How Does Hedda Walber Affect Society

It could be said that Hedda Galber was a victim of her environment and the time period in which she lived in. However she is clearly an amoral, manipulative, demeaning, and self-destructive person. She has no shortage of personality flaws, and her selfish ill willed acts during the play only make it harder to feel any sympathy for Hedda. She wants more than she can have, believing that marrying George Tesman would be the most convenient option for her at the time. It becomes quite inconvenient in the future for her own needs for a pampered and social life style she felt she was due. Hedda has no love for Tesman or anyone else that she encounters, only coming off as negative and cold. Repeatedly she verbally and physically does harm to others and finally to herself, she is her own undoing and is a woman of no redemption. Upon return from their six month honey moon/ research tour she is now living in a home that she did not even care for, but is now stuck with. Her list of demands is quite steady, along with her unwavering ability to not care. Having just spent a good portion of her new husband’s money
as well as his aunt’s money, she makes demands as if they are not falling into a financial pit hole. Given his occupation he is not as wealthy as she would like to consider herself, and this begins to weight on her as their marriage progresses. Towards the beginning of the play Hedda is dissatisfied with a piano in which Tesman responds “The first time I draw my salary, we’ll see about exchanging it.”(11) To which Hedda replys “ No, no – no exchanging it. I don’t want to part with it…” (11) She would rather move it and replace it with another one. But she does mention doing it when it is more convenient, but when her demands are not as easily met she becomes passive aggressive and mentally disturbed. Later she is less than understanding when she mentions the horse saddle she was supposedly promised, and says “I suppose I must not think of that now.” (23) Her Husband baffled responds “Good heavens, no! – that’s as clear as daylight” (23) since they are now in a tight financial situation that would be obviously out of the question. Hedda then attempts to make it clear to the aloof Tisman that she will keep herself occupied with something far more dangerous and intimidating, her guns. A hobby passed down to her by her father, one of the only things that give Hedda a sense of power in her world run by men. It could be asserted that this type of suppression is what contributed to her overall outlook on life and people, but ultimately she lacks any passion for anything constructive and positive. Given her situation she could have made the most of it, and worked with her husband to accomplish a goal. But instead she prefers to be indifferent and spiteful to her peers. She is quite jealous and resentful of her old class mate Mrs. Elvsted. Thea was able to have a hand in a man’s destiny and move him in ways that she is unable to. Loveborg has lost the manuscript and it is now in Hedda’s destructive grasp. Now that their “love child” is lost there is nothing left to their relationship, and he would rather let it go under than continue on without it. These chain of events set the stage for Hedda Gabbler to start taking the most abhorrent actions so far that will lead others and herself to demise. With the now desperate and emotionally shaken Loveborg she suggests that he kill himself with a gun, and to do it beautifully. And then presents to him the same gun that she once shot at him when they were past lovers. Following up with her terrible suggestion she continues along her destructive and hateful path of making sure to permanently eradicate what is left of their affair. She begins to burn the manuscript that they both poured their souls into, and Hedda receives the utmost delight and excitement from performing such a wicked deed. She says “Now I am burning your child, Thea! Burning it – Burning it, curly-locks! Your child and Eilert Loveborg’s. I am burning – I am burning your child.”(59) At this point in the play there is little to no sympathy for one such as Hedda Gabbler. She has taken peoples futures into her own hands for the worse, and is determined on making sure it is as devastating as possible for her own satisfaction. Eventually the play comes to a close with all of her actions coming back on her.
The judge is aware that she had a hand in the death of Loveborg, which puts her in a position of weakness and in Brack’s power. This is something that Hedda cannot cope with, knowing what fate the Judge has planned for her she comes to the conclusion that the only way out is the beautiful way out, a bullet to the head. Her final action is one of self- destruction, not only has she taken her own life but also the one of the baby growing inside of her conceived during their honey moon. It is a quick end to a woman who only brought misery and sadness to those around her. There is no justifying her actions, or having any sense of remorse that she had killed herself, the world has no place for such amoral behavior. And nothing good could ever come from it, so let nothing come from it at
all.