"Hedda Gabler" or Better not. The performance of Hedda Gabler See what "Gedda Gabler" is in other dictionaries

Henrik Ibsen

Hedda Gabler

A play in four acts

Translated by A. and P. Hansen Henrik Ibsen. Drama. Poems Library of World Literature M., "Fiction", 1972 OCR Bychkov M.N. mailto: [email protected]

CHARACTERS

Yorgan Tesman, PhD student in the Department of Cultural History. Fru Hedda Tesman, his wife. Freken Juliane, his aunt. Fru Tea Elvstead. Assessor Brakk. Eilert Levborg. Berta, servant in Tesman's house.

The scene is Tesman's country house in the western quarter of the city.

STEP ONE

Spacious, beautifully and tastefully furnished living room, furnished in dark colors. In the middle wall there is a wide door opening with curtains pulled back. It overlooks the next room, smaller, furnished in the same style as the living room. In the right wall of the living room there is a door to the front; on the left is a glass door, also with curtains drawn back, through which one can see part of the covered veranda and the autumn greenery of the trees. In the middle of the living room is an oval table covered with a tablecloth and chairs around it. In front, against the right wall, there is a wide dark-tiled stove, and next to it is a high-backed chair, a soft footstool and two poufs. Further, in the right corner, a corner sofa and a round table. Ahead, to the left, somewhat retreating from the wall, is a sofa. There is a piano near the glass door. On either side of the door to a small room is a bookcase filled with terracotta and majolica knick-knacks. In the back of the second room there is a sofa, a table and several chairs. Above the sofa is a portrait of a handsome old man in a general's uniform. Above the table is a hanging lamp with a milk-coloured cap. Bouquets of flowers are everywhere in the living room: in vases, glass jars, and some just lie on the tables. The floors in the rooms are covered with thick carpets. Morning lighting. The rays of the sun fall through the glass door.

Miss Yuliane Tesman, a good-natured lady of about sixty-five, dressed simply but nicely, in a gray dress for walking, in a hat and with an umbrella in her hands, enters from the hall. Behind her is Bertha, an elderly maid of a simple and somewhat rustic appearance, with a bouquet wrapped in paper.

Miss Tesman (pauses at the door, listens and speaks in an undertone). It looks like they haven't gotten up yet. Bertha. I told you, freakin. You think the steamer came late at night! And then! .. Lord, how much the young lady had to unpack before she lay down. Freken Tesman. Yes, yes, let them have a good rest ... But they must freshen up the room by the time they leave. (Goes to the glass door and opens it wide.) BERTHA (at the table, helplessly fiddling with the bouquet in her hands). Well, this, the right word, and nowhere to go. At least, I’ll put it here, freken. (Puts the bouquet on the piano.) Freken Tesman. Well, you have new gentlemen, too, my dear Bertha!... God knows, it was not easy for me to part with you! BERTHA (almost in tears). And what do I feel, freken! What can I say! After all, how many years have I served you and your sister! Freken Tesman. What to do ... you have to submit. Bertha! Jorgen needs you in the house now... necessary. You've been used to following him... since he was a child. Bertha. So something like that, yes, I'm very sorry for our patient! The poor thing is just like a little child. And then suddenly a new servant! She will never learn to walk properly after a sick person. Freken Tesman. Well, nothing, I'll try to teach her. Besides, I'll take care of everything, you know? No, you have nothing to worry about my poor sick sister, dear Bertha. Bertha. If only this alone, freken! Otherwise, I'm terribly afraid of not yet pleasing the young mistress. Freken Tesman. Well... at first, perhaps, it might turn out that... BERTHA. She looks very important. Freken Tesman. Still ... the daughter of General Gabler. After all, what a life she got used to with her father! Do you remember how she used to ride with him? In a long black Amazon? And with a feather on his hat? Bertha. How, how! I didn’t think then, I didn’t guess that a couple would come out of her with our candidate! Freken Tesman. And neither did I... Yeah, that's it, Bertha, before I forget, don't call Jorgen a candidate again. He is now a doctor. Bertha. Yes, yes, the young lady also talked about it last night ... as soon as they entered the door. Is that correct? Freken Tesman. Of course. Just imagine, Bertha, he was made a doctor there, abroad. During their trip, you know? I knew absolutely nothing myself, but Jorgen told me about it yesterday at the pier. Bertha. Well, of course... he could be anything. Such a scientist! I just didn’t think that he would also want to treat people. Freken Tesman. Well, he's not that kind of doctor at all. (Nods her head meaningfully.) However, soon, perhaps, you will have to call him even more important! Bertha. Yes really? How is it? Freken Tesman (with a smile). Hm... yes, if only you knew! (Most touched.) Oh, my God! The late Yokum would have seen from his grave ... what came out of his little boy! (Looks around.) However, why did you take the covers off the furniture? Bertha. So the lady ordered ... Tolerate, she says, I can’t cover the chairs. Freken Tesman. Well ... are they going to sit here on weekdays too? Bertha. It seems so. That is, the lady, actually. The doctor himself didn't say anything.

