Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (Play of the Season Lecture) (Patreon)

‘I don’t want to look at sickness and death. I must be free of everything that’s ugly.’

'Hedda Gabler' by Henrik Ibsen is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century theatre that continues to awe us today. 

We're discussing theatrical realism, controversial drama, Ibsen's anxiety of influence, Chekhov’s gun, destiny, Shakespearean DNA, and much more. 

Timestamps:

• 0:00 opening night of Hedda Gabler
• 2:00 the controversy of Ibsen’s plays
• 3:00 welcome to the fin de siècle
• 4:00 realism & the rage of Caliban
• 8:00 the difficulty of writing realism
• 10:00 theatre experiences a seismic shift
• 11:30 the secret self in the 19th century
• 14:32 Ibsen, degeneration & truthfulness
• 15:20 how to enter the literary canon
• 16:00 Ibsen’s anxiety of influence
• 17:30 Emile Zola on ‘works of truth’
• 19:00 August Strindberg on naturalism
• 21:00 the different kinds of problem plays
• 21:57 on the great role of Hedda Gabler
• 23:45 the first actress to play Hedda
• 25:00 Hedda’s Shakespearean DNA
• 26:40 on reading between the lines
• 29:53 discussing ‘Chekhov’s gun’
• 33:53 the symbolism of the pistols
• 36:40 Hedda, mindset & the everlasting
• 40:00 the loudest lines are those unsaid
• 41:53 writing a book about the future
• 42:00 destiny, fate, control & power
• 44:00 Hedda Gabler’s pyromania
• 46:00 a stopping place on the journey
• 47:00 will & controlling human destiny
• 50:00 death, decay & yellow leaves
• 52:10 the symbolism of vine leaves
• 53:15 ‘let it happen beautifully’
• 54:58 farce, irony & tragic lament
• 55:55 what do you make of this play?

Questions to Consider:

1) Can you identify with Hedda Gabler?

2) Do you find Ibsen's style of drama rewarding? 

3) What ideas from the play resonate most with you?

Happy reading, everybody!