Publisher's Synopsis
Henrik Ibsen's first published play, Hedda Gabler, did not make the exquisite splash Ibsen had hoped: when it premiered in Germany in 1891, it received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Nevertheless, through the passage of time, critics came to understand the work as a classic among realist theater. The play's protagonist, herself, is a controversial figure: Hedda Gabler is unreliable as a moral figure, ambiguously encompassing both the victim and the villain. Known as "the female Hamlet," Hedda struggles with circumstance and takes society head-on as an idealistic heroine.
