Who Hedda Gabler is
Hedda Gabler is proud, restless and bored with the respectable married life she has chosen. Her husband, Jørgen Tesman, is a gentle, hardworking scholar who does not recognise her unhappiness. The play's title uses her maiden name, keeping her identity as General Gabler's daughter in view.
What Hedda Gabler wants
Hedda wants beauty, freedom and the power to shape another person's life. Yet she dreads gossip, ridicule and pity, so her desire for freedom meets her own resistance. Unable to act openly for herself, she tries to influence the choices of people around her.
Hedda Gabler and the others in the story
Thea Elvsted, an old schoolfellow whom Hedda once bullied, has helped the gifted writer Eilert Løvborg give up drink. Hedda envies Thea's influence over him and remembers her own earlier, private conversations with Løvborg. Their renewed acquaintance gives her a chance to test how much power she still holds.
Judge Brack is a worldly family friend who hopes to become very close to Hedda. He recognises her fear of scandal and begins to see how he might use it.
Questions
Who is Hedda Gabler's husband?
Her husband is Jørgen Tesman, a kind scholar who hopes to gain a university professorship.
Why is she called Hedda Gabler rather than Tesman?
Gabler is her father's name and her maiden name. The title presents her as her father's daughter rather than chiefly as Tesman's wife.
Is Hedda Gabler cruel?
Hedda can be cruel, especially when she tries to control others. Her loneliness and frustration help explain her behaviour without removing the harm it can cause.