Summary:

     Today, we finished Daisy Miller comparing and contrasting Daisy to the other prominent women that we have read about. We started off by describing the relationships between the women and their men. We decided that they were all strong-willed however, as we continued to discuss them, we realized that the women that we labeled as naive were more stubborn rather than strong-willed. The women who were clever and full of metis were successful (Athena, Penelope, Medea) and the women now deemed stubborn were unsuccessful (Eve, Sita, Daisy).

     Ibsen's Hedda Gabler is responsible for to opening literature to the new genre of Realistic drama. Hedda becomes a part of a Bourgeois family through her marriage to Doctor Tesman. Tesman tries his hardest to provide his new wife with the luxuries that she had before her marriage. He furnishes the entire living room to an upscale, expensive setup in which she is not grateful in the least. There is a contrast between the lifestyle of George and Hedda. Miss Tesman (Aunt Julia) even wonders why Hedda wants to use the fancy parlor, that she would only use for special occasions.

     Hedda has control issues. She wants and needs to control other people. She gets bored and wants and tries to control her husband which falls through because she decides that he is a worthless limp noodle. She moves on to trying to control Thea Elvsted because Hedda notices that she has control over Lovborg. Hedda used to have this control and wants it back so she convinces him to drink and destroys the trust that Lovborg has for Thea and the control that she had over him.

     Furthermore, the different aspects of Realism were discussed and how they were seen in Hedda Gabler.

Word Count: 275

Passages:

Page 3 

Miss Tesman.  "But bless me, Berta - why have you done this?  Taken the chintz covers off all the furniture?

Berta.  "The mistress told me to.  She can't abide covers on the chairs, she says."

Miss Tesman. "Are they going to make this their everyday sitting-room then?"

Berta. "Yes, that's what I understood - from the mistress.  Master George - the doctor - he said nothing." 

This passage shows Miss Tesman and Berta conversing about how Hedda wants to make the dining room their everyday sitting room.  This furthers the point that Hedda is an aristocrat and demands an upscale life.  The Tesman's are from the middle class and are very bourgeois, and this is why Miss Tesman cannot understand why Hedda wants the covers off the furniture.  Actually, the whole setting is a symbol of the wealth that Hedda wants from George.

Page 11 

Tesman (after a pause). "Is there anything the matter with you, Hedda? Eh?"

Hedda. "I'm only looking at my old piano. It doesn't go at all well with all the other things."

Tesman. "The first time I draw my salary, we'll see about exchanging it."

Hedda. "No, no - no exchanging. I don't want to part with it. Suppose we put it there in the inner room, and then get another here in its place. When it's convenient, I mean."

Tesman (a little taken aback). "Yes - of course we could do that."

This is another example of high-class versus middle-class.  Hedda's first instinct is to get a new piano rather than just exchange one with the old one.  Tesman is taken aback from this demand, but as always, he abides.  Hedda comes from an upscale lifestyle, especially because she is a general's daughter.  This point is furthered by the title of the play, Hedda Gabler, which uses her previous last name rather than her present one.  This is to show that as a personality, Hedda should be regarded as her father's daughter rather than her husband's wife.  Hence, she is regarded as an aristocrat rather than a bourgeois.

Page 45

Mrs. Elvsted. "You have some hidden motive in this, Hedda!"

Hedda. "Yes, I have. I want for once in my life to have power to mould a human destiny."

This passage answers one of the big questions concerning the play; why does Hedda do what she does."  Here Mrs. Elvsted accuses Hedda of trying to get Lovbork to start drinking again, although she does not know the reason.  Hedda responds that she wants to have the power to control a "human destiny."  Being a women in a time period that did not give many rights to females, she wants to make her own mark by influencing someone else.  She tells Lovbork that Mrs. Elvsted does not trust him and that the other men think he is a weak man.  Hedda tries to mould others in the play to her own advantage as well, such as her husband George.

Terms:

Realism- life as it really is, showing things as they are, objective with satirical commentary, involves representative types, normal people, larger community/society, uses colloquial language. there is grittiness in the way Hedda acts and talks.

Romantic-highly subjective viewpoint (i.e. one person's point of view of the entire world--a solitary genius).

Bourgeois- middle class, has a negative connotation, and sometimes is associated with trying too hard.