The contributions of main character`s characteristics to the tragedy in Henrik Ibsen`s Hedda Gabler.

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MAIN CHARACTER’S

CHARACTERISTICS TO THE TRAGEDY

IN HENRIK IBSEN’S

HEDDA GABLER

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

JEFRY SETIAWAN Student Number: 084214083

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013

i

THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MAIN CHARACTER’S

CHARACTERISTICS TO THE TRAGEDY

IN HENRIK IBSEN’S

HEDDA GABLER

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

JEFRY SETIAWAN Student Number: 084214083

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2013

iv

“Surely your goodness and love

will follow me

all the days of my life.”

v

Dedicated to

vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank Jesus Christ for giving me His wisdom, guidance, and grace to finish this undergraduate thesis. I also would like to thank my advisor and co-advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. and Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., who have given a lot of their guidance to help me finish this study. Many thanks are also dedicated to my academic advisor, Linda Valentina Budiman, S.S., M.Hum., and all the lecturers for teaching me about many things in classes that I could use to write on my thesis.

In the process of making this thesis, there are some other supports which are given to me. I would love to thank my beloved father and mother for their love and support all the time, especially for giving me a chance to study in Sanata Dharma University and for always reminding me to finish my thesis. I also would like to thank all my friends in the campus, especially Vebry, Siska, Cicil, Gustin, and Vita, for having great times with you all during my college life. I thank them for the togetherness that they share with me. They are all my spirit.

I also do not forget to give my thanks to all the musicians and friends in my beloved church, GBI Keluarga Allah Impact Center Yogyakarta. It has been a pleasure for me to play music and to hang out with all of them, especially to Ezra, who can be my partner in playing Dream Theater’s songs. He is the first whom with I can play DT’s songs, and that is great. I also thank one of the musicians there, Rio “The Lizard” Stevans, who has been supporting and reminding me to

finish this study. All these moments that we share together have become my spirit during my hard times in finishing this study.

The last, I would like to thank everyone who give me supports that I cannot mention one by one in this page. I thank them for all the supports, loves, and spirits that they gave to me. I really appreciate them.

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE_{... i}

APPROVAL PAGE_{... ii}

ACCEPTANCE PAGE_{... iii}

MOTTO PAGE_{... iv}

DEDICATION PAGE_{... v}

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS_{... vi}

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI_{... viii}

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY_{... ix}

TABLE OF CONTENTS_{... x}

ABSTRACT_{... xii}

ABSTRAK_{... xiii}

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION_{... 1}

A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 4

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Defintion of Terms ... 4

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW_{... 6}

A. Review of Related Studies ... 6

B. Review of Related Theories ... 9

1. Theory of Characterization ... 9

2. The Relation between Literature and Psychology ... 10

3. Theory on Tragedy ... 11

C. Theories on Psychology ... 12

1. Pain and Pleasure ... 12

2. Family Ties and Transitions ... 14

3. Stress and Locus of Control ... 14

D. Theoretical Framework ... 15

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY_{... 17}

A. Object of the Study ... 17

B. Approach of the Study ... 17

C. Method of the Study ... 18

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS_{... 20}

A. The Characterization of the Main Character ... 20

B. The Tragedies in the Story ... 26

1. Hedda’s Tragedy ... 26

2. Lovborg’s Tragedy ... 30

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION_{... 41} BIBLIOGRAPHY_{... 43} APPENDIX_{... 45}

xii ABSTRACT

JEFRY SETIAWAN. The Contributions of Main Character’s Characteristics to the Tragedy in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler_{. Yogyakarta: Department of} English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, (2012).

This thesis analyzes a play which was written by Henrik Ibsen entitled Hedda Gabler_{. This play tells a lot about a main character named Hedda Gabler} who has some negative personalities. These personalities will eventually bring herself to the tragedy. Not only do they bring her to the tragedy, but they also bring the other person to the tragedy in his or her life.

In this thesis, there are three main points that are going to be discussed. The first is to characterize the main character, the second is to identify the tragedies that appear in the story, and the last is to find the contribution of her characteristics to the tragedy.

The method that is used in this thesis is library method since many sources are primarily taken from the books. There are also a few sources which are taken from the internet. The approach that is applied in this thesis is psychological approach. It is suitable for this thesis because psychological approach often deals with a person’s personality and mind, and this can be used to reveal the real personality of a main character that eventually can make someone experience a tragedy in his or her life.

This thesis shows the result of analysis that the main character, Hedda, is proven to be having some negative characteristics, such as rude, ignorant, heartless, ungrateful, and selfish. Due to those, she faces misfortunes in her life, and even her life ends tragically in the end. The tragedy does not only happen in her life, but also in Lovborg’s life. Because of her, his career is completely ruined, and so his life.

xiii ABSTRAK

JEFRY SETIAWAN. The Contributions of Main Character’s Characteristics to the Tragedy in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler_{. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra} Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, (2012).

Skripsi ini menganalisa sebuah drama yang ditulis oleh Henrik Ibsen yang berjudul Hedda Gabler_{. Drama ini bercerita banyak mengenai karakter utama} bernama Hedda Gabler yang memiliki beberapa kepribadian yang negatif. Beberapa kepribadian inilah yang pada akhirnya akan membawa dirinya masuk ke dalam tragedi. Kepribadiannya tidak hanya membuat dirinya mengalami tragedi, tetapi juga membuat orang lain mengalami tragedi di dalam kehidupannya.

Di dalam studi ini, ada tiga hal utama yang akan dibahas. Pertama adalah mengkarakterisasikan karakter utama, kedua adalah mengidentifikasi tragedi-tragedi yang muncul di dalam cerita, dan yang terakhir adalah mencari kontribusi dari karakteristiknya tersebut kepada tragedi.

Metode yang digunakan di dalam skripsi ini adalah studi pustaka karena sumber-sumber yang diperoleh banyak berasal dari buku. Adapun juga sebagian kecil sumber yang diperoleh dari internet. Pendekatan yang diaplikasikan di dalam skripsi ini adalah pendekatan psikologis. Pendekatan ini sesuai untuk skripsi ini karena pendekatan psikologis sering terhubung dengan kepribadian dan pemikiran seseorang, dan pendekatan ini dapat digunakan untuk mengungkap kepribadian dari karakter utama yang sebenarnya yang pada akhirnya dapat membuat seseorang mengalami tragedi di dalam kehidupannya.

Skripsi ini menunjukkan hasil analisa bahwa karakter utama, Hedda, terbukti memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang negatif, diantaranya kasar, cuek, tidak berperasaan, suka bersungut-sungut, dan egois. Karena beberapa karakteristik inilah, dia mengalami ketidakberuntungan dalam kehidupannya, bahkan pada akhirnya hidupnya berakhir dengan tragis. Tragedi tersebut tidak hanya terjadi dalam hidupnya, melainkan juga terjadi dalam kehidupan Lovborg. Karena Hedda, karirnya mengalami kehancuran, dan begitu juga dengan nyawanya.

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The main object of this study is a literary work. Therefore, it is important to have a brief understanding by knowing the definition of literature first.

So, ‘literature’ includes forms of writing which deliberately and creatively experiment with language in order to suggest images and ideas which engage the reader’s imagination (Goodman, 1996: vii).

By looking at the quotation, we can see that when reading a literary work, we are not supposed to read it like the way we read a newspaper or an article. Imagination is needed to understand the work of literature since it is aimed to be a creative writing (Goodman, 1996: vii).

In this world, it is undeniable that human beings are created to be different from one another, as said by Larry A. Hjelle inPersonality Theories.

Human beings come in many shapes and sizes and behave in exceedingly complex ways. Of the several billion people who presently inhabit the earth, no two are exactly alike (1981: 1).

According to the quotation, it is obvious that basically human beings are different from each other. One of things that make them different is their physical appearance. We believe that no one in this world has the exact same appearance as the other person, even twins still have some differences in the appearance. This makes every single person unique to each other.

The other thing that makes human beings different is the characteristics. Like the physical appearance, the characteristics are the signs that can separate a

person from each other. Furthermore, it is said by Hjelle, “Personality has also been viewed as the individual’s most striking or dominant characteristics” (1981: 6). This means that dealing with characteristics also means dealing with personalities. Whether one’s personality is good or bad, it can give some effects and contributions in some aspects in the real life. Elizabeth B. Hurlock stated in the book entitled Personality Development that “A ‘pleasing’ personality has ‘a marketable value’ in a complex society and is highly prized and sought after” (1974: 1). It can be seen that a positive personality is something which is respected by people or society.