In the back room on the right, Jorgen Tesman appears, singing, with an empty, open suitcase in his hands. He is of medium height, a very youthful-looking man of about thirty-three, somewhat plump. The face is round, open, with a benevolent expression. Blond hair and blond beard. Wear glasses. He is dressed in a comfortable, somewhat sloppy attire.

Freken Tesman. Hello, hello Jorgen! Tesman (at the door). Aunt Yule! Dear aunt! (Goes up to her and shakes her hand.) So far to us ... and so early! BUT? Freken Tesman. Yes, how could I not look at you! Tesman. Even without a good night's sleep! Freken Tesman. Well, it doesn't matter to me. Tesman. I hope you got home safely yesterday from the pier? BUT? Freken Tesman. Got it, got it. Thank God, the assessor is so amiable... he escorted me to the very door. Tesman. We were terribly sorry that we could not give you a ride in the carriage. But you saw it yourself... Gedda had so many cartons... everything had to be taken away... Freken Tesman. Yes, there are so many cardboard boxes ... trouble. Bertha (to Tesman). Why don't I go to the mistress - maybe she needs something? Tesman. No thanks, Berta, don't worry. She said that if she needed anything, she would call herself. BERTHA (leaving to the right). Oh well. Tesman. Wait... grab this suitcase, by the way. BERTHA (taking the suitcase). I'll take it to the attic. (Goes into the hall.) Tesman. Imagine, aunt, the whole suitcase was chock-full of statements. I just can't believe how much material I have collected in different archives! Wonderful old documents; nobody knows about them... Freken Tesman. Yeah, I'm sure you didn't waste any time on your honeymoon trip. Tesman. Yes, I dare say. But take off your hat, aunt. Let me untie your ribbons. BUT? Miss Tesman (while he is untying the ribbons at her hat). Lord!.. Exactly as it happened... when you were still living with us. TESMAN (twisting her hat in her hands). And what a smart hat you got yourself! Freken Tesman. I bought this for Gedda. Tesman. For Gedda? BUT? Freken Tesman. Yes, so that she would not be ashamed to appear on the street with me on occasion. Tesman (stroking her on the cheek). You will think about everything, aunt Yulle! (Puts her hat on a chair near the table.) Well, now you know?.. Now let's sit right here on the sofa and talk until Hedda comes out. Miss Tesman (puts her umbrella in the corner near the sofa, sits down on the sofa next to Tesman, takes him by both hands and looks around). What a blessing to have you here with us again, Jorgen! Alive, healthy! .. The son of our late Yokum! Tesman. And how glad I am! To see you again, aunt Yulle! After all, you were my father and mother. Freken Tesman, I know, I know that you will not stop loving your old aunts! Tesman. And Aunt Rina, so everything is the same? .. - No better for her? BUT? Freken Tesman. No, buddy. And yes, there is nothing to look forward to. Poor thing! Lies still, as all these years. If only the Lord would leave her to me for a while! Otherwise, I will not know at all where to put myself. Especially now that you don't have to worry about it anymore. Tesman (patting her on the shoulder). Well, that's enough, that's enough... Freken Tesman (suddenly changing his tone). Come to think of it... you're a married man now, Jorgen! Yes, even picked up Hedda Gabler. Beauty Gedda Gabler! Think how many fans she had! Tesman (humming smugly and smiling). Yes, perhaps, I now have a lot of good envious friends here in the city! BUT? Freken Tesman. And on top of that, you managed to make such a long honeymoon trip! More than five, almost six months... Tesman. Well, for me, it was also like a scientific trip. How many archives managed to dig! How many books to read! Freken Tesman. I can imagine. (More confidentially.) Well, listen, Jorgen... do you have anything to tell me? Anything special? Tesman. From a trip? Freken Tesman. Yes... Tesman. No, nothing ... other than what I already wrote about. And that I got my doctorate there ... I told you last night. Freken Tesman. Yes, not that ... I wanted to ask ... do you have something in mind? .. Are there any hopes? Tesman. Hope? Freken Tesman. My God, Jorgen... After all, I'm your own aunt! Tesman. Yes, I do have hopes. Freken Tesman. Ah! Tesman. And even more - to become not today or tomorrow a professor. Freken Tesman. Ah, the professor! Yes... Tesman. I mean... why not say it directly? I even probably know that I will be a professor. But you know it too, dear Aunt Julle! Freken Tesman (chuckling). Well, of course I know you're right. (Changing tone.) But we are talking about your trip ... It must have been