Hedda Gabler

by Henrik Ibsen

Overview

Hedda's married name is Hedda Tesman; Gabler is her maiden name. On the subject of the title, Ibsen wrote: "My intention in giving it this name was to indicate that Hedda as a personality is to be regarded rather as her father's daughter than her husband's wife." Hedda Gabler, daughter of an aristocratic general, has just returned to her villa in Kristiania (now Oslo) from her honeymoon.

Her husband is Jørgen Tesman, an aspiring, young, reliable (but not brilliant) academic who has combined research with their honeymoon. It becomes clear in the course of the play that she has never loved him but has married him for reasons pertaining to the boring nature of her life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781515427773
Publisher:	Wilder Publications
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

The Plays for Performance series is edited by Nicholas Rudall, former artistic director of the Court Theatre at the University of Chicago where he is professor of classics, and Bernard Sahlins, founder and director of the Second City. They both live in Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

	Henrik Ibsen: 1828-1906	iv
	Plot	xi
	Commentary
	The biographical and historical context	xxiii
	The geographical and stage environment	xxxiii
	The relationships
	Hedda and Tesman	xlvi
	Hedda and Brack	lii
	Hedda and Loevborg	lvi
	Conclusion	lx
	Hedda Gabler in context	lxv
	Hedda Gabler on stage	lxix
	Further Reading	lxxviii
	Hedda Gabler	1
	Note on the Translation	105
	Notes	106

Editorial Reviews

...stunning...amazingly contemporary in its considerations of the purpose of life, of the preservation of dignity and integrity...the big issues people don't dare to think about. And here is a staging that does not turn away...

NY Times

...by far the best play of the season...HEDDA GABLER has so many layers. The tragedy plays upon the irony, which acts upon fully drawn characters to make up a thoroughly modern work...You won't see a better production of this fascinating play...

Connecticut Post

When Henrik Ibsen...wrote HEDDA GABLER 110 years ago, a woman's place in society was far different from what it is today. The fact that this psychological drama plays as well now as it did a century ago is apt tribute to the sheer genius of the playwright.

The Record-Journal

The production of an Ibsen play impels the inquiry, What is the province of art? If it be to elevate and refine, as we have hitherto humbly supposed, most certainly it cannot be said that the works of Ibsen have the faintest claim to be artistic. We see no ground on which his method is defensible...Things rank and gross in nature alone have place in the mean and sordid philosophy of Ibsen.” —Excerpt from an original review, 1890s, Saturday Morning Review

From the Publisher

It can take a moment to get accustomed to any full-cast audio performance—the varied voices interact at breakneck speed, and pacing that works on the stage sometimes gives a listener pause. In this audio performance, however, once the adjustment is made, the experience is rewarding. Here, Ibsen's play is in full dramatic effect, with Hedda raving and her husband jauntily oblivious as the intrigue of a marriage with a past plays out in our ears. Some performers do amp up their deliveries and stand out starkly as a result, but the key players are effective in portraying the range of emotions explored. This production is a great introduction to classic stage performances and keeps the listener engaged to the surprise ending. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile

It can take a moment to get accustomed to any full-cast audio performance—the varied voices interact at breakneck speed, and pacing that works on the stage sometimes gives a listener pause. In this audio performance, however, once the adjustment is made, the experience is rewarding. Here, Ibsen's play is in full dramatic effect, with Hedda raving and her husband jauntily oblivious as the intrigue of a marriage with a past plays out in our ears. Some performers do amp up their deliveries and stand out starkly as a result, but the key players are effective in portraying the range of emotions explored. This production is a great introduction to classic stage performances and keeps the listener engaged to the surprise ending. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2020 - AudioFile