A character sketch of Hedda in the book "Hedda Gabler"

Essay by oesiCollege, Undergraduate March 2005

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Hedda Gabler could be considered the main character in the play "Hedda Gabler". In the story of "Hedda Gabler," Henrik Ibsen's shows how people's sadness can be the cause of a woman's happiness. Hedda Gabler struggles in this story to find happiness by making the people around her miserable. Her longing to be loved ruins the lives of everyone around her. Hedda's yearning for attention causes her to make Mrs. Elvsted life miserable, ruin Eilert Loevberg and George Teasman's dreams, and eventually committing suicide.

In the story of Hedda Gabler, Hedda is portrayed as a powerful, manipulative, over-powering character. Her need to dominate is easily seen through her odd relationships involving her husband George Tesman, Judge Black, Eilert Loevborg, and even her childhood friend Mrs. Elvsted. The story begins with Tesman's Aunt Juliana visiting the newlywed's house. Hedda is insulting and cruel to Aunt Juliana.

She rejects his proposals to be nicer to his aunt from her husband. Hedda proceeds later in the story to form close personal bonds with Tesman's friends, Judge Black and Eilert Loevborg, and in a bizarre way, considers this cheating on Tesman.

Hedda was not truly in love with her husband. She found her husband live boring. She tells the Judge "He thinks life has nothing better to offer than rooting around in libraries and copying old pieces of parchment". She didn't like the lifestyle of her husband. Hedda gets pleasure out of torturing Mrs. Elvsted. She makes sure that Mrs. Elvsted is not happy because Mrs. Elvsted is in love with Eilert Loevberg, Hedda's past love. Hedda wanted to share her life with Eilert, but since she couldn't, she decided to ruin his life and everyone around him. She knew how the most important thing in Eilert's life...