terribly expensive, Jorgen? Tesman. Well, they gave a decent scholarship. It was a great help. Freken Tesman. I still don’t understand how you had enough for two? Tesman. Yes, this is perhaps difficult to understand. BUT? Freken Tesman. But traveling with a lady is, they say, much more expensive. Tesman. Of course, a little more expensive, of course. But this trip was necessary for Hedda, really necessary. Otherwise, it would be awkward, embarrassing. Freken Tesman. Yes, yes, right, yes. Honeymoon trips have now somehow become a custom. Well, tell me, did you have time to look around properly at the housewarming party? Tesman. How! I got up at dawn. Freken Tesman. And how do you like everything here? Tesman. Excellent! Downright great! I don’t understand one thing, what do we need these two extra rooms between the small living room and Hedda’s bedroom? Freken Tesman (chuckling). Well, my dear Jorgen, they will still be needed ... in time. Tesman. Yes, perhaps you are right, aunt Yulle! After all, my library will grow little by little... Huh? Freken Tesman. There, my dear boy, I was just thinking about the library. Tesman. And most of all I am happy for Hedda. Even before our engagement, she always said that she would not have wanted to live anywhere so much as here, in the mansion of State Councilor Falk. Freken Tesman. Yes, imagine, it must have happened that he was just appointed for sale ... only you had time to leave. Tesman. Yes, dear Aunt Julle, we are still lucky! BUT? Freken Tesman. Not cheap, my friend! All this will cost you dearly. Tesman (a little discouraged and looking anxiously at her). Perhaps so, aunt. BUT? Freken Tesman. Oh my God! Still! .. Tesman. How about, for example? Approximately? BUT? Freken Tesman. Well, I won't be able to tell you that until all the bills have been received. Tesman. It's good that Assessor Brakk uttered such preferential terms. He himself wrote about this to Gedda. Freken Tesman. Don't worry too much, my dear... I vouched for the furniture and carpets myself. Tesman. Vouched? You? Dear aunt, what provision could you imagine? Freken Tesman. The book on which we receive interest from the bank. Tesman (jumping up). How! Interest from your and Aunt Rina's capital? Freken Tesman. Yes, you see, I didn't think of anything else. Tesman (standing before her). But, aunt, really, you ... quite right! After all, this is your only provision with Aunt Rina! Freken Tesman. Well, well, there is something to worry about! It's just a formality, you know? That's what Assessor Brakk said. It was he who was so sweet ... arranged everything. And he said - one formality. Tesman. May be so. But still... Freken Tesman. You will now begin to receive your salary - there will be something to pay out of. Well, and if we have to fork out a little, to help you at first ... then this can only please us. Tesman. Aunt dear! You will never tire of sacrificing yourself for me! Miss Tesman (gets up and puts her hands on his shoulders). To smooth your path, my dear boy - what could give me more joy! After all, you grew up without a father, without a mother ... and now we are almost there! Sometimes, it's true, it was a bit difficult... But, thank God, you're on the right track now, Jorgen! Tesman. Yes, in fact, it's amazing how it all came together. Freken Tesman. Yes, all your rivals who got in your way. .. wanted to block your way... had to put up with it. Everyone is stranded! Especially the one who was the most dangerous of all... Yes, what you sow is what you reap... Lost your way, poor fellow! Tesman. Have you heard anything about Eilert? You mean since we left? Freken Tesman. I only heard that he allegedly published a new book. Tesman. What you! Eilert Levborg? Now, recently? BUT? Freken Tesman. Yes, they say. Hardly anything special... What do you think? No, when your new book comes out, it's sure to be quite different, Jorgen. What will it be about? Tesman. On Brabant handicrafts in the Middle Ages. Freken Tesman. Say please! Be able to write about such things! Tesman. However, it won't be coming out anytime soon. First of all, it is necessary to put in order all this extensive material that I have collected ... Freken Tesman. Yes, you are a master of collecting and putting in order. No wonder you are the son of the late Yokum. Tesman. Yes, and I can't wait to sit down for this job. Now, especially when I got my own cozy corner, I can work. Freken Tesman. And especially now that you've got a wife that suits you so well, dear Jorgen! Tesman (embracing her). Yes, yes, Aunt Jule! Hedda is the crown of everything! (Looks around.) Yes, it seems, she herself! BUT?