From the previous statement, it can also be inferred that people with positive personalities will bring a good impact to the society and they will receive a lot of respects. This represents a positive personality will also give a good contribution. However, in this study, the focus will be on discussing the personality which tends to be negative and its contribution in life.

One example of negative personalities is being ignorant. Basically, people in general do not want to think about anybody else and they have their own problems and business to deal with. For them, to deal with their own problems is frustrating enough, moreover if they have to deal with the other people’s business. The concrete example of ignorance is in the world of business. People are fighting against each other to be the best, to get everything that they want, even they have to hurt the other people’s feelings which even might be their own siblings to achieve their goals. These attitudes can lead to the broken kinship that has been forged for a long time. Another example is when two or more people

build a friendship between them. Friendship also can be broken if one or more people cannot give an understanding towards them. A good friendship can be build by putting their ego so that they will not only think about themselves, but also to the others. This does not only happen in a friendship, but it can be also the other kind of relationship, such as in a love relationship, family, and more. There is a statement that was said by Martin Luther King Jr., “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consciencious stupidity” (http://mistupid.com/people/page019.htm). This statement wants to emphasize that ignorance is something which is really dangerous because it can hurt other people’s feeling.

The play Hedda Gabler written by Henrik Ibsen is used as the object to analyze because this play represents the condition similar to above where one or more aspects of life can be affected because of one’s characteristics. The play

Hedda Gabler tells a story about a woman as a main character who has several negative characteristics. One of the examples is that she is ignorant. She is ignorant towards her husband, especially in his work. Not only she is ignorant towards her husband, but also towards the other people. Also, she just does anything she likes without thinking about the consequences of doing that action.

In this thesis, the topic that is going to be discussed is about the contributions of main character’s characteristics to the tragedy. The reason why this topic is chosen is to find out how her characteristics give the contributions that can lead to her tragic life in the end as the main focus. Not only do they contribute to her tragic life, but also to the other people’s tragic life. This study

focuses on the main character because this play tells a lot about Hedda Gabler as the main character.

B. Problem Formulation

To be able to understand this play better, three problems are formulated as follows.

1. How is the main character characterized? 2. How is the tragedy identified in the story?

3. How do the characteristics give the contributions to the tragedy in life?

C. Objectives of the Study

In order to make this thesis become more focused, the objectives which are going to be achieved are narrowed down into three. The first objective is to find out the characteristics of the main character. After identifying the characteristics, the next objective will be identifying the tragedies happening in the story. The last objective after identifying the characteristics and the tragedies is to find the relation between those two things by finding out the contributions of her characteristics to the tragedy in life.

D. Definition of Terms

To avoid any ambiguity to understand this study, it is necessary to give some definitions of keywords mentioned in the topic.

1. Character

Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue– and by what they do – theaction.

(Abrams, 1993: 23)

According to the statement, characters are the persons who have some emotional qualities. They are manifested through the speech among the characters, or through the actions and behaviours.

2. Tragedy

According to The New Oxford American Dictionary Second Edition, tragedy is defined as “An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe” (Kean, 2005: 1786). Through the quotation, it can be concluded that tragedy is closely related to the condition where suffering, distress, and even destruction occurs in a person’s life due to some events. The term “tragedy” is also defined in a literary context as representations of important actions that can results in a disastrous conclusion (Abrams, 1993: 212).

6 CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

Hedda Gableris a story about Hedda, the wife of Jorgen Tesman, who has some negative personalities. One of them is ignorant. Because of her ignorance, she cannot find any happiness in her marriage although her husband really loves her. This was stated by a reviewer.

She has recently married, but, for a young bride, is uncharacteristically cheerless. She lives in a grand house with a husband who adores her, but she seems unaware or apathetic of these things that could bring her joy (http://hubpages.com/hub/Strife-A-Critical-Review-of-Ibsens-Play-Hedda-Gabler).

The study above will also be a part of the discussion in this study. However, this study will not only discuss one personality, but there are more several negative personalities which will be revealed.

Another statement was said by a reviewer about the main character’s characteristics. It was stated that

She hides Ejlert’s manuscript and encourages him to commit suicide even hands him one of her pistol. And in the ultimate act of selfishness, she commits suicide at the end (Cuizon, 2008).

From this quotation, we can also see another characteristic of the main character that she is mean. She lacks the love towards other people, and it is represented by her intention not to understand Lovborg’s feelings about the lost of his manuscript. She just does not want to tell the truth so that she can destroy his

feeling. Instead of handing the manuscript back to Lovborg, she tells him indirectly to do a suicide.

In the play, Hedda is also represented as somebody who wants to be independent from anyone. She does not want to be considered as a unity with her husband in her marriage. Therefore, she always thinks about herself all the time, also she does not want to depend on her husband like a wife in general. This is shown through her name “Hedda Gabler”.

Even though Hedda is married to Jorgen Tesman, she is presented as "Hedda Gabler" in the title, and later as "General Gabler's daughter" (Act I). The title does not only suggest her independence from her husband, but her independence from any other person in the play (http://www.helium.com/items/149636-literary-analysis-hedda-gabler-by-henrik-ibsen, 2007).

Another statement was given by Ari Nuryanti, a graduated student of Sanata Dharma University, in her thesis entitled The Significance of Symbols as a Reflection of Hedda’s Authoritarian Character in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler. She also said that the main character, Hedda, is a selfish person. It is represented through her action that she cannot place herself in an appropriate situation and does not care about other people’s feeling. This is the following statement.

Here, Hedda’s selfishness is showed by her playing music in a wrong situation. She plays wild dance tone while the people in the house are sad about Lovborg and Aunt Rina’s death. She does not care about other’s feeling. It shows Hedda as an authoritative person supported by her selfishness (2000: 32).

It is also discussed in Ari Nuryanti’s undergraduate thesis that Hedda is a person who is authoritative. Her authoritarian is represented through a pistol which can harm people. She said that Hedda uses the pistol to make fun of peple’s lives.

The pistols have important meaning for Hedda because they can be good companions when she is lonely and she has nothing to do. Unfortunately, she also uses it to get her own satisfaction and forget others’ safety. She uses to make fun of other’s life and to play God (2000: 25).

Another concept of authoritarianism is also discussed in the other undergraduate thesis entitled The Concept of Determinism as Reflected in the Dramatic Character in Ibsen’s Hedda Gablerby Ririn Mardiana. It is stated that Hedda has an influence to make someone inferior and make someone to do something that she wants.

Hedda has power toward Miss Tesman. She can make Miss Tesman feels inferior. In order to please Hedda, she buys a new bonnet and parasol. She has bought those things without Hedda’s knowing before. This means Hedda can influence other people to do something to please her. Hence, Hedda has the power over the Tesmans (2000: 36).

It is also discussed in Mardiana’s undergraduate thesis that Hedda is represented as a cruel character. It can be seen through the way she dresses in black.

In act IV Hedda dresses in black. Besides showing her condolence toward her aunt’s death, her dress shows how dark her heart is. In this act, it presents the darkness of the spirit that she has. She is cold, cruel, and hypocritical. Those characteristics are shown in the other details of her dramatic character (2000: 36).

After seeing all the studies that have been quoted above, we can see that there are various kinds of opinions and analysis about the play. Some studies say that the main character has the authoritative sides. Some studies also say that the main character has negative characteristics. However, this study will not only discuss the characteristics of the main character like in the other studies. This study will also give further discussion on the contribution of the characteristics to one aspect in life, in this case, to the tragedy.

B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theory of Characterization

In order to reveal the characteristics of the main character in the play, we need to use characterization theories. One of the theories is from M.H. Abrams, who says that the way of characterizing people is divided into two ways, showing and telling.

In showing, the author simply presents the characters acting and talking and leaves the reader to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what they say and do… In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositions qualities of the character (Abrams, 1993: 24).

This theory indicates that by looking at the way a character talks and acts, we can figure out the real characteristics of a character, even the real motives of doing something in the deepest heart of a character.

The similar theory was stated by Christopher R. Reaske in his book entitled How to Analyze Drama. He stated that in drama, the way of characterizing a person must be shown through the dialogues (1966: 40). Furthermore, he also mentioned some devices of characterization in drama.

1. The Appearance of the Character

The physical appearance is described by the playwright in the stage direction to give the first understanding of a character (1966: 46).

