Comparison of the protagonists of hedda gabler and sweat

The husband is oblivious the cause of his wife’s unhappiness as he is too interested in his to notice the young lady’s discontent. The feeling of discontent bring back the memories of her former lover (Eilert Lovberg) who is also an enthusiastic academician and an irresponsible man who cannot take control of his lust for alcohol. Events unfold and in the end, Eilert shoots himself using one Hedda’s pistols and Hedda, learning that she could be incriminated also shoots herself to finally be free from the guilt and her unhappy marriage. Similarly, Zora Neale Hurston weaves a play to demonstrate the plight of another young woman, who is also unhappy in her marriage. In the play “Sweat,” Zora creates and presents her protagonist, Delia, as a hard-working, religious, and loving woman who has endured domestic violence for fifteen years in marriage.

George Tesman had promised that had Hedda agreed to marry her she would be a woman of a high social standard. He offered the benefit of a beautiful villa for a home, her own horse and a footman. Compounding the benefits was the good income from a top government job that Mr Tesman was looking forward to ("Hedda Gabler: A Study Guide", 2018). Mrs Tesman fell for this but she knew that she had no affection for Mr Tesman. However, with the help of hindsight, we are able to see that she (Hedda) had used her striking beauty to get her way. In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat,” the protagonist’s relationship to power in her marriage is quite the opposite of the expectation. The playwright paints the picture of the protagonist as a very industrious lady earns her living as a cloth cleaner who works for the white people (because Dalia is a woman of colour).

It is out of her earnings that she pays for her house rent and feeds herself, of course with her husband. Her husband, on the other hand, does not provide for her neither does he pay for the bills. It would then be expected that she should be the voice of authority in the house. During that time Afro-American women were subjected to tough back-breaking works like tilling the land and washing of the clothes of the white people. She is, therefore, a slave woman only that she does reside away from her employer’s house and she is also not tied to a single employer. Like all slaves, her relationship to power is that of a master and the subject. The Role of Society in Shaping the Protagonists’ Psychology The two societies contexts within which Dalia and Hedda find themselves, however distinct play a major role in shaping the stories of the protagonist, their psychology and also their relation to power.

Just like our societies in the modern world shape the way we think and do things, the societies of Hedda and Dalia shaped their characters, way of thinking and the paths which their respective lives followed. The society in which Hedda (Mrs. Tesman) was bred also played a part in her death. The society did so in two way. The first way was through Judge Brack’s sexual advances toward Mrs Tesman. The judge enjoyed flirting with Mrs Tesman so much despite knowing that she was a married woman. In the end, she resorts to committing suicide since she could not cope with the pressure ("Hedda Gabler: A Study Guide", 2018). In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat,” the play is set in the United States slave era. The society, in this case, is one that respects the slave-master relationships that and expects women to be submissive to their husbands.

It also happens to be a religious society with Christianity as the dominant religion. It is also clear that the people there go to church on Sundays so they are either Roman Catholics or Protestants. Delia had never thought of retaliation but a time came when she could not bear this beating anymore. She threatened to hit him if he ever beat him again ("Analysis and Summary of “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston", 2018). Conclusion The two plays have been used to show the different problems that women face in marriages. The protagonists had different destinies despite the similarity in their plights. Ibsen brings out Hedda as a woman unhappy in her marriage who finally takes her life as she tries to flee her troubles. net/Guides3/Hedda. html Analysis and Summary of “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston.

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