Hedda is shown in a small room on the left. She is twenty nine years old. Noble face, graceful figure, proud posture. The complexion is matte-pale. Gray eyes cast a steely sheen and express a cold, clear calmness. The hair is a beautiful light brown shade, but not particularly thick.
Tastefully dressed in loose morning dress.

Freken Tesman (going towards Hedda). Good morning, dear Hedda! Good morning! HEDDA (offers her hand). Hello, dear Miss Tesman! Such an early visit? It's very kind of you. Miss Tesman (somewhat embarrassed). Well ... I hope the young lady slept well at the housewarming party? Hedda. Thanks to. So-so. Tesman (laughing). So-so! However, Hedda! .. You slept like a log when I got up. Hedda. Fortunately ... However, one must get used to everything new, Miss Tesman, little by little. (Looks to the left.) Ah, the girl opened the door to the balcony. A whole sea of ​​sun. Miss Tesman (goes to the door). So let's close. Hedda. No, no, don't! Dear Tesman, please draw the curtains. The light will not be as harsh. Tesman (at the door). Yes, yes ... Well, Hedda, now you have shade and fresh air. Hedda. Yes, fresh air is welcome here. So many flowers... But, my friend... Would you like to sit down, Miss Tesman? Freken Tesman. No, thank you. Now I know that everything is fine with you, and thank God! Time to go home! There my patient is waiting for me, she won't wait. Tesman. Please send a thousand regards from me and tell me that I myself will drop by later. Freken Tesman. Okay, definitely. Ah, here's another thing, Jorgen. Almost forgot. (He rummages in his pocket.) I brought you something. Tesman. What exactly, aunt? BUT? Miss Tesman (takes out a flat package wrapped in newsprint and passes it to him). And look, my dear! Tesman (expands). My God! You saved them, Aunt Yulle!.. Gedda! It's just touching! BUT? HEDDA (at the bookcase to the right). What is it my friend? Tesman. Shoes! My old morning shoes! Hedda. Ah, that's it. I remember you often thought about them during the trip. Tesman. Yes, I missed them terribly. (Goes up to her.) Here they are, look, Hedda! HEDDA (turning to the stove). Okay, I'm not interested in that. Tesman (following her). Think... Aunt Rina herself embroidered them for me... lying sick in bed! Oh, you won't believe how many memories are associated with them! HEDDA (at the table). Not for me, actually. Freken Tesman. Hedda speaks the truth, Jorgen. Tesman. But it seems to me that now that she has entered the family... HEDDA (interrupting). It is unlikely, however, that we will get along with this servant, Tesman. Freken Tesman. Don't get along... with Bertha? Tesman. Honey... what do you think? BUT? HEDDA (pointing with his hand). Look, I left my old hat on a chair here. Tesman (dropping his shoes in fright). Hedda! Hedda. Think... what if someone came in and saw? Tesman. But Hedda! It's an aunt's hat! Hedda. Yes? Miss Tesman (takes his hat). My. And, in fact, not old, dear Fru Hedda at all. Hedda. I confess I didn't get a good look at her, Miss Tesman. Miss Tesman (tying hat ribbons). And, to tell the truth, worn for the first time. Tesman. And what an elegant, just lovely. Freken Tesman. So-so, so-so, my friend. (Looks around.) Umbrella?.. Ah, here it is! (Takes up an umbrella.) And it's also mine... (mumbles), not Bertha's. Tesman. New hat and new umbrella! Think Hedda! Hedda. Very beautiful, lovely. Tesman. Is not it? Eh?.. Well, and you, aunt, before you leave... take a good look at Hedda. What a beauty she is! Freken Tesman. My friend, this is not news. Hedda has always been beautiful. (Nods her head and heads for the exit to the right.) Tesman (following her). Yes, but did you notice how she blossomed, plumped up over the trip? HEDDA (goes to the back of the room). Stop it!.. Freken Tesman (stops and turns around). Gained weight? Tesman. Yes, Aunt Yule. Now it is not so noticeable in this dress. But I have reason to... HEDDA (at the glass door, impatiently). Ah, you have no reason... for nothing! Tesman. Perhaps this is the mountainous Tyrolean air? .. HEDDA (interrupting, abruptly). I'm exactly the same as when I left. Tesman. Yes, that's what you're talking about! And we can see. Isn't that right, aunt? Freken Tesman (looks intently at Hedda, arms folded in emotion). Hedda is beautiful... beautiful... beautiful! (Goes up to her, takes her head with both hands and kisses her hair.) God bless and save Hedda Tesman... for Jorgen! HEDDA (carefully disengaging himself). Well, it will be... Freken Tesman (quietly, touched). I will visit you every day. Tesman. Please, aunt! BUT? Freken Tesman. Farewell, farewell! (Leaves through the front.)