2. Asides and Soliloquies

The character is described as he or she speaks, when a character speaks in short asides or long soliloquies (1966: 46).

3. Dialogue between Characters

The characteristic of a character is described through the way he or she talks to the other characters (1966: 47).

4. Hidden Narration

The character is described in a way where another character narrates something about that character (1966: 47).

5. Language

The personality of a character is described through the use of language and expressions when he or she talks to another character (1966: 48).

6. Character in Action

The character is depicted through the way he or she acts in the play to give a better insight of his or her personality (1966: 48).

From those six devices of characterization according to Reaske, all of them are important ways to define a person’s characteristics. It can be noticed that most of those ways of characterizing concern on the dialogues. According to the author, the dialogues are the most effective ways to define characteristics, especially in a drama or play, which does not have any narration or description (1966: 40).

2. The Relation between Literature and Psychology

The purpose of this theory, as mentioned in the subtitle, is to give clarification that there is a connection between psychology and literature. Richard A. Kalish stated in his book entitled The Psychology of Human Behavior that

psychology can gain something from the other fields and vice versa. One of the fields are literature. He stated that

A good novelist can communicate the feelings of his fictional characters and make them seem more lifelike than the real people whose behavior the psychologist attempts to describe. Plays and films can produce the same result. Writers can use the understanding provided by psychologists to enrich their stories, and psychologists can gain their understanding of human behavior by drawing from deep sensitivity of good authors (Kalish, 1966: 8).

From the statement above, it can be inferred that basically a world of psychology and literature can gain knowledge each other. The characters in works of literature can be created more lifelike and complex by applying the authors’ understanding on human beings psychologically. While psychologists, at the same time, can get more understanding about human behaviors through the characters depicted in literary works by the authors.

3. Theory on Tragedy

Since this study is also focusing on tragedies, it is also important to give a theory that explains about tragedy. The purpose of the theory is to give justification so that all the tragedies presented in this study can be classified as a tragedy according to what the theory will say.

There is an explanation about tragedy from Edward J. Gordon in his book entitled Introduction to Tragedy. He stated that tragedy deals with the reasons why one person suffers (1973: 1). Furthermore, he continues his explanation that, “Since tragedy also deals with how man faces his misfortunes, it helps us to define what man is and what he can be” (1973: 1). Through these two quotations,

it can be inferred that basically a tragedy is always connected to destruction or suffering in someone’s life, and the suffering or destruction that happens always has a reason. The destruction can be various. It can be physical, such as deaths that can be caused by accidents, crimes, or natural catastrophe (Kean, 2005), or it can be mental, such as frustration and misfortunes.

C. Theories on Psychology 1. Pain and Pleasure

It is stated earlier that one’s characteristics can give some effects to the aspects in the real life. One of the aspects is the tragedy. In this part, we are going to see some theories about characteristics that can give some contributions to the tragedy in real life. The first theory that will be discussed is about pain and pleasure. Richard Dewey stated in the book entitled The Development of Human Behaviorthat

One of the most obvious of all of the principles of activity on the human level is the one which points out that we do what is pleasurable and avoid that which is unpleasant (1951: 187).

From the statement, it is obvious that human beings tend to get pleasures in life and avoid things which makes them under pressures.

The discussion on the paragraph above represents one of characteristics that human beings have. Most people in the real life are selfish. While discussing the theory on pleasure and pain, the word “selfish” cannot be separated from it. Dewey stated in his theory that a selfish person is a person who has self-satisfying behavior only to the individual. A selfish person would be unhappy if he or she is

not allowed to seek his or her own interest (1951: 187). It means that a selfish person will do anything to satisfy himself or herself without thinking of other people. Another statement about pleasure and pain was further given by Richard Dewey. It is stated that

Careful observation of the behavior of others, as well as introspection, will evidence the truth of the statement that we never do anything that we do not want to do, at least in the sense that what we do is less unpleasant than suffering the consequences of not having done it (1951: 187).

By looking at the quotation, we can see that people tend to get pleasures by avoiding the consequences of things they have done. Running away from all those tense conditions that people experience will make them feel the pleasure because they will be free of all pressures and pain. This kind of situation is still happening until now.

The example is a lot of suicide cases which happen recently. This example really represents the condition of avoiding pressures and difficulties in life. They think that death is the most suitable way to run away from those pressures.

Psychologically, there are some reasons why people tend to avoid the pressures in the real life. Some of them can be the anxiety and fear. Richard A. Kalish stated that “Two familiar emotional states are fear and anxiety. Fear is a response to an actual stimulus” (Kalish, 1966: 133). Furthermore, it is also stated by Kalish that

Anxiety, an emotional state closely related to fear, occurs when a person worries about what might happen in the future or when he is fearful about some vague or unknown thing that he cannot explain (Kalish, 1966: 133). From those quotations above, we can see that anxiety and fear are the causes of people avoiding the pressures. They know that they are guilty, they worry about

themselves in the future, and they are not able to escape from the consequences they have to accept.

2. Family Ties and Transitions

Another contribution of one’s characteristics also, in fact, can happen in the marriage life. In the book entitled Development in Adulthood, Barbara H. Lemme stated that

In the transition from prenuptial bliss to reality, from the family of origin to the marital family, and from a passion-based to a companionate relationship, commitment to stick with the relationship may determine which marriages are likely to survive. In addition, having or being a spouse who has the qualities of a good friend – caring, integrity, sensitivity, warmth, acceptance – will be a tremendous asset (1995: 262). In the quotation, it can be seen that a good marriage will be well-maintained if there are elements, such as caring and warmth.

However, if someone does not have those elements which are stated above, like caring, warmth, and sensitivity, he or she will not be happy in the marriage since they are important elements. The husband and wife need to care to each other so that the marriage will be in happiness. It cannot just be done by only the husband or the wife. Also, an acceptance towards the husband or wife will be a key to the long-lasting marriage. Otherwise, he or she will be ungrateful and always look at his or her marriage as a burden in his or her life.

3. Stress and Locus of Control

The next theory which is going to be discussed is about stress. This theory needs to be used in this study because stress can be a trigger for someone to have

an attitude that can lead himself or herself, and even the other people, to the tragic situation. Lemme says in his theory that, “Stress occurs when a person perceives an event as threatening and feels overwhelmed, helpless, and unable to cope” (1995: 400). This means that when a person is facing something which makes the person threatened and unable to overcome it, the person will feel stressed. According to the theory, stress can lead someone to have many emotional responses, such as anger, annoyance, or grief (1995: 400). Further explanation was given by Lemme that,

The general rule is that as stress increases, negative emotions increase. Stress can impair cognitive ability and task performance, disrupting attention, concentration, memory, and judgment. It can lead, too, to interpersonal problems as the individual becomes self-absorbed, insecure, irritable, and so on (1995: 400-401).

Stress does not only lead someone to some negative expressions, but also there are some effects. The effects of stress can be dangerous. There are some symptomps when somebody gets some depressions in life, such as feeling of hopelessness, pessimism, and thoughts of suicide or death (Lemme, 1995: 416).

D. Theoretical Framework

In this study, the topic that is going to be discussed is the contributions of main character’s characteristics to the tragedy. To discover that, the first thing that must be done is finding out the characteristics of the main character. The theory that is going to be used to figure out the characteristics is Abrams’ theory of characterization. This theory will be used to reveal the characteristics of the main character, and the method is by paying attention to the speech and acts of the main

character. Another theory of characterization that will be used is from Christopher R. Reaske. This theory will be used to reveal the characteristics by looking at the language, hidden narration, dialogue between characters, etc.

The next theory that will be used in this study is the theory that explains about tragedy. The theory that will be used is from Edward J. Gordon. The theory will be used to give explanation on what kind of tragedy that becomes the focus of this study, so that all the tragedies which are presented and discussed in this study are the same with the tragedy which is defined by the theory.

After revealing the characteristics of the main character and the tragedy in life, the next thing to do is to find out the relation between main character’s characteristics and the tragedy. In doing this, some theories of psychology will be used to explore the personality of the main character and to reveal how they give contributions to the aspects in life, in this case, the tragedy. The theories used do not explain about direct contributions to the tragedy, but to provide explanation that one’s characteristics can give effects to certain elements which later can lead to the tragedy in life.

