THeiges+Heda+Gabler


 * This is a good thorough job of analysis. You have added too many references to the plot and story, as though I didn't know both, thus taking up space that may well have been devoted to exploring more of the production elements. It's fair, for example, to call attention to particular dramatic action that helps reveal a character's personality and tie that in with how a particular actor interprets the character thru voice and body. On the whole these diversions into the story and plot could have been reduced somewhat. **


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Thomas Heiges Hedda Gabler critiqe // Hedda Gabler // relates the tale of the titular character, the neurotic Hedda Tesman, her fall from her aristocratic origins as the daughter of the esteemed General Gabler, her search for power and control in a man’s world, and her poisonous influence upon the various men and women in her life. The production of Hedda Gabler produced in the Cellar Theatre at the fine arts center presents an unconventional interpretation of the 19th century play; it moves the action to a vaguely contemporary period and foregoes a realistic set in favor of more symbolic props and set pieces. This production of //Hedda Gabler// takes Ibsen’s realist play and turns it into a surreal abstract concept piece relying on representational props and evocative acting to convey the plot as opposed to a realistic set more reminiscent of the playwright’s original intentions; however the central themes of Hedda’s search for control over those around her and the destructive power of her neurosis remain in the forefront of this production.

At the onset of the work Hedda is described an initially portrayed as an arrogant high class woman who tends spend wildly and look down upon those of a lower social class, yet as the play develops she is revealed to be a cunning manipulator with somewhat psychotic goals. The first act of the play deals with the arrival of the newlywed Tesmans in their new home and their subsequent interactions with their various family friends and old schoolmates. Tesman, an academic of some small talent, recently married the daughter of the famous general Gabler before the play commences and their relationship demonstrates obvious strain from the onset. She resents physical intimacy with Tesman, tensing and wincing slightly when he touches her, yet uses her allure to manipulate both Tesman and their friend Judge Brack. Meanwhile, Tesman, who is consistently persuaded against his own desires by Hedda, is portrayed as somewhat of a timid man with a subservient nature; the actor is physically dominated by both Hedda and the more masculine Judge Brack, which helps to reinforce Hedda’s control over him in a visual manner. Through Tesman’s conversations with Aunt Julia, the audience comes to learn that Tesman is spending far beyond his means in order to please Hedda, who hails from an aristocratic family, such as purchasing the villa and his caving in to her demands for an extra piano and fine furniture. It is later revealed through Hedda’s conversations with Judge Brack that she forced Tesman to buy the house not out of actual love for it but instead made the comment upon a whim; she capriciously forces Tesman to purchase beyond his means out of a desire to exert control over his destiny. Her compulsion to manipulate and control events becomes one of the overriding themes of the piece. The actress portraying Hedda skillfully displayed the frustration Hedda feels when she lacks control through expressive body language and also convincingly played her as a masterful manipulator, using flirtatious body language and feigned kindness to direct the other characters in the play.

Hedda’s relationship and interactions with Tesman’s family provides an interesting view of her characters and helps to imply her relationship with her own father. The secondary characters of the piece, Berta and Aunt Julia, represent Tesman’s upbringing and lend insight to his character; the reason he is so subservient to Hedda could in part be due to the fact that he was raised in part by Aunt Julia, who is extremely independent for a woman of the time. Unfortunately the actresses who portray Aunt Julia, and Berta the family maid, did not give compelling performances. Julia’s actress wore a nose ring and did little to suggest her age beyond a dull accent, whilst Beta failed to project and remained a nonentity for much of the play, fading into the background of the set in all but a few scenes in which her character acts rather bizarrely.

Hedda demonstrates anxiety about fully integrating into Tesman’s family as evidenced by her refusal to call Aunt Julia by her given name, her snide remarks about Julia’s hat, and her refusal to go and sit with Tesman’s other aunt upon her deathbed; Ibsen likely named the play Hedda Gabler as opposed to Hedda Tesman to emphasize that the character prefers to be identified with her respected father as opposed to her comparatively unmanly husband. Indeed, Hedda’s connection to her father becomes an important theme within the play, demonstrated through her constant use of her father’s pistols and her desire to see Tesman enter politics and become an important man. Hedda’s greatest desire beyond power is freedom, which could explain her hesitance to have children and her dismay at Tesman pointing out that she appears to have “filled out” which would indicate pregnancy; Hedda views children as a chain around a woman’s ankle that would forever doom her to the life of a housewife. These desires for power and freedom are tempered by Hedda’s great fear of public scandal, which caused her to originally break things off with Eilert and marry Tesman. The fact that woman were prohibited from holding important positions and being independent in 19th century society fuels much of Hedda’s rage and need for control; she would rather pursue a path to political power herself, following in her father’s footsteps but her gender relegates her to the home and forces her to enter into a loveless marriage, on her part, with Tesman. The director’s decision to move the action of the play to the modern era, in which women do not have such restrictions, makes Hedda’s anger more confusing and ultimately robs depth from her character as her actions appear to be far less motivated. Indeed the move to the modern era makes much of the play seem illogical, such as the societal rejection of Mrs. Elvsted for leaving her husband for Eilert Lovborg, and Hedda’s claim to be burning a book when in fact she smashes a tablet.

