Cover of Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler

  • Free to read
  • 2 hours to read
  • 5 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"Hedda Gabler" by Henrik Ibsen is a play written in 1890 and premiered in 1891. It dramatizes the story of Hedda, a general's daughter trapped in a loveless marriage and desperate for control over her own life. When her husband's academic rival—a former lover—reappears with his rehabilitated life and brilliant manuscript, Hedda's jealousy and manipulations set tragic events in motion. As she schemes to influence the fates of those around her, she finds herself increasingly cornered by circumstances and a sinister family friend who threatens her freedom.

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  • Man-woman relationships
  • Women · Social conditions
  • Identity (Psychology)
  • Norwegian drama · Translations into English

Read the opening

Act First

A spacious, handsome, and tastefully furnished drawing room,
decorated in dark colours. In the back, a wide doorway with
curtains drawn back, leading into a smaller room decorated
in the same style as the drawing-room. In the right-hand
wall of the front room, a folding door leading out to the
hall. In the opposite wall, on the left, a glass door, also
with curtains drawn back. Through the panes can be seen
part of a verandah outside, and trees covered with autumn
foliage. An oval table, with a cover on it, and surrounded
by chairs, stands well forward. In front, by the wall on
the right, a wide stove of dark porcelain, a high-backed
arm-chair, a cushioned foot-rest, and two footstools. A
settee, with a small round table in front of it, fills the
upper right-hand corner. In front, on the left, a little
way from the wall, a sofa. Further back than the glass
door, a piano. On either side of the doorway at the back
a whatnot with terra-cotta and majolica ornaments.—
Against the back wall of the inner room a sofa, with a
table, and one or two chairs. Over the sofa hangs the
portrait of a handsome elderly man in a General's uniform.
Over the table a hanging lamp, with an opal glass shade.—A
number of bouquets are arranged about the drawing-room, in
vases and glasses. Others lie upon the tables. The floors
in both rooms are covered with thick carpets.—Morning light.
The sun shines in through the glass door.

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Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Act First
  3. Act Second
  4. Act Third
  5. Act Fourth

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About this edition

This free edition of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #4093, released 2003-05-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Plays/Films/Dramas.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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