17

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

Hedda Gabler is a play which is written by Henrik Ibsen. It is a novel consisting of 100 pages and was first published in 1950 by Penguin Books in Australia, and it was also published together along with the other two plays from Henrik Ibsen, which areThe Pillars of the CommunityandThe Wild Duck. Those three plays are translated into English by Una Eilis Fermot.

This play was first performed in Munich at the Königliches Residenz-Theater on 31 January 1891, with Clara Heese as Hedda. The first British performance was at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 20 April the same year, starring Elizabeth Robins, who directed with Marion Lea, who played Thea (Mrs. Elvsted).

Hedda Gabler is a story of a woman who has some personalities which tend to be negative. During her life, she is likely to do something that can ruin someone’s feeling, and what she does can even put herself in a danger situation which can finally make her life end tragically.

B. Approach of the Study

“Psychological criticism deals with a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional form, of the state of mind and the structure personality of the individual author” (Abrams, 1993: 263). This quotation implies the main focus

of the psychological criticism, which is to analyze a work of literature by identifying the personality and mind of the characters so that we can clearly understand what is going on in the story.

The psychological criticism is suitable to this study because this study discusses a lot about characteristics, especially on the main character. Dealing with one’s characteristics means dealing with one’s personalities, and personality is one of the scopes in the world of psychology. That is the reason why psychological criticism is used. This criticism will be used to analyze the personality of the main character and to prove that personality can give effects to one or several aspects in life.

C. Method of the Study

This study is considered as a library research because it deals with the sources from the books. The primary work analyzed is Hedda Gabler written by Henrik Ibsen. Some of the theories used are taken from A Glossary of Literary Terms written by M.H. Abrams, Development in Adulthood by Barbara Hansen Lemme, The Psychology of Human Behavior by Richard A. Kalish, and many more. There are also some studies taken from the internet and the undergraduate thesis.

The process of the study started with reading the whole text so that the story was clearly understood. After understanding the story, the next step was thinking critically about the story, the topic that was going to be discussed, and starting to make preliminary questions which were, in this case, how was the main

character characterized, how was the tragedy identified in the story, and how did the characteristics give the contributions to the tragedy in life. The next step was analyzing the characteristics of the main character using theory of characterization, and giving some evidences of the characteristics in the dialogue. After analyzing the characteristics, the next step was identifying the tragedy which happened in the story. The next thing was finding out the contributions of main character’s characteristics to the tragedy by using some theories on psychology and also showing some proofs in the story. After analyzing, the final step was to make a conclusion based on the analysis.

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

In this analysis, there are three problems that are going to be discussed. The first is analyzing the characteristics of the main character, the second is identifying the tragedy in the story, and the last is finding out the contributions of characteristics to the tragedy.

A. The Characterization of the Main Character

In this study, the writer is going to find out the characteristics of the main character, Hedda Gabler. In order to find out those characteristics, some ways of revealing the characteristics will be used. In this section, the writer is going to give several evidences in some of the scenes that show and represent the characteristics.

The first characteristic that Hedda has is rude. Her rudeness is shown in some scenes in the story. The evidence is in the beginning of the play when Hedda treats Miss Tesman, the husband’s aunt.

MISS TESMAN. [gazing at her with clasped hands]. Hedda is lovely – lovely – lovely! [She goes up to Hedda, takes her head in both hands, and, bending it down, kisses her hair.] May God bless and take care of our Hedda. For Jorgen’s sake.

HEDDA[freeing herself gently]. Oh – let me go.

MISS TESMAN[quietly, but with emotion]. I shall come over and see you two every single day.

The method used to analyze this characteristic is Abram’s method which is showing. In showing, the readers infer the personality of a person by looking at the way the person acts and talks (1993: 24). From the quotation, it can be seen that there is rudeness in the way Hedda talks and reacts to Miss Tesman. In the dialogue, Miss Tesman is represented as an old woman who really likes Hedda. She puts a lot of adoration towards Hedda. It is clearly stated in the Miss Tesman’s utterance, “Hedda is lovely – lovely – lovely!”, and in the action, she gently touches Hedda’s face and kisses her. While Miss Tesman is showing her affection to Hedda, Hedda says to Miss Tesman, “Oh - let me go.” Her rudeness is also strengthened through her reaction towards Miss Tesman. Although it is stated in the stage direction that Hedda tries to free herself gently in the action, it is still a rude attitude, because what Hedda does to Miss Tesman can actually make Miss Tesman feel offended. But due to the kindness of Miss Tesman, she does not take that as an offense and she still loves and adores Hedda.

There is also another evidence that shows the rudeness towards Miss Tesman. It is represented through Hedda’s conversation with her husband, Jorgen Tesman.

TESMAN. If you could bring yourself to speak a little more affectionately to her – as if you were one of the family. For my sake, Hedda? Eh?

HEDDA. No, no. You musn’t ask me to do that. I’ve told you that once already. I’ll try to call her ‘Aunt’, and that must be enough.

TESMAN. Oh well, all right. Only it seems to me now that you belong to the family –

HEDDA. Well, I really don’t know. ... [She goes up towards the centre doorway.]

In the dialogue, the rudeness towards Miss Tesman is revealed through language; one of devices of characterization where the character is described through the use of language and expressions when he or she talks to another character (Reaske, 1966: 48). In this dialogue between Hedda and Tesman, Tesman tells Hedda to speak a little more affectionately to Miss Tesman. Based on that utterance, it can be concluded that the language and the expression that Hedda used did not show any affection and respect to Miss Tesman when Hedda talked to her. Although her husband asks Hedda to do that for him, she still insists of not doing that.

The next characteristic which is going to be discussed is ignorant. The evidence that shows the ignorance of Hedda Gabler is in the situation when Miss Tesman gives Tesman a present.

TESMAN [opening it]. Well, I’m blessed! You’ve kept them for me, Aunt Julle! That really is sweet of her, Hedda, isn’t it? Eh?

HEDDA[by the what-not on the right]. Yes, my dear. What is it?

TESMAN. My old morning shoes. My slippers – look! ...

HEDDA [going over to the stove]. No, thanks. It really doesn’t interest me.

TESMAN [following her]. Just think, Aunt Rina embroidered them for me in bed, lying ill like that. Oh, you can’t imagine how many memories are worked into them!

HEDDA. Not for me, particularly. (pp. 273-274)

In the dialogue between Tesman and Hedda above, we can see Hedda’s ignorance obviously by using a dialogue between characters; where the personality of a character can be revealed through the way he or she speaks to another character (Reaske, 1966: 47). In this case, the other character is Tesman. When Tesman receives the present from Miss Tesman and then asks Hedda to take a look at it, she just refuses to see it. She shows her uninterest expression to see it and says,

“No, thanks. It really doesn’t interest me.” By looking at that dialogue, we can also see that Hedda does not care about her husband’s feeling after getting a present by saying, “Not for me, particularly.” For Hedda, it is not important at all. What she really cares about is just herself.

Another characteristic that is going to be revealed from the main character is selfish. The evidence that represents the selfishness of Hedda is shown almost at the end of the play when Hedda is playing a piano in an appropriate condition. The situation and the dialogue is the following.

[Hedda goes into the inner room and draws the curtains after her. There is a short pause. Suddenly she is heard playing a wild dance tune on the piano.]

MRS ELVSTED[jumping up from her chair]. Oh! What is that?

TESMAN[running to the doorway]. But, Hedda, my dearest – don’t play dance music this evening. Think of Aunt Rina! And of Ejlert, too! (p. 363)

Through this excerpt, the selfishness is revealed by using one of the methods of characterization which is called character in action; where one’s characteristic is depicted through the his or her own actions (Reaske, 1966: 48). In this scene, the author uses the stage direction as the mean to tell the action. In the stage direction provided, it is stated that Hedda is playing a piano with a wild dance tune. From it, we can infer that Hedda’s behavior or action is showing the selfishness because she is playing a piano on such joyful tones while everyone is still in grief due to Aunt Rina’s and Lovborg’s death. She cannot place herself in an appropriate condition and she does that without concerning the situation. Through the scene, it is obvious that Hedda is a person who never concerns the others’ feelings.

Another personality which can be revealed from the main character is heartless. This personality is revealed through the scene when Hedda is sitting alone and burning the manuscript on the fire stove.

[Hedda listens a moment at the door. Then she goes across to the writing-table and takes out the manuscript in its package. She glances inside the wrapper, pulls some of the sheets half out and looks at them. Then she goes across and sits down in the easy-chair by the stove with the packet in her lap. After a moment, she opens the stove-door and then the pocket.]

