The play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen centers on a woman named Hedda, the daughter of General Gabler, married to George Tesman – a person middle class. In the play, Ibsen described the setting in a way that makes it very distinctive: the rooms are shown dark, with the curtains drawn, and above the sofa hangs a large portrait of General Gabler. Ibsen used these props and stage directions in the play as symbols that help us develop a much deeper understanding of the plot itself as well as the main character of Hedda. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayWhat strikes the reader and audience of the play from the very first act is Hedda's apparent love for the “darkness” – both literal and figurative. . The settings begin with descriptions of the rooms: “a tastefully appointed reception room, decorated in dark colors” (167) and “lower right is a large dark porcelain stove” (167), which introduce the dark appearance of the room. play. Almost as soon as Hedda first appears in the room, she remarks, “Ugh…the maid came and opened the porch door. The place is flooded with sunlight” (176). Then she asks Tesman to close the windows. Every time she opens a curtain, it is mentioned that she closes it, reinforcing the idea of ​​her "loving" darkness. Another thing that becomes evident is his aversion to flowers, or at least those brought by Miss Tesman. In another translation available on Gutenberg, Hedda says, "Yes, we must certainly have fresh air, with all these piles of flowers," a remark that obviously seems to be a sarcastic comment. Later, in Act 2, she tells Judge Brack that these flowers have “the smell of death” (208). These constant references to her disliking of light and flowers – which closely evoke with them an image of life and happiness – give us the feeling that Hedda has an inherent aversion to life.[1] This interpretation is also supported by the fact that death remains a constant theme in the play, and also by the fact that Hedda embraces death; which can be seen clearly on several occasions, she speaks of death as something beautiful rather than tragic – as if she is not stopping Lovborg's suicidal thoughts, but rather encouraging him by giving him one of her guns and asking for the last favor to make his death “beautiful”. Flowers somehow represent happiness - or rather life - and Hedda's dislike of them represents her dislike of life - and the fact that she could choose to be unhappy by not doing what she does. 'she really wants to. Another accessory, which seems to have the most The portrait of General Gabler hanging on the wall had a significant impact on the room. Although the general is not physically present in the room, the portrait signifies his importance and also seems to remind Hedda to stand up for her values, rather than doing something that could ruin her reputation.[2] There are many occasions where Hedda's relationship with her father has been brought up, talking about how they spent a lot of time together when she was a child, and this could be a reason why the general was so great and influential than him. Because her father's values ​​rub off on her, it seems that she represses her desire to "be free" in order to conform to what is expected of her; have a husband, a good house and a good financial situation, etc. These repressed desires seem to cause frustration within herself, whichtranslated into a manipulative attitude. This also serves as the basis for why she married Tesman, even though it's obvious she never wanted to. The repression of her emotions can be most clearly seen in the fact that she obviously wanted to be with Lovborg, but this would come at the expense of her reputation, which causes jealousy as Lovborg is now with the woman she seems to despise most – Thea.Hedda couldn't be with Lovborg, and she didn't want anyone else to be too, so she did what she did best: tried to take control of him and destroy the relationship , and finally, him. Thus, the portrait of the General signifies Hedda's need to conform to her values ​​and clearly explains her manipulative attitude. Another interesting thing is the interpretation of the stage directions of the play. Many directors of the play have described the portrait as being extremely large and rather striking to the viewer's eye, and although this has several implications of its own, it begins to appear romanticized. Ibsen's depiction of the portrait as a full-sized portrait – something that could actually be found in a real house – makes the idea that the general has an impact on the play much more believable and realistic. Ibsen once wrote in a letter: “The title of the play is Hedda Gabler. My intention in giving her this name was to indicate that Hedda as a personality should be seen more as her father's daughter than as her husband's wife. »[3] This clearly shows the importance of the portrait as depicted by Ibsen himself, since the portrait was the only way to show that General Gabler was indeed a very important element of the play, symbolically overseeing all the house events. Another important motif in the play is the set of guns given to Hedda by her father. Not only do they signify the fact that she is the general's daughter, but they also illustrate Hedda's divergence from traditional feminine values ​​and interests.[4] Guns were a symbol of power, and their simple possession made Hedda feel powerful, which is inconsistent with Hedda's manipulative attitude. Another interesting interpretation I found on the same source is that just as Hedda views these very dangerous weapons as toys, her manipulative nature – which leads to Lovborg's death as well as her own – is just another source of amusement for her, and another way for her to seek the power she so desires. As the acts progress, the symbolic representation of power through the guns begins to become more evident. From the first act, Hedda has the guns with her and at the same time tries to take control of everyone. By the end of Act 3, she managed to take control of everyone and even exerted it by trying to break up Thea and Lovborg's relationship. But as soon as she gives her gun to Lovborg, she symbolically gives up her power, because the discovery of Hedda's gun with Lovborg is what allows Judge Brack to blackmail her. Hedda uses the rest of her power – the other gun – to kill herself, because she doesn't want anyone else to have control over her. It is the general and his values, as well as the guns of course, that she tries so hard to defend, that lead to her own demise. Overall, Ibsen used the props as well as the settings in the play brilliantly, depicting the props as having both physical and symbolic importance. The stagings have been successfully described and interpreted by most of the directors, thus allowing the spectator to>