A spider becomes caught in it's own web. This is an example of an attempted
manipulation that went awry. Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen, is a work about a woman
who manipulates the fates of others in order to fulfill her own wishes. The title character
is a woman who has recently returned from a six month "honeymoon" with her groom,
Tesman, a man whom she does not love. She strives for freedom, but she feels as if she
cannot leave her marriage. To occupy her time, she manipulates the lives of everyone
around her. Hedda kills herself after becoming engorged in her own manipulations.
Through the use of theme, setting, and then-current affairs, the play produces a work that
uniquely portrays the sources of the motivations of this manipulative woman.
Whether it be the burning of her former love's manuscript or supplying him with
the pistol to shoot himself, Hedda's indignity shows the ability of man to have total
disregard for the life of another. Hedda coldly manipulates the lives of everyone around
her. Through these exploitive actions, she ruins the lives of all of her colleagues. Because
she is not happy in her marriage, she attempts to forbid anyone else to live a content life.
For example, after she persuades Eljert Lövborg to consume alcohol, he ruins his
reputation and loses something that is most precious to him: the manuscript of a book
that he had been writing with Mrs. Elvsted. Although Hedda realizes the importance of
this manuscript to both Lövborg and Mrs. Elvsted, she lights it on fire and it burns.
Because Lövborg and Mrs. Elvsted have put their souls into this manuscript, Hedda
metaphorically relates her action to burning their child. This cold thoughtlessness
demonstrates Hedda's disregard for the life of a fellow human being.
Hedda's actions ultimately lead to her demise. After giving Lövborg her pistol ...