HEDDA [throwing some of the leaves into the fire and whispering to herself]. Now I am burning your child, Thea. You, with your curly hair. [Throwing a few more leaves into the stove.] Your child and Ejlert Lovborg’s. [Throwing in the rest.] I’m burning it – burning your child.

(p. 345)

In this excerpt, Hedda is revealed as a heartless person through her speech that says, “Now I am burning your child, Thea.” The manuscript, in fact, belongs to Lovborg, and she is burning it as if burning a child of Thea (Mrs. Elvsted) and Lovborg. We can see the reason why the script is regarded as a child through the following scene.

MRS ELVSTED. Do you know, Ejlert, this, what you have done to the book – all my life, it will seem to me as if you had killed a little child.

LOVBORG. You are right. It is like murdering a child. (p. 342)

Mrs. Elvsted and Lovborg consider the script as their child because they were working together to make it. If it is considered as their child, it means that the script is very precious to them. However, Hedda has destroyed the manuscript on purpose and she clearly knows that it is really precious to Elvsted and Lovborg. That is the reason why Hedda says that she is burning a child instead of burning a manuscript.

Her heartlessness is also shown in the other scene when Hedda is giving something to Lovborg as souvenir.

[She goes to the writing-table and opens the drawer and the pistol case. She comes back to Lovborg again with one of the pistols.]

LOVBORG[looking at her]. Is that the souvenir?

HEDDA[nodding slowly]. Do you recognise it? It was aimed at you once.

LOVBORG. You should have used it then.

HEDDA. There it is. Use it yourself now.

LOVBORG[putting the pistol in his breast pocket]. Thanks.

HEDDA. And beautifully, Ejlert Lovborg. Promise me that. (p. 344)

In the scene, Hedda gives Lovborg a gun as a souvenir. What Hedda does to Lovborg is showing her heartlessness because by doing that, she is provoking Lovborg to commit suicide. Her provocation to Lovborg is also shown through her speech, “There it is. Use it yourself now.” From those scenes, Hedda is classified as a heartless person.

The next characteristic on the main character that is going to be analyzed is ungrateful. This characteristic can be observed through the scene where the conversation between Hedda and Brack happens in Act two.

HEDDA. Oh, he did all right. Rummaging in libraries is the most entrancing occupation he knows. Sitting and copying out old parchments, or whatever they are.

BRACK [with a touch of malice]. After all, that is his vocation in life. Partly, at least.

HEDDA. Oh yes, quite; it is. And of course then one can – But as for me! No, my dear sir. I was excruciatingly bored.

(p. 298)

The ungrateful characteristic is shown by using one of Reaske’s ways of characterization which is the dialogue between characters, in this case between Hedda and Brack. In the dialogue, she is expressing her ungratefulness by telling her boredom with Tesman in the business trip to Brack. Through what she does,

we can see that Hedda does not have any intention to put her interest in what her husband is doing and accept everything from her husband. Instead she just keeps saying that she was bored with what her husband was doing in the trip.

B. The Tragedies in the Story

After identifying the characterization of the main character in the previous analysis, this study will discuss the tragedies that appear in the story. As explained in the definition of terms and the theories on tragedy, tragedy is basically related to a condition where a person is experiencing destruction, suffering, or distress due to some reasons and problems. In this study, the writer is going to discuss some events in the story that reflect on the kinds of tragedy which usually happen in the real life.

There are two subtopics that will be discussed in this part. The first subtopic will discuss on the tragedies which are experienced by the main character, Hedda Gabler. The tragedy in Hedda’s life happens in her marriage life with Tesman and also in a condition when she commits suicide. The next subtopic will give discussion on the tragedies that happen in Lovborg’s life. The tragedy in his life happen when he is in desperation due to his career and also in his death.

1. Hedda’s Tragedy

The first discussion is the tragedies that happen to Hedda. The tragedy which is going to be discussed first is the unhappy marriage in Hedda’s life. The

scene can be found in Act Two where a conversation between Hedda and Brack happens.

HEDDA. Oh, he did all right. Rummaging in libraries is the most entrancing occupation he knows. Sitting and copying out old parchments, or whatever they are.

BRACK [with a touch of malice]. After all, that is his vocation in life. Partly, at least.

HEDDA. Oh yes, quite; it is. And of course then one can – But as for me! No, my dear sir. I was excruciatingly bored.

(p. 298)

This scene shows that Hedda is not happy in her marriage through her saying that she is excruciatingly bored. She cannot stand with her husband who always deals with his works and libraries. That is why, for her having such a husband only puts her in boredom. This reflects to one kind of tragedies that usually happens in someone’s life where one cannot be happy in his or her marriage life, which later may end up divorcing.

Another scene that represents Hedda’s unhappy marriage can also be seen in another dialogue between Hedda and Brack.

HEDDA. Well, you can just imagine it for yourself. To go a whole six months and never meet a soul even remotely connected with our circle. Not a soul to talk to about the things we’re interested in.

BRACK. Well, yes. I should feel the lack of that too.

HEDDA. And then, what’s the most intolerable thing of all ...

BRACK. Well?

HEDDA. Everlastingly having to be with ... with one and the same person...

....

HEDDA. Jorgen Tesman is – a learned man, you must remember.

BRACK. Admittedly.

HEDDA. And learned man are not entertaining as travelling companions. Not in the long run, anyhow.

In this conversation, another distress experienced by Hedda is shown. She is not happy in her marriage because she says that she considers her husband as someone who is not entertaining. She feels as if that there is no chemistry between them since she says that her soul did not connect to her husband’s. Therefore, whenever it comes to have a chat with her husband, she is not comfortable because there is nothing to talk to that interests her.

The reason why Hedda does not find any happiness in her marriage life with Tesman can be observed through this following conversation between Hedda and Brack.

HEDDA. I had simply danced myself out, my dear sir. My time was up. [With a little start.] Ah, no! I’m not going to say that. Nor think it either.

BRACK.And, by Jove, you have no reason to!

HEDDA. Oh, reason! [Watching him rather carefully.] And Jorgen Tesman...one must admit that he’s a thoroughly good creature.

HEDDA. And I can’t see that there’s anything actually ridiculous about him. Do you think there is?

....

HEDDA [with a weary expression]. Yes, so I did. And since he insisted with might and main on being allowed to support me, I don’t know why I shouldn’t accepted the offer.

(pp. 299-300)

Hedda cannot find happiness in her marriage because she does not actually love Tesman. She accepted Tesman as her husband just because her time is up. She feels that not having a husband at her age is such a shame for her. Since she meets Tesman and finds that Tesman is, at least, a good man and he always supports her, she feels she has no reason to neglect him. This situation can be classified as a tragedy. As explained in the theory that tragedy deals with misfortunes (Gordon, 1973: 1). In this case, Hedda finds a misfortune in her marriage life; she makes a

wrong decision in choosing a husband that eventually puts her in an unhappy marriage life.

The next tragedy that happens in Hedda’s life is the death of herself. The scene can be observed at the very end of the play in Act Four.

[A shot is heard within. Tesman, Mrs. Elvsted, and Brack jump up.]

TESMAN. Ah! Now she’s playing with the pistols again.

[He pulls the curtains aside and runs in. So does Mrs. Elvsted. Hedda is lying lifeless, stretched out on the sofa. Confusion and cries. Berte comes in distractedly from the right.]

TESMAN [shrieking to Brack]. Shot herself! Shot herself in the temple! Think of it!

BRACK [half-collapsed in the easy-chair]. But, merciful God! One doesn’t do that kind of thing!

(p. 364)

In the scene above, there is a tragic event happening there where Hedda is dead due to her decision to commit suicide by shooting herself. The evidence that Hedda is dead is stated in the stage direction that states she is lying lifelessly and stretched out on the sofa. Her death makes everyone sad, especially Tesman and Brack. Tesman’s sadness is shown in the stage direction that states he is shrieking to Brack, and Brack’s sadness is also stated in the stage direction that he is half-collapsed after seeing Hedda’s death. In the theory, it is stated that a tragedy is dealing with the reason a man suffers (Gordon, 1973: 1). It is also stated that tragedy is related to actions that can lead to a disastrous conclusion (Abrams, 1993: 212). This means that a tragedy is connected to an action that can cause destruction or disaster. This scene is considered as a tragedy since it concerns to the physical destruction of Hedda Gabler which is caused by her act of committing suicide.