Tesman accompanies her. The door remains half open. Tesman can be heard thanking him several times for the shoes and asking him to convey his regards to Aunt Rina. Hedda at this time paces up and down the room, now wringing, now clasping her hands, as if in a rage. Then he goes to the glass door, parting the curtains and staring into the distance. A few minutes later Tesman returns and closes the front door behind him.

Tesman (picking up his shoes from the floor). What are you doing there, Hedda? HEDDA (mastering himself, calmly). I stand and look at the trees. How yellow and faded everything is... TESMAN (wrapping up his shoes and laying them on the table). Yes, it's already September. HEDDA (again nervously). Yes, think, September is already in the yard! Tesman. But didn’t it seem to you that Aunt Yulle was some kind of strange ... Huh? Almost solemn? What would it be with her? BUT? Hedda. I almost don't know her at all. Isn't she like this often? Tesman. No, not like today. HEDDA (moving away from the glass door). Well, do you think she was offended by the hat? Tesman. No, not particularly. Is it in the first minute ... a little bit. Hedda. But what kind of manner is it really to scatter your things in the living room. This is not accepted. Tesman. Be calm. Aunt Julle won't do it again. Hedda. However, I can smooth it out. Tesman. O dear Hedda, if only you would! Hedda. When you visit them tonight, invite her to our place tonight. Tesman. Here it is, definitely. And do you know what else you could make her very happy with? Hedda. Well? Tesman. If you could overcome yourself and be with her on "you". Well, for me, Hedda! BUT? Hedda. No, no, Tesman, don't ask. I already told you once. I’ll probably try to call her another aunt ... And that’s enough. Tesman. Oh well. But, in my opinion, since you have now entered our family ... Gedda. H'm... I still don't know very well... (Goes back into the room.) Tesman (after a while). What are you, Hedda? Dissatisfied with something? BUT? Hedda. Yes, I'm looking at my old piano. It doesn't go well with everything else. Tesman. But as soon as I receive my first salary, I will try to exchange it. Hedda. No no! I don't want to part with him. It is better to put it there, in a small room, and get a new one instead. On occasion, of course. Tesman (in a somewhat sleepy voice). Yes ... of course ... why? .. HEDDA (takes a bouquet from the piano). These flowers were not there last night when we arrived. Tesman. That's right, Aunt Yulle brought it. HEDDA (looks). Business card. (Takes it out and reads it.) "I'll come by later..." Can you guess who? Tesman. No. Who? BUT? Hedda. Fru Elvsted, Vogt's wife. Tesman. Really? Fru Elvstead - Miss Ruesing, as she used to be called. Hedda. Exactly. She, with those unbearable hair, with which she drew attention to herself. Your old hobby, I'm told. Tesman (laughing). Well, it wasn't long. And before we met you, Hedda. But think, she's here in the city! Hedda. It's strange that she's paying us a visit. We are familiar with it almost only on institute. Tesman. And I haven't seen her for God knows how many years! How does she get along there, in the wilderness? BUT? HEDDA (after a short thought, suddenly). Listen, Tesman, is it not there, in this wilderness, that one is found - Eilert Levborg? Tesman. There, there, in the same region.

