Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen is an influential and moving play which pushed the boundaries of societal roles in a way that many playwrights of Ibsen’s times had not yet been tested. Through use of irony, imagery, and symbolism, Ibsen portrays the struggle that females encounter when trying to find their place in a patriarchal society through the illusion of control seen in Hedda Gabler.
Hedda’s illusion of control is a constant theme seen throughout the play and it is of great importance to view this from a historical point of view to fully understanding how Ibsen develops this idea. During the 19th century, women’s roles in society were highly restricted due to unequal rights and a patriarcally run society. This primarily limited women to …show more content…
Ibsen portrays this through the irony of them. Pistols in literature are a phallic symbol, and it is also important that these pistols were inherited by Hedda from her father which only begins the irony of the situation. By Hedda giving Lovborg the pistol she feels that she has essentially gained control over his life and in a way has overcome the patriarchal grip of society that she has been battling throughout the play. The ironic part of this is that since they are a phallic symbol it is essentially a male symbol taking Lovborg’s life and not a yonic one. This symbolizes how Hedda was symbolically not responsible for Lovborg’s death, but instead her father’s pistols were. Ibsen does this to show how Hedda believes the illusion of control over Lovborg, but it is indeed false. Ibsen reiterates this idea of Hedda actually lacking control when Judge Brack tells Hedda of Lovborgs cause of death was “with a pistol in his breast pocket, discharged. The ball had lodged…in the bowels” (Ibsen 315-316). The imagery of this is Ibsen’s way of showing Hedda’s failed attempt. This is known because she failed with her plan to have him kill himself beautifully and by her instructions because Judge Brack says “Eilert Lovborg did shoot himself-voluntarily” (Ibsen 312). This symbolizes how Hedda truly lacked any control at all in his death and again puts her back under total control of patriarchy. Ibsen portrays this in the …show more content…
Here again Ibsen uses irony through the symbolism of the pistols and also through stage settings. As stated earlier the guns are a phallic symbol and were given to her by her father. By killing herself with the pistol it ultimately shows that a symbol of a man killed her which essentially takes the feminine power of choice away. The imagery stage setting also plays a huge role because the back room which she was found dead in (on the couch specifically) had a symbol of her father in it. “Over the sofa hangs the portrait of a handsome elderly man in a general uniform” (Ibsen 20). Ibsen uses this imagery to illustrate again the control that men still had over her up until the end. This can be seen through the placement of the portrait of her father, which hangs above the couch she died on because it is symbolic of how men still were “above” and “controlling” of
Hedda’s illusion of control is a constant theme seen throughout the play and it is of great importance to view this from a historical point of view to fully understanding how Ibsen develops this idea. During the 19th century, women’s roles in society were highly restricted due to unequal rights and a patriarcally run society. This primarily limited women to …show more content…
Ibsen portrays this through the irony of them. Pistols in literature are a phallic symbol, and it is also important that these pistols were inherited by Hedda from her father which only begins the irony of the situation. By Hedda giving Lovborg the pistol she feels that she has essentially gained control over his life and in a way has overcome the patriarchal grip of society that she has been battling throughout the play. The ironic part of this is that since they are a phallic symbol it is essentially a male symbol taking Lovborg’s life and not a yonic one. This symbolizes how Hedda was symbolically not responsible for Lovborg’s death, but instead her father’s pistols were. Ibsen does this to show how Hedda believes the illusion of control over Lovborg, but it is indeed false. Ibsen reiterates this idea of Hedda actually lacking control when Judge Brack tells Hedda of Lovborgs cause of death was “with a pistol in his breast pocket, discharged. The ball had lodged…in the bowels” (Ibsen 315-316). The imagery of this is Ibsen’s way of showing Hedda’s failed attempt. This is known because she failed with her plan to have him kill himself beautifully and by her instructions because Judge Brack says “Eilert Lovborg did shoot himself-voluntarily” (Ibsen 312). This symbolizes how Hedda truly lacked any control at all in his death and again puts her back under total control of patriarchy. Ibsen portrays this in the …show more content…
Here again Ibsen uses irony through the symbolism of the pistols and also through stage settings. As stated earlier the guns are a phallic symbol and were given to her by her father. By killing herself with the pistol it ultimately shows that a symbol of a man killed her which essentially takes the feminine power of choice away. The imagery stage setting also plays a huge role because the back room which she was found dead in (on the couch specifically) had a symbol of her father in it. “Over the sofa hangs the portrait of a handsome elderly man in a general uniform” (Ibsen 20). Ibsen uses this imagery to illustrate again the control that men still had over her up until the end. This can be seen through the placement of the portrait of her father, which hangs above the couch she died on because it is symbolic of how men still were “above” and “controlling” of