2. Lovborg’s Tragedy

After discussing the tragedies in Hedda’s life, the next thing to discuss is the tragedies that happen to Lovborg. The first tragedy that happens to Lovborg occurs in the scene where Lovborg is in desperation. This scene can be found in Act Three where the dialogue between Hedda and Lovborg occurs.

HEDDA.About the manuscript?

LOVBORG. Yes. I didn’t tear it to pieces. Nor throw it into the fjord, either.

HEDDA.Well, but – where is it, then? ....

LOVBORG. Suppose now, Hedda, that a man, along towards morning, say, after a wild, riotous night, came home to his child’s mother and said: Look here. I have been here and there, in such-and-such places. And I took the child with me. In such-and-such places. And I lost the child. Lost it completely. The devil knows what hands it’s fallen into, who’s got it in his clutches.

HEDDA. Oh but, when all’s said and done, this – well, this was only a book.

LOVBORG. Thea’s whole soul was in that book.

HEDDA. Yes, I understand that.

LOVBORG. And so you understand also that there is no future before us, her and me.

(pp. 343-344)

Through the conversation above, it can be seen that Lovborg is in a great desperation due to the lost of his manuscript. The lost of the manuscript can be observed through Lovborg’s long speech that tells about him “losing a child”. He tells Hedda about the lost of the script just as losing a child because the script is very precious to him and also his partner, Elvsted. For him, without the manuscript, he becomes desperate and he feels that there is no future before him anymore. According to the theory on tragedy, it is explained that tragedy deals with the reason why a man can suffer (Gordon, 1973: 1). This scene can be categorized as a tragedy because Lovborg feels the suffering or distress in his life

due to an event, in this case, the lost of the manuscript, that causes him to go to his downfall in his life or career.

Another tragedy that appears in Lovborg’s life can be found in the Act Four where Hedda and Brack are having a conversation.

BRACK. No. This affair of Ejlert Lovborg did not happen quite as I described it.

HEDDA [in suspense]. Have you been keeping something back? What is it?

BRACK. For poor Mrs. Elvsted’s sake I did make one or two slight modifications.

HEDDA. What were they?

BRACK. In the first place, he is actually dead already. ....

BRACK. It does, rather. For I must tell you Ejlert Lovborg was found shot in – in Mademoiselle Diana’s boudoir.

HEDDA [half gets up, but sinks back again]. That’s impossible, Mr Brack. He can’t have been there again today!

BRACK. He was there this afternoon. He came to demand something that, he said, they had taken away from him. Talked wildly about a child, that had been lost –

(p. 358)

Another tragedy that can be inferred through the conversation above is the death of Lovborg. The death is caused by a gun shot to his body at Mademoiselle Diana’s boudoir. He comes to Diana’s place to make an accusation to her due to the lost of the script because he thinks that she is the one who stole it. The real cause of Lovborg’s death is still unknown in the story, whether it is accident or homicide. It can be noticed through the following assumption by Brack in Act Four.

BRACK. ...Both you and Mademoiselle Diana. She will have to explain how the thing happened. Whether it was accident or homicide. ...Did he try to pull the pistol out of his pocket to threaten her? And is that how it went off? Or did she snatch the pistol out of his hand, shoot him and put it back in his pocket again?...

Gordon explained in his theory that tragedy is connected to the sufferings or destruction (1973: 1). The destruction can be caused by some events, such as crime, accident, natural catastrophe (Kean, 2005: 1786). In this case, this scene can also be classified as a tragedy because there is a great destruction in Lovborg’s life physically, which is his death, due to a crime or an accident.

C. The Contributions of Characteristics to the Tragedies

The next discussion after discussing the characteristics of the main character and identifying all the tragedies in the story is the discussion on the contributions of characteristics to the tragedies. It is already discussed in the first chapter of the study that basically one’s personality can give an impact in life. A personality which is pleasing has “a marketable value” that will be respected and highly prized. In other words, one’s positive personality will bring a positive contribution to one’s life and the other people (1974: 1). On the contrary, one’s negative personality will bring a negative contribution as well. In this part, the writer is going to give explanations on how Hedda’s characteristics that tend to be negative can bring tragedies in her own life and the other’s. The first analysis will be Hedda’s characteristic contributions to her tragedies, and the next will be its contributions to Lovborg’s.

The first tragedy that happens in Hedda’s life is the unhappy marriage with Jorgen Tesman. The things that contribute to her unhappy marriage can be seen through some excerpts and conditions. First of all, it can be seen through her ignorance in Act One where Tesman receives a pair of shoes which is a present

from Aunt Rina. He wants Hedda to see it by saying, “My old morning shoes. My slippers – look!” (p. 274), but Hedda is not interested to take a look at it and she says, “No, thanks. It really doesn’t interest me” (p. 274). The next can be observed through her ungratefulness in Act Two where Hedda is having a chit-chat with Judge Brack about her business trip with Tesman. In the chit-chit-chat, Hedda sighs and shows her boredom with Tesman in the business trip. She is bored with all that Tesman did in the trip about the books, libraries, and professorship by saying, “Oh yes, quite; it is. And of course then one can – But as for me! No, my dear sir. I was excruciatingly bored.” These two characteristics are the triggers of the unhappy marriage that happens in Hedda’s life. According to the theory of family ties and transitions which is given by Barbara H. Lemme, to have a well-maintained and long lasting marriage life, there are some elements needed by the husband and wife. Some of them are caring, sensitivity, warmth, acceptance, and integrity. By having these kinds of elements, the marriage life will tend to survive (1995: 262).

In this case, Hedda is lacking these elements. In the situation where Tesman shows Hedda his pair of shoes and asks her to have a look, she shows her ignorance and an uninterested expression. As a matter of fact, being ignorant is something which is contrary to the elements needed in marriage. In other words, she does not own these personalities to maintain a good marriage life. One of those is caring. A good wife should show her care to her husband in anything, including small things, such as showing an interest expression to what the husband gets as represented in Hedda’s condition. Hedda has to show her interest

when Tesman asks her to look at the present as a symbol of her care to Tesman so that he does not feel disappointed.

The next is when Hedda is expressing her boredom with Tesman in the trip while she is having a conversation with Brack. In this condition, the elements that Hedda lacks are caring and acceptance. While Tesman is doing his work in the trip, Hedda does not have any intention to put her interest expression to what Tesman is working. It means that Hedda is doing something contradictory to the caring, which is not to care about Tesman’s work condition especially in his work. At the same time, she also lacks an acceptance towards Tesman because she cannot be ungrateful in her marriage with Tesman. She does not want to accept him in any aspect including his interest and his work. A marriage couple should be in a companionate relationship (Lemme, 1995: 262), which means they have to be a company that is always beside him or her and able to accept and support each other in every aspect, such as in work, career, and more. Therefore, a happy marriage life will be maintained.

Another thing that contributes to Hedda’s tragedy in her marriage life is her rudeness to a person who is a part of Tesman’s family, Miss Tesman. It can be noticed through the situation where Miss Tesman adores and kisses Hedda as a sign of her affection towards Hedda. Instead of respecting what Miss Tesman does, Hedda frees herself and shows her rudeness by saying, “Oh – let me go.” (p. 275). Another rudeness to Miss Tesman is shown through the situation when Tesman warns Hedda to talk more affectionately to Miss Tesman, but she does not intend to do it by saying, “No, no. You musn’t ask me to do that...” (p. 277).

Besides her ignorance and ungratefulness, her rudeness is also a key to trigger the tragedy in her marriage life because she lacks warmth as an element needed for a happy marriage. When a person is not having warmth, automatically the person is not able to be kind to other people. In this case, due to her lacking a warmth, she keeps on being rude towards Miss Tesman and does not think about Miss Tesman’s feeling. As a part of Tesman’s family, she should learn to give her warmth and love to the people in the family including Miss Tesman. By doing that, Hedda can feel happier and more comfortable in her marriage life.

Those are things that contributes to her tragedy in her marriage life. Her rudeness, ignorance, and ungratefulness towards Tesman and his family are caused by her mistake of choosing a husband. From the beginning, she is not in love with Tesman, but she keeps sticking with her decision to marry Tesman. As a result, she cannot live her marriage life pleasantly that makes her act unpleasantly to her surroundings. Those unpleasant characteristics that eventually bring a misfortune in her marriage life.

Another tragedy that happens in Hedda’s life is contributed by her selfishness. This can be observed through the situation in Act Four where Hedda is playing a wild dance tone on her piano while everyone is still grieving for Lovborg and Aunt Rina’s death. In this case, she is selfish because she cannot place herself in the right situation and does not think about the other people’s feeling.

