Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler

Elsa Kienberger (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.5: Norwegian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London), Anja Tröger (University of Edinburgh)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1890

Places

Norway (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

When

Hedda Gabler

(1890) first appeared in print ahead of its stage premiere, newspapers around Europe reported the advent of the latest Henrik Ibsen play. The Norwegian newspaper

Aftenposten

remarked 27 December 1890 on Ibsen’s acclaim outside of his home country, but nonetheless published an excerpt from a French review calling the new play too “Scandinavian” (1890: 2). Nineteenth-century theatre critics attributed Ibsen’s pessimistic evaluation of idealism to the bleakness of the Nordic region. They lambasted

Hedda Gabler

for its titular protagonist in particular: a newly married woman who ruins the futures of those around her because her own is seemingly out of her control. Nevertheless, the play’s intricate portrayal of gender inequality spoke to social reformers and…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

3709 words

Citation: Kienberger, Elsa. "Hedda Gabler". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4783, accessed 25 November 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback