In honor of the upcoming CAPT . . .
What does this play say about people in general? In what ways does it remind you of people you have known or experiences you have had? You may also write about stories or books you have read, or movies, works of art, or television programs you have seen. Use examples from the play to explain your thinking.
(You may adapt this to either of the Ibsen plays. Also, please don't feel the need to write a page-long response. Make your point(s) clearly and succinctly.)
10 comments:
first of all EW! CAPT is gross. but Hedda's character in the play is so disturbing. she is the typical manipulative snob who seems to pity herself for having to marry george. also she's one of those girls who got pregnant without really wanting to, most likely george wanted a child, but it's obvious hedda is the irresponsible rich girl with no clue whatsoever as to what hard work and responsibility is. and that's everything that a child needs, especially a newborn. this is kinda like nora in ibsen's other play, the doll house. she's also an irresponsible and child of a mother. more babies having babies, it's an observation of society and it's sad that we see it so often in our world today.
The play Hedda Gabler expresses many qualities in people that may not be adored but they are qualities that are seen in everyday life. For example, Hedda is a spoiled brat who will go stark raving mad inside if she doesn't get attention. In soceity today people do crazy things to get the attention of others. The want for attention relates to the Great Gatsby. Daisy craved for the best in life just as Hedda did and both were a little cynnical at times. Hedda doesn't care who she hurts in the process it's all about her happiness. She feels trapped in the life that she is living and unfortunatly only discovers one way to deal with it. She also presents manly characteristics as she does what lovborg was incapable of doing when she shot herself in the temple. She needs this sense of power and that is very common in life. However, the need for power can be the biggest downfall of all.
In A Doll House Nora forging her father's signature out of "love" and compassion for her husband really came across to me as a plea for attention and the chance to be the one in control. Now adays it seems as though no one does anything just for the good, or for the benefit of others, in some way it boosts them. Although Nora had to keep the forgery and the whole borrowing a secret from her husband she couldn't stop herself from sharing it with both Mrs. Linde and Dr. Rank. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. In the Homily the priest reiterated what Jesus told the people in his gospel: don't let one hand know what the other is doing. If you're fasting there's no reason you should walk around looking forlorn and sickly, take it in stride- don't do it to get the sympathy and attention from others. Nora seemed to be more interested in having the chance to be in chrage of the fate of her family and be "the man" than consider the repurcussions of her actions, however minutely illegal they were. If she had truly done it just for her husband's sake and not at all for her own desirings...she wouldn't have been so compelled to pour out the secret to either Rank or Linde. She sort of revelled in both of their reactions to her confession- which is what happens sadly frequently now. People will do things (bad and good) solely for the reaction of others. People don't care what kind of attention they get, positive or negative, they just want it.
Let me start off by saying how excited i am to be a senior and not have to take CAPT yay! Anyways, The Doll House really represents the stereotypes between men and women. Torvald believes that Nora's only job is to stay home and take care of him and their children. However, Nora wants to go out and learn things for herself in the real world. This absolutely horrifies Torvald because he can't imagine a women doing anything else but cooking, cleaning, and doing every little thing her husband asks her to. Although some men may try to stick to these old stereotpyes, in today's world women have gained many more rights. More and more men are even becoming stay at home dads. It's not out of the ordinary to see the roles that Torvald believed in compeletely switched in today's society. Nowadays gender roles are not so prominent as they were 100 years ago.
Both plays say that people are selfish. (wow this may be good to use on the test monday :0) All play long we hate the female characters. Nora whines the ENTIRE play. she is far from simple, but far from liked as well. We see her deceiving her husband (for his sake she says) and suddenly she is not as weak as we thought...although she still allows her husband to control her through money and calling her childish names. Then finally when we actually see the first act of taking control in the end, it is to leave her children! Are you kidding me?! That's how yo're going to make your life better - hurting them? She is soooo selfish. People can say all they want that she left for the "good of her chidren." that is what people make up to feel better. having a nanny is different than not having a mother. and having a nanny does not make up for spending time with your kids (for example if someone is ignoring their kids by being away from them while still under the same roof i'd say the same thing). i will say, there are exceptions. if your mother is a druggie it may be best to separate. but nora is fine the whole play. she actually plays with her kids in the beginning and suddnely starts to trasform when she fears her husband will find out. then tesman is more worried about HIS reputation than what she did for him. and he is never seen with the kids either!