However, her selfishness is not only shown in that situation, but also in the situation where she is committing suicide that leads to her tragedy, her own death.

Her death can be noticed through Tesman’s utterance while he is shrieking to Brack, “Shot herself! Shot herself in the temple! Think of it!” (p. 363). Richard Dewey stated in his theory called pleasure and pain that basically people tend to do something pleasurable and avoid anything that is unpleasant. It means that when people are faced to the situation that is unpleasant for them, they just run away from it and do not want to suffer any consequence (1951: 187). In the story, Hedda does the similar situation. She commits suicide because she does not want to accept the consequence of what she has done. According to Judge Brack investigation, Hedda is assumed as one of the suspects that causes Lovborg’s death. It can be seen through this following excerpt.

BRACK. No. But you will have to answer the question: Why did you give Ejlert Lovborg the pistol? And what conclusions will people draw from the fact that you did give it to him?

HEDDA[dropping her head]. That’s true. I didn’t think of that.

BRACK. Well, fortunately there is no danger, so long as I say nothing.

HEDDA [looking up at him]. So I am in your power, Mr. Brack. From now on, you have a hold over me.

(pp. 361-362)

Hedda is involved in Lovborg’s death because she is suspected to be the one who gave the gun to Lovborg on the day before he is murdered, and it is investigated that his death is caused by a gunfire in his stomach. It can be noticed through Brack’s statement, “Yes, there. With a discharged pistol that had gone off in his breast-pocket. The shot had wounded him fatally.” (p. 358). Once Brack suspects her, she feels accused and guilty. She cannot stand with the fact that she is in Brack’s power. As a result, she decides to run away and avoid the consequence by committing suicide. According to the theory, Dewey states that a selfish person is a person who has a self-satisfying behavior. A selfish person will not be happy if

he or she cannot find his or her own interest (1951: 187). The act of committing suicide that Hedda does is a form of selfishness because she does something that is self-satisfying, in this case, freeing herself from the consequences by committing suicide. By doing that, she expects that she can get the pleasure since she can avoid the fact that she is in Brack’s power due to the accusation. Due to her action which is triggered by her selfishness, it brings her to her own tragedy which is her own death.

After discussing the contribution of Hedda’s characteristics to her own tragedy, the writer is going to discuss their contribution to Lovborg’s tragedy. His tragedy happens in his life because of Hedda’s heartlessness. Her heartlessnesss is shown through the moment where Hedda is burning Lovborg’s manuscript in the fire stove that can be a key of his success. While Hedda is burning the script, she is saying, “Now I am burning your child, Thea. You, with your curly hair...Your child and Ejlert Lovborg’s.” (p. 345). Instead of saying that she is burning the manuscript, she is saying “burning your child”. This indicates that she knows the fact that the manuscript is very precious to Lovborg, yet she still burns it. This condition contributes to a tragedy in Lovborg’s life, which is his desperation in his career. In the theory on stress and locus of control given by Barbara H. Lemme, she states that stress can occur when somebody faces something which is considered as a threat and it can make him or her helpless (1995: 400). In this case, Hedda burns Lovborg’s manuscript due to her stress. Hedda considers Lovborg’s script as a threat for her husband’s career and she cannot stand with that condition. The situation is shown in the following.

HEDDA. You admitted then that you envied him his work.

TESMAN. Good heavens, I didn’t mean it literally!

HEDDA. All the same, I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else throwing you into the shade.

(p. 350)

From the situation above, it can be seen that Tesman envies Lovborg’s work with the manuscript although Tesman does not really mean it literally. However, Hedda sees him as someone who really envies someone’s work, and his envy to Lovborg makes her stressed since she cannot bear Tesman’s envy that may cause Tesman sad. According to the theory, stress can trigger some emotional responses, such as anger, annoyance, or grief. When the stress is increasing, the anger, annoyance, or grief are increasing as well. Stress can also make someone insecure and irritable (Lemme, 1995: 400-401). In this case, Hedda feels stressed due to Tesman’s envy, and as the stress appears, the annoyance and anger also appear in her. As a result of her annoyance, she is being heartless. She manifests her annoyance by burning Lovborg’s script so that the threat vanishes and she will not hear Tesman’s envy anymore in the future. Due to her action, Lovborg’s career is destroyed and he feels extremely desperate. His desperation can be seen when he says to Hedda that, “And so you understand also that there is no future before us, her and me.” (p. 344).

The discussion on Lovborg’s desperation above leads to the next tragedy in his life, which is his death. His death is also caused by Hedda’s heartlessness. Through the previous discussion, it can be observed that Lovborg is in desperation due to the lost of his manuscript. At the same time, the lost of the manuscript makes him stressed, since he faces a threat in his career that makes him helpless

and unable to overcome it. He feels as if there was no future for himself. While he is in stress, Hedda shows her heartlessness again by indirectly provoking him to commit suicide. Her heartlessness can be seen through the excerpt when Hedda gives a gun to Lovborg in the following.

LOVBORG[looking at her]. Is that the souvenir?

HEDDA[nodding slowly]. Do you recognise it? It was aimed at you once.

LOVBORG. You should have used it then.

HEDDA. There it is. Use it yourself now.

LOVBORG[putting the pistol in his breast pocket]. Thanks.

HEDDA. And beautifully, Ejlert Lovborg. Promise me that. (p. 344)

In the theory on stress and locus of control, it is already discussed that stress can impair cognitive ability and task performance. This means when in stress, a person’s thought and action will be disrupted (Lemme, 1995: 400). Hedda is provoking Lovborg to commit suicide beautifully by giving him a gun and ask him to use it himself. In this case, the stress that he experiences disrupts his action so that he does something that can be dangerous which is accepting the gun. It is dangerous because Lovborg might have two motives by accepting the gun. The first motive he accepts the gun is because he is provoked to commit suicide, since it is also explained that when somebody is stressed, there are symptomps that can appear, such as feeling of hopelessness, pessimism, and thoughts of suicide or death (Lemme, 1995: 416). In this case, the thought of suicide might appear in Lovborg’s mind while he is in a stressed state. The second motive is that he will use the gun for another reason, since it is stated in the story that his death is not caused by a suicide. His death happens when he comes to Mademoiselle Diana’s boudoir with a gun from Hedda in his pocket and accuses her that she stole his

manuscript. He is also assumpted by Brack that he might use the gun to threaten Diana. His acts of accusing Diana and even threatening her by pointing a gun are trigerred by his stress. The stress disrupts his mind and action, so that he does something that can endanger someone’s life, in this case, Mademoiselle Diana’s. His assumption on Lovborg’s act is shown through the following excerpt while he is investigating the death of Lovborg.

BRACK. ...Did he try to pull the pistol out of his pocket to threaten her? And is that how it went off? Or did she snatch the pistol out of his hand, shoot him and put it back in his pocket again?...

(p. 361)

Through the excerpt, it can be inferred that the cause of Lovborg’s death remains unknown whether it is an accident or a homicide, and his death becomes a part of tragedies that happens in his life.

41

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION

This chapter gives brief explanation on what has been analyzed in this study. The play Hedda Gabler _{tells about a main character, Hedda Gabler, who}

has several characterstics; she is rude, ignorant, selfish, heartless, and ungrateful. These five characteristics have brought some tragedies in her own life and other’s life, in this case, Ejlert Lovborg. In Hedda’s life, there are two tragedies that happen in her life, which are her unhappy marriage and her death. Her unhappy marriage is contributed by her ignorance and rudeness to Miss Tesman. As a wife, she does not own the elements needed to build a happy marriage, such as warmth, caring, acceptance, integrity, and sensitivity. Instead, she keeps being ignorant and rude to the people in the family that results an unhappy marriage for her. The next is her death which is contributed by her selfishness. Due to her selfishness, she commits suicide in order to release herself from the accusation and Judge Brack’s power. Her act to commit suicide results to her death.

The tragedies also happen in Lovborg’s life. The first is his desperation in his career that is contributed by Hedda’s heartlessness. Because Hedda considers Lovborg’s script as a threat for her husband and she cannot stand hearing his envy to Lovborg, she becomes stressed, gets annoyed and angry. Her stress eventually makes her burn Lovborg’s script, and that results Lovborg’s downfall in his career. The next tragedy in Lovborg’s life is his death that is also contributed by Hedda’s heartlessness. It is shown through her provoking him to do a suicide by

giving a gun while he is in stressed condition, and he is eventually dead because of the gun.