Berta enters from the front.

Bertha. Lady! That lady came again ... that she was before and brought a bouquet. Here is what you are holding. Hedda. BUT! She is? Well, ask her here.

Bertha opens the door for Thea Elvstead and leaves herself. Thea is a thin, petite woman with soft, beautiful features. The eyes are light blue, large, round, bulging, with a somewhat naive, frightened-questioning expression. The hair is remarkably light, almost golden in color, unusually thick and wavy. She is two years younger than Gedda. Dressed in a dark business dress, tasteful, but not the latest fashion.

(Greeting her affectionately.) Hello, dear Fru Elvstead. It's very nice to meet you again! THEA (nervously, trying to control herself). Yes... we haven't seen each other for a long time... Tesman (offering her hand). And with me too. BUT? Hedda. Thank you for the lovely flowers... Thea. It's not worth it ... I was going to come to you right away, yesterday afternoon, but I found out that you had not yet returned from the trip. Tesman. Are you new to the city yourself? BUT? Thea. Only since yesterday. Oh, I was about to despair when I found out that you were not at home. Hedda. In despair? Why? Tesman. But, dear Mrs Rüssing... Mrs Elfstead, I wanted to say... Hedda. I hope nothing happened to you? Thea. No, it happened. And besides you, I don't know a soul here who to turn to. HEDDA (puts the bouquet on the table). Please... let's sit on the sofa. Thea. Oh, I'm so nervous that I can't sit at all. Hedda. That is OK. Let's sit down. (Takes THEA by the hand, makes her sit down on the sofa and sits next to her.) TESMANT. Well? So what, Mrs. Elvstead? Hedda. Did something happen to you there? Thea. Yes... it happened and didn't happen. Oh, I wish you didn't misunderstand me somehow. Hedda. So it's best for you to be direct, fru Elvsted. Tesman. That's what you came for. BUT? Thea. Yes of course. Well... I must tell you, if you don't already know, that Eilert Levborg is also here in the city. Hedda. Levborg!.. Tesman. How, Eilert Levborg is here again! Think Hedda! Hedda. God! I do hear. Thea. He's been here for a week now. Think - a whole week! Here in this dangerous city! Alone!.. It's so easy to get into bad company here. Hedda. Dearest Fru Elvstead ... what is it really to you? THEA (looking perplexedly at her, patteringly). He was the teacher of the children... Gedda. Have your children? Thea. My husband's children. I don't have mine. Hedda. Ah, your stepsons. Thea. Yes. Tesman (getting lost). Well ... he has already improved so much ... that is, how should I put it? .. has changed for the better so much that he could be entrusted with such a thing? BUT? Thea. Yes, nothing of the kind could be said about him for the last two or three years. Tesman. Really? Think Hedda! Hedda. I hear. Thea. Absolutely nothing, I assure you! In no way. But still ... Now he has come here again ... to a big city ... and he has a lot of money with him. I am deathly afraid for him. Tesman. But why didn't he stay there?.. With you and your husband? BUT? Thea. Yes, as soon as his book came out, he couldn’t sit still with us. Tesman. Yes, yes, it's true... And Aunt Julle told me that he had written a new book. Thea. Yes, yes, a big book... On the history of culture, it seems so. Two weeks have already passed. It is bought and read like hot cakes ... A huge success. Tesman. What! He, right, took advantage of the old material from the former, better times? Thea. So, do you think this is the result of the work of previous years? Tesman. Well, yes. Thea. No, he wrote everything while he was with us... for the last year. Tesman. That's nice to hear... Think, Hedda! Thea. Ah, if only it could go on like this! Hedda. Have you already seen him? Thea. Not yet. It was so difficult for me to get his address ... Only this morning I finally managed to. HEDDA (looking intently at her). To be honest, it's a little strange that your husband... um... THEA (shuddering nervously). My husband? What?... Hedda. He sends you here on this mission. Why shouldn't he come and look after his friend himself? Thea. Ah, what are you! My husband doesn't have time for this!.. Besides... I had to do some shopping... Hedda (with a slight smile). Well, then it's different. THEA (gets up