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Essay Questions
1. Using specific examples, discuss how Ibsen's "progress from one work to the other" is due to a "perpetual scrutiny of the same general questions regarded from different points of view."
2. Do you feel that Ibsen's drama is "dated"? To defend your view, cite dramatic themes in these plays which you consider to be universal, or limited in scope.
3. Why does Ibsen choose a woman as his protagonist in this play?
4. Show how the first act forewarns the audience of almost all the forthcoming events in the rest of the drama.
5. Point out some instances where Ibsen is able to "externalize" inner problems by using effective symbols.
6. At least one character in each play prefers an imaginary view of life to a realistic viewpoint. With this in mind, discuss the life-view of Hedda Gabler.
7. In what ways does the vocation of George Tesman provide additional insight into his character?
8. Why is Hedda Gabler rather than Hedda Tesman the title of the drama?
9. What is the symbolic value ascribed to Hedda's pistol.
10. Why is it dramatically necessary for Hedda Gabler to burn Lövborg's manuscript?