Pistols as the Symbols of Hedda’s Defeat and the Triumph of Masculinity

Henrik Ibsens play Hedda Gabler, though belong to the works of literary Realism, is non devoid of symbols. Many things in the play have a emblematical meaning, like pistols, the manuscript, Jorgens slippers, Heddas and Theas hair, etc. Pistols argon one of the most obvious symbols. They are definitely the phallic symbols, the symbols of masculinity and everything related to work force. Weapons, and especially firearms, are always associated with custody they belong to the mens world and are alien to the womens world of love, tenderness, and family determine.Pistols belong to Hedda, so they symbolize Heddas masculinity. Still, pistols become the cause of Heddas downfall, thus symbolizing Heddas defeat and the triumph of masculinity over a woman who wanted to be a man. On the face of it, pistols seem to be the substantial twins of Hedda, symbolizing Heddas masculinity. There is even some similarity in their appearance. Hedda has steel colorize eyes that remind of the cold su rface of weapons her complexion is of an even pallor again reminding lifelessness of the metal (Ibsen, act 1, p. 175, line 26).Even Heddas way of behaving bears some resemblance to the cold indifference of a potentially dangerous weapon that kills with cruelty and tranquility. Her eyes have a cold, clear and dispassionate flavour (1. 175. 26-27). She seems to be heartless when talking to Aunt Julia with absolutely no care about Miss Tesmans feelings and trying to take control over everybody around her. She believes that Miss Tesmans hat belongs to the servant though Aunt Julia just bought it, and shows absolutely no interest to things that are dear to Jorgen, like his old slippers (1. 76-177). Heddas desire to have world power is obvious from the very first steps she orders about opening or closing the door, the curtains, firing or leaving the servant. As the story goes, she demonstrates little care about anyone overleap her and commands the others lives and deaths with a heavy ha nd, ordering Lovborg to shoot himself (3. 246. 16) and burning down his manuscript (3. 246. 24-27). With this power over life and death, cruelty, coldness and heartlessness, Hedda is as dangerous as the firearms, being a human anatomy of pistols and a female trying to become a male.Still, a closer look at Hedda reveals that she did non manage to become a man spiritually, despite the complete abandonment of feminine values. The image of a man traditionally comprises the values of courage, resolution, and vigor. Yet, this is exactly what Hedda lacks. She possesses the opposite qualities of cowardice, disquietude of a scandal, and inclination to achieve her goals by the intrigues rather than by action. Yes, Hedda, at bottom youre a coward, says Lovborg to Hedda concerning her inability to carry out the scourge and shoot him down, and Hedda replies An awful coward (2. 219. 26-27).In this relation, Hedda fails to adopt virile way of behavior, and thus loses resemblance to the absolu tely virile pistols, that are alien to all emotions. She completely depends on the public opinion, and the driving motif for her actions or inactions is a dread of a scandal (2. 219. 25). Because of this dread, she could non follow Lovberg whom she apparently loved, neither could she shoot him down. Because of this dread, she at long die shoots herself. Thea, who does not have any masculinity at all and is absolutely feminine, has some(prenominal) more of courage she leaves her family and follows Lovberg despite the blame.In the pursuit of her goals, Hedda prefers to act indirectly resorting to intrigues rather than acting and address openly, and this is again mostly characteristic of womens way of achieving their goals and hardly has something in common with masculinity. When Thea comes to her with the news about Lovborg, Hedda carefully finds out all truth about him and Thea (1. 186-190). In relations with Lovborg, she guides his behavior by exercising purely womans power over him. First she makes him go to Bracks society saying that Brack thought that Lovborg simply dared not go with them (2. 23. 1-3), then she orders him to kill himself and do it beautifully (3. 246. 16). Thus, Hedda does not do anything by herself, she prefers someone else to do the dirty work.This is not the masculine way. Thus, having rejected feminine values and chosen to be more masculine then the men themselves, Hedda fails to adopt a truly masculine way of life. She plays both with pistols and with men and masculinity rather than becomes masculine herself. She tells to her husband that she needs pistols to pass the period with (1. 197. 2), and later shoots in the air for amusement despite the danger to hit Judge Brack (2. 199. 13). With the same easiness, she plays with the men in her life. She marries a man whom she does not love but can control she flirts with Brack without any goal to commit adultery she orders Lovborg to drink or not to drink according to the changes in her mood. This breaks her connection with pistols as symbols of masculinity and makes it superficial and artificial. The pistols belong to her but they do not serve her. They begin to serve the men, and finally betray her.Thus, Hedda is defeated by masculinity, and her devotion to masculine values does not help her it rather makes the disaster inevitable. Pistols as symbols of masculinity and men as the embodiments of masculinity spin out of her control. First, Lovborg does not play the place she prepared for him and does not do it beautifully he is found shot in the bowels (4. 259). Then, the pistols do not play the role their mistress prepared for them they do not serve to kill Lovborg and, instead, serve to loan the danger of a scandal to Hedda. The pistols now serve Judge Brack, in fact.He recognized the pistol found in Lovborgs breast-pocket as Heddas and uses it to blackmail Hedda (4. 261. 19-28). Masculine values also do no good to Hedda. Being a daughter of a milita ry machine, she inherited the idea of honor, and when the honor is lost, she chooses the last resort a suicide. This was a commonly recognized measure to restore the honor in military circles. Hedda shoots herself in the temple (4. 264). Thus, pistols kill her both literary and figuratively. They become the psychological cause of her downfall and death, because they are the blackmail leverage in Bracks hands.Heddas last talk with Brack is focused on pistols totally she tries to find out how much Brack have understood about her role in Lovborgs death, and reveals that he knows enough to make her life unbearable and provoke a scandal that she is so afraid of (4. 262). Thus, the pistols hazard her now. They also become the direct cause of her death as being used for suicide. Therefore, the pistols have the fork-like symbolical meaning they symbolize both Heddas masculinity and Heddas downfall. In fact, this is Heddas masculinity that kills her.She rejects the values of an ordinary woman, but the circumstances do not allow her to practice masculinity and go unpunished. The world does not admit a woman with mans ambitions. In addition, this woman is free a woman she didnt become a authoritative man spiritually, and she ceased to be a true woman having rejected the feminine values. She plays with the pistols and with the men, and she is defeated by the pistols and the men. Masculinity does not allow any attempts from womens side to conquer mens world.