Hedda Gabler Women's Dreams in Victorian Times

Women's Dreams in Victorian Times

        Hedda Gabler a feminist trap in Victorian times, hating the rules and regulations of the society that she was living in and envied the ones that didn't follow those rules and were free to be in control of their own lives.  During Victorian times women didn't have many rights and they were push to do what society expected from them, women were supposed to stay at home, and be a "servant" for his husband and have and raise his children. She is constantly at a cross roads between her desire of freedom and her conservative standards of social appearance. She is Hedda Tesman for society but she want to be Hedda Gabler, an independent women taking her own decisions.

        The whole play setting is in Hedda home, or should I say, Tesman's house, his husband bought this house for her, thinking that this would make her happy. Hedda see this house as a jail, as a house that she cannot get out off. She can't escape the fact that is Tesman house, and she also, according to society, belong to Tesman which Hedda hates.

        At the beginning of the play, Tesman ant talked about Hedda being pregnant, but she tried to avoid the conversation, clearly upset when the subject was brought up by someone. She don't want to face another responsibility or expectation of being controlled by something else, “Quiet! You'll never see anything like that… I don't have any talent for that, Judge. I don't want anything to do with that kind of calling” (1507). She is in denial, disgusted about being pregnant by her husband.

        Throughout the play Hedda fights with Thea for control over Lovborg, it seems that both Hedda and Thea are in love with Lovborg, but Thea had the courage to leave her husband to try to reform this former alcoholic to have a relationship with him. Hedda resents this because Thea had the courage to leave the husband that she was not happy with, and ignore what society expect from her "if you could only understand how destitute i am while you get to be so rich."(1517). Hedda is a feminist only inside Tesman's house, because she is extremely scare of scandals and becoming the gossip of the town, she is tied with his conservative values.

        Judge Brack know this fear of scandal, and when Hedda manipulate Lovborg to shoot himself, he was depressed because he thought that his manuscript, his child, was lost. She did this to feel powerful herself  but at the end back fires her. She make the mistake of giving Lovborg her gun, Judge Brack find out about this and explains to her that the pistol can be traced back to her, he try to blackmail her by using her fear of scandal, "Oh, yes, a scandal. Just what you are so desperately afraid of. You'd have to appear in court, naturally."(1537) but she got "nothing to worry about as long as I keep quiet"(1537). After all her efforts at manipulating the world around her to become a free person she realizes that she would be at the judge mercy, "totally subject to your demands-- And your will. Not free. Not free at all. No, thats one thought I just can't stand. Never!"(1537).