedda plots revenge on Thea. She plans to destroy Thea and Eilert's friendship, thus making Thea miserable. If Hedda cannot have Eilert then nobody should. The first step to this happening is when Tesman, Hedda's husband, finds Eilert's manuscript one night on the way home. Eilert had been drunk and lost it on the side of the road where Tesman picked it up. When he arrives home with the manuscript and tells Hedda, she cannot wait to get her hands on it. Tesman has to go out again in a hurry and sets the stage for her revenge as Hedda says "I'll look after it for now" (1287). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next part of the plot is to get Eilert to commit suicide. Eilert feels as if his life is over anyway and that there is
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Approximate Word count = 813
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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