Hedda Gabler, Act 4 summary

What happens

1. Miss Tesman reports Rina’s peaceful death and says she hopes to find another sick person to care for.
2. Hedda admits burning Lovborg’s manuscript and claims she acts for Tesman’s sake; he takes this as proof of love.
3. Brack reports Lovborg’s shooting, while Mrs. Elvsted produces notes that she and Tesman begin organizing to reconstruct his book.
4. Privately, Brack reveals that Lovborg dies after a shooting at Mademoiselle Diana’s rooms, not through the noble act Hedda imagines.
5. Brack identifies Lovborg’s pistol as Hedda’s and makes her freedom from scandal depend on his silence.
6. Hedda withdraws behind the curtains, plays dance music, and shoots herself in the temple.

In this act

What to notice

Hedda recognizes that Brack’s silence controls her protection from scandal. Her rejection of this dependence drives the act’s final change.

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