In Isben's play Hedda Gabler, Hedda functions as a kind of artist of life. In an attempt to create a sense of beauty she obsessively aspires to, she creates her art by manipulating the lives and wills of other characters around her. Through the character of Hedda the work offers a unique perspective on the definition of art, as she works both as an artist and as part of the art we are reading. As a work of art, it criticizes the cultural framework of love, marriage and femininity and offers a clear escape from these repressive cultural restrictions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayHedda creates beauty as an artist through the medium of manipulating others. She seems to find joy and a sense of power in being able to control and manipulate those around her. Throughout the drama, he interferes in the lives of other characters, easily bending their will to suit his own needs. Mrs. Elvsted states, "There's something behind what you're doing, Hedda." To which she replies, "Yes, there is. For once in my life I want to have power over another human being" (288). She manipulates others as if they were merely puppets in a play she has created, making her both creator and participant in a work of art. She is surrounded by automatic puppet-like characters who ventriloquize the patriarchal values ​​of their society. Virtually all of these characters are easily manipulated and Hedda takes advantage of this, giving her a sense of control over her life. Such characters are referred to as specialists. For Hedda, this is a description of these puppet-like characteristics, meaning that they only think literally and mechanically without questioning the world around them. By manipulating them, Hedda creates a world outside of the ventriloquism they practice and escapes the social norms and constructs in which the other characters are so implicated. This allows her to think independently without regard to the social constructs criticized by the drama. Hedda refuses to conform to the traditional role of a submissive, domestic woman that the characters around her try to impose on her. The aunt, Miss Tesman, reinforces the importance of what Brack calls "more solemn responsibility" (256). It shows the cultural belief that a woman's most important role in life is that of motherhood. The aunt reduces Hedda, as a woman, to a way of bearing children by focusing entirely on her stomach when addressing her. He constantly questions Hedda about her weight gain and stares at her stomach, hinting at the fact that perhaps she is pregnant. Hedda actually defies the definition of what a woman should be: she is anything but submissive, manipulating all the men in her play for her own power, and refusing to take on any domestic or maternal roles. When Brack questions her about motherhood she responds, "Shut up! You'll never see me like this and I have no talent for this stuff, Judge. I'll have no responsibility!" (256). She defiantly refuses to ventriloquise the ideas that other characters are imposing on her. To be free from responsibility means to be free from the role of motherhood and wife. By denying them, she essentially no longer fits the definition of a woman and takes on the male role. The different roles of men are shown in the three male characters of the novel. As Hedda's husband, Tesman would seem to represent the patriarchal society from which she is trying to escape. Although he plays it down, never seeming to take her too seriously, it is a weak example of male patriarchal values. He is easily manipulated by his wife and gives up control to her in an attempt to please her. Even if it seems like itunaware, Tesman retains little power in the relationship, allowing Hedda to seize this power and explore the man's role in the relationship. The personification of patriarchy and the social domination of women by men is seen in Brack. His profession as a judge declares all the oppressions of a patriarchal society; acts as law, dominant force of judgment, and figures in a position of power. Hedda describes him in the final scene as "the only rooster on the walk" (303), meaning the strong dominant and oppressive male force that has power over women. He eventually gains power over her when he discovers that she is involved in Lovborg's suicide; as a woman she is ultimately unable to escape the social oppression that Brack comes to represent. During the show Hedda tries to rebel against representations of the feminine. The figure of Mrs. Elvsted appears to be a representation of the repressive femininity from which Hedda attempts to escape. Sometimes she reacts violently, tearing out her hair as a child and deciding, "I think I'll burn your hair after all" (272). She physically acts against the role that others expect of her by hurting someone who represents this feminine role. The destruction of the Lovborg document is also representative of Hedda's refusal to accept the cultural narrative of what femininity should be. As she burns him, she says, "Now I burn your child, Thea! You, with your curly hair! Your child and Eilert Lovborg's. Now I'm burning! I'm burning the child." Burning the book as a representation of their child is Hedda's method of freeing herself from the role of motherhood. She wants to find a way out of her pregnancy so that she doesn't have to deal with the consequences that motherhood would have on her as a powerful woman. Her jealousy of the affair between Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted seems to have driven her almost to madness. It's something she can't control and it's this loss of control that seems to push her over the edge. The drama continually questions and criticizes the idea of ​​love and marriage and the position of male and female in this context. Despite this, there seems to be no true love in the play. The relationship between Hedda and Tesman is one of convenience as they follow the normal narrative of a marriage, but there is clearly something missing. Her disinterest in her beloved slippers in the first act shows that Hedda seems to care very little about Tesman. It appears that she is with him for material gain and because he is easily manipulated by her. Tesman tries to make her happy, but treats her more like a possession he has acquired than an individual. The play asks whether there is such a thing as love in marriage. He criticizes the idea of ​​true love and marriage as something unattainable due to the power relations that exist within a marriage. It seems to suggest that marriage itself is a primitive desire supported by the idea of ​​love in which the social domination of women by men is justified. Hedda seeks a marriage in which husband and wife are equal but seems unable to find it. The social constructs of marriage work so that a male is in a position of power and a woman is subservient to him. Hedda seems to conclude that a real marriage would never exist due to the existence of this social narrative. He imagines a way around the problem, but seems to conclude that it's something that could never exist in reality. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The play Hedda Gabler functions as art by questioning the cultural framework of femininity, marriage, and love. Examine the primitive motives behind marriage as.