Overview
For this assignment, you may choose to write about either the novel or the drama. Choose any ONE of the following options and compose an analytical research paper.
For the paper, you may choose any ONE of the following options:
- Freedom and Confinement
Analyze how Ibsen constructs Hedda’s sense of entrapment. To what extent is Hedda imprisoned by social expectations, and to what extent is she complicit in her own confinement? - Power, Control, and Destruction
Hedda repeatedly seeks control over others’ lives. Examine how her desire for power manifests in her relationships with Tesman, Lövborg, and Thea, and how this desire ultimately leads to destruction. - Gender and Social Performance
Discuss how Hedda Gabler critiques 19th-century gender roles. How does Hedda both resist and reinforce traditional expectations of femininity? - The Role of Fear
Fear—of scandal, exposure, and loss of status—shapes many characters’ decisions. Analyze the role fear plays in Hedda’s actions and how it reflects the moral constraints of bourgeois society. - Creativity vs. Sterility
Compare Hedda and Thea as contrasting figures of creativity and influence. How does Ibsen use their differences to comment on intellectual and emotional creation? - Symbols of Control
Analyze the symbolic significance of Hedda’s pistols. How do they represent freedom, power, masculinity, and ultimately, fatal limitation? - Hedda as a Tragic Figure
Is Hedda Gabler a tragic heroine, an anti-hero, or a villain? Defend your position using classical or modern theories of tragedy.
For the topic you choose, you will write a 750-1000-word essay.
Your essay must:
- Support your assertions with specific examples from the primary source
- Support your assertions with specific examples from at least one scholarly (peer-reviewed) secondary source. (Go back and review the fiction paper module for an explanation of scholarly vs. popular sources if necessary)
- make use of quotations from both the play and at least one peer-reviewed secondary source
- follow MLA guidelines for providing attribution and citations (see lecture notes for specifics regarding poetic citation in MLA format, if applicable)
- include a correctly formatted Works Cited page which must be placed in the same document as the paper
- maintain an academic tone and college-level diction (avoid the use of first and second-person pronouns)
As always, the essay should be clearly written with a strong thesis and main points supporting that thesis. The essay should also be free of mechanical errors. You should assume a college-level audience for your essay. Therefore, you should NOT define terminology such as "theme" or "tone," as that would be considered too basic for your reader.