In Hedda Gabler, Hedda is almost the opposite end of the spectrum -- too controlling. We hate her because she is exactly who dovile says she is. and when she loses control at the end she takes it back by killing her child just as she burned the "child" of eilert before! How selfish can you possibly be?!The sad thing is that our society today still is this selfish and we havent learned a thing. people wh shouldn't have children have them. and people who should can't. People who need to go get help for their children's sake stay home and those who should be home leave.
Okay so this was kind of rant-ish. but i was pissed. haha
I'm going to make the most bizarre connection with Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House. But first, both of Ibsen's plays show us that human nature is inherently commanding. That is, it is a trait of both male and female to want to command and be in charge. The sadder part is that some people that are like this are usually ignorant to the fact. Trovald, for instance, appears to be blind to the fact that he treats Nora like his very own play doll. On the other hand, Hedda Gabler seems to be very conscious of her attempts to dominate George's life. The reader actually sees her as quite an evil character. For every "control freak," nevertheless, there is his or her counterpart. There is the inverse side of human nature that wants or needs to be controlled. Without his Nora or her George, no Trovald or Hedda could exist. In the end, Ibsen shows us that such a marriage built upon reliance and control is a one of fault and not natural. A mutual and equal relationship of give and take is one that works and lasts. Okay, now for my connection:
The characters from both of Ibsen's plays remind me of my grandparents. My grandmother, although not evil, crazy, or suicidal, is kind of like Hedda and Trovald combined. My grandfather would then thus her George. The parallels in my mind are eerie. My grandmother wears the pants in their marriage. She controls everything to the type of dog food their dog eats. She plans all of the vacations and dictates on what, how, when, and why money can be spent. My poor grandfather had to sell his only loved possession, his boat, because she wanted to finance a redundant cruise to the Bahamas. The most sickening part is how my grandmother has little pet names for my grandfather sort of like Trovald does for Nora. She calls him "Daveo-baby" or "My big sailor" or other ridiculous names. She addresses him like this only when she's bossing him around to make dinner or do the laundry or walk the dog. I feel bad for my grandfather. But, hey, he sits back and allows and enables it. My grandmother has her very own Ken doll.
I think A Doll's House says that people in general cannot be judged at first glance and are much different than one might assume. Our first impressions of Nora, Torvald, and Krogstad are all eventually different. Nora at first seems to be a silly, childish woman, but as the play progresses, we see that she is actually intelligent, motivated, and, by the end, a strong-willed, independent thinker. Torvald, who appears to play the part of the strong, benevolent husband, reveals himself to be cowardly, petty, and selfish when he fears that Krogstad may expose him to scandal. Krogstad too reveals himself to be a much more sympathetic and merciful character than he first appears to be. The play's climax is largely a matter of resolving identity confusion—we end with seeing Krogstad as an earnest lover, Nora as an intelligent, brave woman, and Torvald as a simpering, sad man.
Both plays prove that people often misinterpret what love is. Since love is tried together with marriage, the main characters in both plays got married for all the wrong reasons. Torvald was a sweetheart to Nora throughout the majority of the play. He acted as if he truly loved and cared about her. In the begining of the play even i was convinced that he loved her. In reality he only liked the idea of being in love. When she told him not to fire Krogstad, he listened to ehr opinion (just like he should have been doing) but didnt act upon it because of what others would say. Also, he blew up in her face when he first read Krogstad's letter. But when he read the second one that said that krogstad wasnt going to do anyhting about the fake signature, he tried to pretend like that whole thing never happened between him and Nora. What a jerk!
And the same thing happened with Hedda and Tesman. Hedda liked the idea that he prob. would have a lot of money. Therefore she married him and thought she loved him. She even thought she would be able to trick herself into thinking she loved him by burning Lovborg's manuscript for the sake of Tesman. It was just so he would have the money for his book and so she would therefore love him more.
Both plays serve to explore a person's responsibility to yourself versus responsibility to others. Nora must choose between her husband, her children and herself. In the end she chooses herself, in a way making the right choice to not continue to bury herself in attempt to serve her husband and what society says to do. But in another way she makes the wrong decision because she leaves her children behind. This shows that humans in general are regularly faced "gray" decisions and must make the decision that is right for them, not only right by society. Hedda chooses to find happiness by daring eilert and marrying into money, clearly this was not the right decision for her, and this shows that humans don’t always have the strength to make the right decisions.
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