Hedda Gabler has married on a whim and is now bored out of her mind. She escapes that boredom by manipulating the people around her, especially those who have loved her in the past.

After reading and loving A Doll’s House last fall, I thought I’d read Ibsen’s other famous play that many people have loved. Unfortunately, this one didn’t capture me nearly as much as A Doll’s House. It was very well written, but I couldn’t stand Hedda. Perhaps I’m not supposed to, but I get the feeling that once she’s exposed a little, I’m supposed to feel sorry for her and I don’t, not one bit. She’s mean, vindictive, arrogant, and snarky. What I did like about the play was the idea that a manuscript can be so beautiful and important to a person that their life becomes dependent on it. In a way, it was reminiscent of The Picture of Dorian Gray and the way Basil talks about his masterpiece painting. Being a writer myself, I know what it feels like to lose work, irretrievably, and the situation in Hedda Gabler is worse than just loss. It’s annihilation, and the despair involved was one I could feel intensely.