Ibsens Hedda Gabler Analysis

Hedda in the play is the protagonist and is represented as the tragic heroine. This is because, she is prompted by will, ignorance and confronted at the end with an irrefutable fate which leads to a sorrowful ending. Even though the tragic heroine may show other characteristics such as superiority, integrity among a host of other noble characteristics, Hedda, appears to be destined for failure because of a mistake she commits. Hedda in the play is a tragic heroine because, the theme of the play revolves around her emotions, reactions, actions, and sufferings. In the play, Hedda demonstrates the characteristics of a tragic heroine. She shows her total desperation for power and influence of her life to enable her to reflect power on other people. Furthermore, she is a greatly flawed character who makes unsuccessful attempts to manipulate people in an effort to try and negotiate her own weaknesses.

She suffers a tragic death which symbolizes her self-realization. Therefore, in her death, Hedder is a free spirit that cannot be controlled by the laws of a conventional society. Thus her suicide depicts her self-awareness and frees her from a flawed world. The psychological turmoil that the heroine undergoes seems to serve as a hindrance to her making any actual self-discovery concerning her life. Hedda character is not a depiction of the traditional heroine because she chooses to end her life because she is afraid of facing the consequences of her actions rather than the fact that she has gained self-realization from her mistakes. In the play’s context, it is clear that Hedda’s suicide is not a representation of a heroic or noble act. This is because, even though it becomes undeniably hard to sympathize and identify with the heroine, it is also extremely difficult to sympathize with her because of the circumstance she finds herself in.

Hedda is a manipulative, controlling and self-serving heroine who continuously lies to the people around her. Her suicide appears to be a desperate act since she feels that she may not be able to escape from a boring and disappointing life. She had come to realize that she was no longer in control. Eventually, she was faced with a decision that would finally determine the tragic core of the play. She had to decide if she would continue to influence the lives of other people or realize that her manipulative nature was fruitless. Even though Hedda is not an evil character, she has qualities of tragic heroine which result in her suffering as well as the reversal of fortune. She also proves this point when she liberates herself from the rules of the society.

Thus, in this theory, her death appears victorious. This is because she is able to prove that it is possible for one to have a noble death which leads her to confront her fear of scandals. There is nothing more of a scandal than an unplanned suicide. Conclusion Hedda is a tragic heroine who challenges the traditional representation of the heroine in the play. London: Duckworth, 1987. Ibsen, Henrik. Hedda Gabler: a play in four acts. The Floating Press, 2009.