Hedda Gabler
play in four acts by Norwegian plawright Henrik Ibsen, published in 1890
Hedda Gabler (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈhɛ̂dːɑ ˈɡɑ̀ːblər]) is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. Though initial reviews were negative, it has since been canonized as a masterpiece of literary realism, 19th-century theatre, and world drama in general.
Hedda Gabler dramatizes the experiences of the title character, Hedda, the daughter of a general, who is trapped in a marriage and a house that she does not want. Hedda is considered one of the great dramatic roles in theatre, and has been described as a female variation of Hamlet.
Hedda's married name is Hedda Tesman; Gabler is her maiden name. On the subject of the title, Ibsen wrote: "My intention in giving it this name was to indicate that Hedda as a personality is to be regarded rather as her father's daughter than her husband's wife."
Characters
Hedda Tesman (née Gabler) — The main character, newly married and bored with both her marriage and life, seeks to influence a human fate for the first time. She is the daughter of General Gabler. She wants luxury and amusement but has no funds.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hedda Gabler” is play in four acts by Norwegian plawright Henrik Ibsen, published in 1890. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hedda, Gabler and play, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “play in four acts by Norwegian plawright Henrik Ibsen, published in 1890” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q176465. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1891.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hedda Gabler” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.