Much of the conflict of the play stems from the return of Eilert Lovborg, a former rival of Tesman both in scholarly pursuits, and the pursuit of Hedda, to academia and his outshining of Tesman. While Tesman enjoys a friendly academic rivalry with Eilert, at the heart of it he has great admiration for the man’s work, whilst Hedda holds a deep anger for Eilert due to their emotional break up, and resents Thea Elvsted for having won his heart, and for being able to reform the notorious drunk when she could not. Hedda launches a plan to ruin Eilert and rob him of his new found success with Thea and in academia. The actor who portrays Eilert convincingly depicts a man whose life has been shattered by drunkenness, He shakes when offered alcohol, possess a thin constitution, and has been given the prematurely greying hair of a man who has lived life on the edge. Hedda describes her manipulations of Eilert as a desire to control a man’s destiny, and, although she is confident at first that Eilert will return to the wild drunken state she knew him in, stating he will have “vine leaves in his hair”, his life is destroyed by the liquor, losing his life’s work and Thea in the process. Hedda demonstrates her skill as a conniving manipulator with Eilert but consistently fails to achieve the outcome she seeks for him, initially wanting him to return to his drunken youth, and later to die in a glorious and noble fashion; he succeeds in neither task, instead dying in an accidental and ignominious way. These failures to control both her own destiny, and Eilerts drive Hedda to the dramatic suicide she commits at the climax of the play.

The character of Judge Brack plays an interesting role in the piece; he is a family friend ensnared by his affection for Hedda, but unlike Eilert and Tesman Brack retains his composure and never allows himself to fully fall under Hedda’s influence. Instead he seeks to bring her under his influence, as part of a triangle between her, Tesman and himself. Due to this desire, he resents the reentry of Eilert into Hedda’s life. Hedda at first seems to have some romantic interest in the Judge, but her inability to control him creates a growing frustration for her, as evidenced by her symbolically crumpling the playing card that had represented the Judge’s proposed triangle. Eventually the Judge gains the blackmail needed to gain control over Hedda when he deduces that she was complicit in Eilert’s suicide, supplying the pistol; he knows her greatest fear is a scandal and that this would compel her to serve him to avoid the knowledge of the pistol’s origin becoming public. The actor who portrays Brack was likely chosen due to his height and natural handsomeness; he physically dominates the other male characters and also appears more masculine. The costuming highlights his broad shoulders and stature, reinforcing this masculinity. He performs the Judge very subtly, sharing quick looks with Hedda and changing his manner depending who he is with smoothly in order to appear as a friend to everyone and achieve his own goals.

The set was sparsely furnished and constructed in an abstract way that called upon the audience to imagine much of it. The play was also moved to a contemporary time period, perhaps to allow the audience to better identify with the characters. However this departure from realism clashes with the script, which works to immerse the viewer in the world of the play, by removing the characters from the society that creates the motivations for many of the characters actions. For example Hedda’s inability to pursue an independent life makes no sense when removed from the constraints of 19th century society. The decision to have the characters sit around the stage instead of going backstage was interesting but didn’t really add anything to the production or reinforce any of the major themes. Furthermore, by furnishing the set in hanging silks and mirrors and forgoing any realistic set pieces, the production fails to emphasize the amount of money that Tesman has wasted upon Hedda. Additionally, the hanging busts of women, while perhaps intended to reinforce the critique of women’s suppression in society, fails to add anything substantive to the piece. Ultimately, while most of the actor’s did an admirable job on the piece and stayed true to Ibsen’s work, the director and set designer failed to impart anything meaningful with their unnecessary changes and were in fact a detriment to the show.