Through the analysis, it can be concluded that someone’s personality can bring impacts to oneself and the other people. As explained in the first chapter of the study that, “A ‘pleasing’ personality has a ‘marketable value’ in a complex society and is highly prized and sought after” (Hurlock, 1974: 1). It means that a person that has positve personality will give a good contribution and people will give a lot of respect to it. However, if a person has negative personality, he or she may bring positive or negative contribution. In this study, it is proven that a person with negative personality brings negative contribution. Hedda Gabler is one of the examples. Due to her personalities, many tragedies happen that even result to her death and Lovborg’s. If she were not being negative, she would not experience those tragedies and Lovborg would not either.

Reaske, Christopher Russell. How to Analyze Drama. New York: Monarch Press, 1966.

< http://hubpages.com/hub/Strife-A-Critical-Review-of-Ibsens-Play-Hedda-Gabler>(March 21st, 2011).

<http://mistupid.com/people/page019.htm>(September 19th, 2011).

<http://www.helium.com/items/149636-literary-analysis-hedda-gabler-by-henrik-ibsen>(June 6th, 2011).

45 APPENDIX

SUMMARY OFHEDDA GABLER

This play takes place in the Tesman's living room and in a smaller room to its side. Jorgen Tesman and Hedda Gabler are newlyweds. They have just returned from a six-month honeymoon. Hedda is someone who is hard to please. At the beginning of Act 1, Tesman wakes to find his Aunt Julle has arrived for a visit. Aunt Julle raised Tesman and still supports him financially. When Hedda enters, however, she is rude to Aunt Julle. Tesman asks her to be kinder, but she clearly has little real interest in him either. Soon, Mrs. Elvsted arrives and she brings news that Tesman's old academic rival, Ejlert Lövborg, is back in town. Lövborg had been an alcoholic and a failure, but now he has reformed. Eventually, Hedda asks Tesman to leave, and she convinces Mrs. Elvsted to have a private talk her. She learns that Mrs. Elvsted is scared that Lovborg will start drinking again. After that, Mrs. Elvsted leaves and Judge Brack arrives. Judge Brack brings gossip from town that Lovborg is quite a success and may be sure to take the position at the university that Tesman is counting on getting himself. Soon after that, Brack leaves.

When Brack returns later that day, in Act 2, he finds Hedda playing with her pistols. They talk privately for a while and agree that they should form a close and personal bond. Hedda tells Brack how bored she was on her honeymoon and how she has no special feeling for the house which Tesman wants to buy for her, and she desperately wanted to live there. Soon, Tesman arrives and talk turns to

the party that Brack is throwing later that night. Ejlert Lövborg arrives and talks in earnest with Hedda while Tesman and Brack drink in the other room. Then, Mrs. Elvsted arrives. Hedda plays Lovborg and Mrs. Elvsted against each other, and she is making Lovborg think that Elvsted was worried he would begin drinking again. At this hint, he begins to drink and decides to join Tesman and Brack as they leave for the party. Elvsted is very upset, but Lovborg promises to return in a few hours to escort her home.

Act 3 begins just before dawn, while Elvsted is still sitting and waiting for Lovborg to return. Hedda is asleep on the couch. Soon, she awakes and sends Mrs. Elvsted in to sleep on her bed. Tesman arrives and tells his wife that he has possession of Lovborg's manuscript, which Lovborg dropped while he is walking home drunk. Tesman plans to return it to him but he is in a hurry since he gets the news that his Aunt Rina is dying and he wants to pay a visit for her. Suddenly, Lovborg arrives. He tells Elvsted that he has destroyed his manuscript. She becomes angry and leaves immediately. Then, Lovborg confesses to Hedda that he has, in fact, lost the manuscript and that he wants to kill himself. Hedda does not tell him she has the manuscript. she simply gives him one of her pistols and tells him to have a beautiful death. Once he leaves, she burns the manuscript, referring to it as the child of Ejlert and Mrs. Elvsted.

Act 4 begins with the living room in darkness. Aunt Julle arrives. Everyone is wearing black as a sign of mourning. It is learned through dialogues that Aunt Rina is the one whose death they mourn. Aunt Julle announces that she must find another invalid to take care of now. She leaves and Mrs. Elvsted arrives.

She says she heard the news that Lovborg is in the hospital. Brack arrives and confirms that Lovborg is dying because he has wounded himself in the chest. In private, Brack tells Hedda the truth that Lovborg is already dead, and he did not wound himself. He was found dead in Mademoiselle Diana’s boudoir due to a gun shot in the stomach. Brack investigated that the gun belongs to Hedda, and that makes her involved in his death. Once she hears it, she leaves the room, plays the piano for some moments, and finally shoots herself.

xii ABSTRACT

JEFRY SETIAWAN. The Contributions of Main Character’s Characteristics to the Tragedy in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler_{. Yogyakarta: Department of} English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, (2012).

This thesis analyzes a play which was written by Henrik Ibsen entitled

Hedda Gabler_{. This play tells a lot about a main character named Hedda Gabler}

who has some negative personalities. These personalities will eventually bring herself to the tragedy. Not only do they bring her to the tragedy, but they also bring the other person to the tragedy in his or her life.

In this thesis, there are three main points that are going to be discussed. The first is to characterize the main character, the second is to identify the tragedies that appear in the story, and the last is to find the contribution of her characteristics to the tragedy.

The method that is used in this thesis is library method since many sources are primarily taken from the books. There are also a few sources which are taken from the internet. The approach that is applied in this thesis is psychological approach. It is suitable for this thesis because psychological approach often deals with a person’s personality and mind, and this can be used to reveal the real personality of a main character that eventually can make someone experience a tragedy in his or her life.

This thesis shows the result of analysis that the main character, Hedda, is proven to be having some negative characteristics, such as rude, ignorant, heartless, ungrateful, and selfish. Due to those, she faces misfortunes in her life, and even her life ends tragically in the end. The tragedy does not only happen in her life, but also in Lovborg’s life. Because of her, his career is completely ruined, and so his life.

xiii

ABSTRAK

JEFRY SETIAWAN. The Contributions of Main Character’s Characteristics

to the Tragedy in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler_{. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra}

Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, (2012).

Skripsi ini menganalisa sebuah drama yang ditulis oleh Henrik Ibsen yang berjudul Hedda Gabler_{. Drama ini bercerita banyak mengenai karakter utama} bernama Hedda Gabler yang memiliki beberapa kepribadian yang negatif. Beberapa kepribadian inilah yang pada akhirnya akan membawa dirinya masuk ke dalam tragedi. Kepribadiannya tidak hanya membuat dirinya mengalami tragedi, tetapi juga membuat orang lain mengalami tragedi di dalam kehidupannya.

Di dalam studi ini, ada tiga hal utama yang akan dibahas. Pertama adalah mengkarakterisasikan karakter utama, kedua adalah mengidentifikasi tragedi-tragedi yang muncul di dalam cerita, dan yang terakhir adalah mencari kontribusi dari karakteristiknya tersebut kepada tragedi.

Metode yang digunakan di dalam skripsi ini adalah studi pustaka karena sumber-sumber yang diperoleh banyak berasal dari buku. Adapun juga sebagian kecil sumber yang diperoleh dari internet. Pendekatan yang diaplikasikan di dalam skripsi ini adalah pendekatan psikologis. Pendekatan ini sesuai untuk skripsi ini karena pendekatan psikologis sering terhubung dengan kepribadian dan pemikiran seseorang, dan pendekatan ini dapat digunakan untuk mengungkap kepribadian dari karakter utama yang sebenarnya yang pada akhirnya dapat membuat seseorang mengalami tragedi di dalam kehidupannya.

Skripsi ini menunjukkan hasil analisa bahwa karakter utama, Hedda, terbukti memiliki beberapa karakteristik yang negatif, diantaranya kasar, cuek, tidak berperasaan, suka bersungut-sungut, dan egois. Karena beberapa karakteristik inilah, dia mengalami ketidakberuntungan dalam kehidupannya, bahkan pada akhirnya hidupnya berakhir dengan tragis. Tragedi tersebut tidak hanya terjadi dalam hidupnya, melainkan juga terjadi dalam kehidupan Lovborg. Karena Hedda, karirnya mengalami kehancuran, dan begitu juga dengan nyawanya.