Hedda Gabler Character Analysis

Hedda Gabler

Hedda, the daughter of the great General Gabler and the pregnant wife of Jörgen Tesman, is a beautiful, aristocratic, intelligent woman, loaded with social grace and a steely, clear, dispassionate charisma. She is 29… read analysis of Hedda Gabler

Jörgen Tesman

Tesman is Hedda’s husband and the holder of a University Fellowship in cultural history: he specializes in medieval domestic crafts. He is a slightly plump, bearded, and bespectacled man of 33. Tesman is a… read analysis of Jörgen Tesman

Ejlert Lövborg

Tesman’s rival for a prestigious professorship, Ejlert Lövborg is a visionary historian and sociologist. He is also, like Hedda herself, ill-adapted to modern life—in his case, he is unable to drink in moderation. The… read analysis of Ejlert Lövborg

Mrs. Thea Elvsted

Mrs. Elvsted is a slight woman with soft attractive features, large blue eyes that tend to protrude with a scared, questioning expression, and almost whitish-yellow hair that is unusually rich and wavy. She is a… read analysis of Mrs. Thea Elvsted

Judge Brack

Judge Brack is a shrewd and respected man in society, a cynical old bachelor, and a regular guest at the Tesmans’ villa. He is a gentleman of 45, stocky and elastic in his movements, with… read analysis of Judge Brack

Miss Juliane Tesman (Aunt Julle)

Jörgen Tesman’s paternal aunt, Juliane Tesman is a good-looking, conventional, chatty woman who cared for her nephew after his parents’ deaths. Though Jörgen is an adult when the play begins, his Aunt Julle, some… read analysis of Miss Juliane Tesman (Aunt Julle)

Berte

Berte is a plain, kindly, dedicated maid of a “somewhat countrified exterior” who served in Juliane Tesman’s household before transferring into the service of Jörgen and Hedda. Miss Tesman and her nephew are… read analysis of Berte

Mademoiselle Diana

Named for a Greek goddess of hunting and (ironically) chastity, Mademoiselle Diana is a redheaded singer and the madam, or procuress, of a brothel in town. She never appears onstage. During his wild drunken debauched… read analysis of Mademoiselle Diana

Minor Characters

Aunt Rina

One of Jörgen Tesman’s aunts, Aunt Rina is an invalid who never appears onstage and who passes away quietly toward the end of the play. She is cared for and tended to by Aunt Julle.

Mr. Elvsted

Mr. Elvsted is a sheriff who lives north of town, and is the husband of Mrs. Thea Elvsted. Mrs. Elvsted claims to have nothing in common with her husband—he treats her like useful and cheap property, she claims. Mr. Elvsted never appears onstage.

General Gabler

Hedda’s father, a famous general. He provided Hedda with an aristocratic upbringing, but she is unable to maintain this lifestyle given the state of Jörgen Tesman’s finances. Hedda still has her father’s pistols, and she enjoys holding and shooting them.

Hedda Gabler

Henrik Ibsen

Hedda Gabler Characters

Hedda Gabler

Jörgen Tesman

Ejlert Lövborg

Mrs. Thea Elvsted

Judge Brack

Miss Juliane Tesman (Aunt Julle)

Berte

Mademoiselle Diana