An analysis of the significance of a minor character, Judge Brack, in Hedda Gabler by
Henrik Ibsen
The play Hedda Gabler written by the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen in 1890 involves the main character Hedda who is impulsive and manipulating. Hedda just recently married George Tesman, and when the return from their honeymoon an old friend of Hedda’s shows up; Eilert Loevborg. One of the Tesmans’ good friends Judge Brack is just as manipulative as Hedda, and he seeks power over people so he can control them.
The significance of Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler is conveyed through him flirting with Hedda, having power over Hedda, their past, and him being a friend of the family.
Judge Brack is flirting with Hedda throughout the play. Brack’s flirting …show more content…
Brack is being very ironic when he says ‘who knows what I might be up to?’, since he is clearly up to something; he wants power over Hedda. This is also one of the characteristics of Ibsen’s language; he expresses his visions through dialogue and the characters behaviour. In Hedda Gabler the characters often ask rhetorical questions, no real answer is expected and the questioner knows the answer already. Rhetorical questions are a style of impressive persuasive devices, which the writer has chosen, to emphasize a point. When Loevborg shoots himself, and Brack sees his body, and next to it there is laying one of Hedda’s duelling pistols, then Brack knows that Hedda has something to do with it. Brack now has this power over her, because what might happen to Hedda if Brack tells the police or anyone else for that matter that the pistol is Hedda’s. So now Hedda is …show more content…
Brack is also the person, who brings information to the Tesmans, thus he can chose how he wants to tell this information. He is the one to inform them about Loevborg’s death, and he first tells half of the story, and then he later tells the whole true story to Hedda. Furthermore Brack and Hedda have a past, thus Brack knows that Hedda’s father gave her two duelling pistols, so when Brack sees one of these pistols next to Loevborg’s dead body, Brack knows Hedda gave it to Loevborg. This gives Brack power over Hedda, and Hedda experiences anagnorisis when she realizes she will never truly be free. This pushes Hedda even further to commit suicide, because she does not want to be in Brack’s power and dependent on his will and demands. So he is significant because he finally gets this power over Hedda, which pushes Hedda to kill
Henrik Ibsen
The play Hedda Gabler written by the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen in 1890 involves the main character Hedda who is impulsive and manipulating. Hedda just recently married George Tesman, and when the return from their honeymoon an old friend of Hedda’s shows up; Eilert Loevborg. One of the Tesmans’ good friends Judge Brack is just as manipulative as Hedda, and he seeks power over people so he can control them.
The significance of Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler is conveyed through him flirting with Hedda, having power over Hedda, their past, and him being a friend of the family.
Judge Brack is flirting with Hedda throughout the play. Brack’s flirting …show more content…
Brack is being very ironic when he says ‘who knows what I might be up to?’, since he is clearly up to something; he wants power over Hedda. This is also one of the characteristics of Ibsen’s language; he expresses his visions through dialogue and the characters behaviour. In Hedda Gabler the characters often ask rhetorical questions, no real answer is expected and the questioner knows the answer already. Rhetorical questions are a style of impressive persuasive devices, which the writer has chosen, to emphasize a point. When Loevborg shoots himself, and Brack sees his body, and next to it there is laying one of Hedda’s duelling pistols, then Brack knows that Hedda has something to do with it. Brack now has this power over her, because what might happen to Hedda if Brack tells the police or anyone else for that matter that the pistol is Hedda’s. So now Hedda is …show more content…
Brack is also the person, who brings information to the Tesmans, thus he can chose how he wants to tell this information. He is the one to inform them about Loevborg’s death, and he first tells half of the story, and then he later tells the whole true story to Hedda. Furthermore Brack and Hedda have a past, thus Brack knows that Hedda’s father gave her two duelling pistols, so when Brack sees one of these pistols next to Loevborg’s dead body, Brack knows Hedda gave it to Loevborg. This gives Brack power over Hedda, and Hedda experiences anagnorisis when she realizes she will never truly be free. This pushes Hedda even further to commit suicide, because she does not want to be in Brack’s power and dependent on his will and demands. So he is significant because he finally gets this power over Hedda, which pushes Hedda to kill