Boredom to Death and Terrible Fascination: A Study of Socio-Psychological Limitations of Henrik Ibsen’s Characters in Hedda Gabler and The Lady from the Sea
Abstract
This paper focuses on the socio-psychological limitations of Henrik Ibsen’s characters concerning their social conditions and mental suffering. Their resultant extreme deviant behaviours are analyzed with textual references in the plays Hedda Gabler and The Lady from the Sea. Most attempts concentrate on how their past life and present psychological suffering constrain and limit their behavioural options and have devastating effects on their social conditions. The paper explores that Ibsen’s characters Hedda Gabler and Ellida Wangel are constrained by their past, who cannot adapt themselves psychologically to their present social environment. In this context, a comprehensive approach to their suffering is not restricted to the past only; the characters' present social condition and psychological constraints are also examined. Limitations in their psychological adaptability to domestic and social conditions are delineated by the consequent desperation, and deviant behaviour of these characters, which bring them to the status of ‘nonbeing’ (meaningless existence) and ultimate recourse to suicide. This status of ‘nonbeing’ drives them to drastic and desperate actions. This study is a literary research based on textual analysis of primary (text of the plays) and secondary (criticism of the plays) sources, using close reading analytical research design.
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