quickly, in agitation). And I beg you very, very much, Mr. Tesman, to receive Levborg... kindly... if he comes to you! Yes, he will probably come to you! God! After all, you were once such friends ... Yes, and you are engaged in one subject. The same branch of science, as far as I can tell. Tesman. Yes Yes. Before, anyway, it was so. Thea. That's why I ask you so convincingly ... And you too ... Take care of him. Isn't it true, Mr. Tesman, you promise? Tesman. With pleasure, Mrs Ruessing... Hedda. Elvstead. Tesman. I will do everything I can for Eilert, rely on me. Thea. Oh, how sweet of you! (She shakes his hand.) Thank you, thank you! Thank you! (Reckoning.) My husband loves him so much. HEDDA (rising). You should have written to him, Tesman. And then he himself, perhaps, will not come. Tesman. Yes, yes, perhaps it would be more accurate, Hedda. BUT? Hedda. And the sooner the better. Now, in my opinion. Thea (pleasantly). Ah, if only!.. Tesman. This very minute. Do you have his address, fru... fru... Elvstead? Thea. Yes. (Takes a note out of his pocket and hands it to him.) Here. Tesman. Good good. So I'll go... (Looks around.) Oh, yes, shoes? And here! (Takes up the bundle and leaves the room.) HEDDA. Write a warm, friendly letter. Yes, more authentic ... as it should. Tesman. Well, of course. Thea. But, for God's sake, not a word that I asked! Tesman. Needless to say. BUT? (Goes through a small room to the right.) HEDDA (coming close to Thea, smiling and speaking in an undertone). Like this. It's called killing two birds with one stone. Thea. That is, how is it? Hedda. You did not understand? It was necessary to send him out. Thea. Yes... writing a letter... HEDDA. And I... to talk to you alone. Thea (embarrassed). About the same? Hedda. Exactly. Thea (frightened). But there is nothing more, Mrs. Tesman! Right, nothing! Hedda. Well, no, there is ... And even a lot. That's how much I could understand. Let's sit down and talk frankly. (She forces Thea to sit down in an armchair near the stove and sits down next to her on a pouffe.) THEA (looking uneasily at her watch). But, dear, dear Fru Tesman... I was about to leave... Hedda. Time, right, still suffers ... Well? Tell me now, how do you live at home, in the family? Thea. Ah, that's the last thing I want to talk about. Hedda. Well, me, dear? .. Lord, we studied together. Thea. Yes... but you were a class older... Oh, how I was afraid of you then! Hedda. Were you afraid? Me? Thea. Yes, terrible. You all used to pull my hair when we met you on the stairs. Hedda. Oh really? Thea. And once they even said that burn them to me. Hedda. Well, of course, I was joking! Thea. Yes, but I was so stupid then ... And then ... in any case ... we completely parted ... We belonged to completely different circles. Hedda. So let's try to get a little closer to each other. Listen! At the institute, we were on "you" and called each other just by name ... Thea. Oh no, you're right, you're wrong. Hedda. Not at all. I remember it very well! So let's be friends, as in the old days ... (Moves towards her.) That's it. (He kisses her on the cheek.) Now say "you" to me and call me Hedda! THEA (shakes and strokes her hands). How much affection and participation! .. I'm not used to this at all! Hedda. Well, that's enough... And I will still say "you" to you and call you my dear Torah. Thea. My name is Thea. Hedda. Oh yes, of course. I wanted to say Thea. (Looks at her with concern.) So you're not used to affection and participation, Thea? In your own family? Thea. Yes, if I had a family. But she is not. And never was. HEDDA (looking at her for a moment). I foresaw something of the sort. THEA (looking helplessly in front of him). Yes... yes... yes... Hedda. I don't remember it well now ... at first you were, it seems, the housekeeper at the Vogt? Thea. That is, I entered, in fact, a governess. But his wife ... the first ... was so sickly, she lay more and more. So I had to take over the household as well. Hedda. And in the end ... you yourself became the hostess? Thea (heavy sigh). Yes, hostess. Hedda. Wait... How many years have passed since then? Thea. Since I got married? Hedda. Yes. Thea. Yes, it's been five years now. Hedda. That's right, it is. Thea. Oh, these, five years ... Or rather ... the last two or three years! Oh, you can't imagine... HEDDA (lightly striking her on the arm). "You"? Not good, Thea! Thea. No no. I'll try not to forget... Oh, if only... if you only knew... HEDDA (as if casually). Eilert Levborg also lived there for three years, I think? THEA (looks uncertainly at her). Eilert Levborg?.. Yes. Hedda. Did you know him back here in the city? Thea. Almost completely unfamiliar. That is, of course, knew by name. Hedda. Well, and then ... he began to visit your house? Thea. Yes, every day. After all, he was invited to work with children. I couldn't handle everything alone. Hedda. I see... Well, what about your husband?... He must be often on the road? Thea. Yes. You... you know, the Vogt often has to go around his district. HEDDA (leaning on the arm of the chair). Thea... poor, sweet Thea... Now you must tell me the way it is. Thea. So ask yourself better. Hedda. What kind of person is your husband really? That is, what is it, for example, in family life? Does he treat you well? THEA (evasively). He himself, it is true, finds that it is better and impossible. Hedda. I just think... he's too old for you. Right, twenty years older? Thea (irritated). And this too. One to one. He's not all for me ... We have nothing in common ... absolutely nothing. Hedda. But does he still love you? Even in your own way? Thea. Oh, I really don't know... I guess he just needs me for the house. Well, I'm cheap. Cheap wife. Hedda. That's stupid of you! Thea (shaking her head). Nothing to do about. With him, at least. He doesn't seem to really love anyone in the world but himself. Just a few more kids. Hedda. And Eilert Levborg, add! Thea (looking at her). Eilert Levborg? What did you take from? Hedda. But, my dear ... it seems to me that if he sends you here after him ... (With a barely perceptible smile.) And besides, you yourself told Tesman. THEA (shuddering nervously). Ah, so? .. Yes, it seems. (With a sudden impulse.) No, it's better to tell you straight away! You can't hide anyway. Hedda. But, dear Thea?... Thea. So, in a nutshell: my husband did not know at all that I was going. Hedda. What-oh! Your husband did not know? .. Thea. Of course. He wasn't even at home. He's away. I didn't have the strength anymore, Hedda. Couldn't stand it. Such loneliness awaited me there!.. Hedda. Well? And how are you? Thea. Yes so. Gathered some of my things, the most necessary. All quietly. And she left the house. Hedda. So you left right away? Thea. Yes, I got on the train and came here. Hedda. Thea! Dear!.. How did you have the courage? THEA (gets up and steps aside). So what was I to do? Hedda. What do you think your husband will say when you get home? THEA (at the table, looking at Hedda). Will I return... to him? Hedda. Yes Yes. Thea. I will never return to him. HEDDA (gets up and goes to her). So you... seriously broke up with him? Thea. I had no other choice. Hedda. How are you so... open? Thea. But you still can't hide. Hedda. But what will they say about you, Thea! Just think! Thea. And let what they want; that's what they say! (He sits down heavily and wearily on the sofa.) I had to do this, and nothing more. HEDDA (after a short pause). What are you thinking of starting now? What to take on? Thea. I don't know myself yet. One thing I know - I need to live where Eilert Levborg lives ... If I live at all. HEDDA (pulls a chair away from the table, sits down next to Thea and strokes her hand). Listen, Thea... how did it start for you - this friendship with Eilert Levborg? Thea. Yes, little by little. I somehow managed to acquire some influence on him. Hedda. That's how! Thea. Yes, He got behind his old habits. Not at my request - I would never dare to ask him. But he apparently noticed that I didn’t like all that. And he stopped. HEDDA (suppressing an involuntary scornful grin). You, then, as they say, raised the fallen, dear Thea. Thea. At least he says so himself. But he too... for his part... made of me something like a real person. Taught me to think... and understand... Hedda. So did he work with you? Thea. Not that he was engaged, but so ... he talked. About many, many things. And then came that wonderful, happy time when I began to take part in his work! He let me help him! Hedda. Really? Thea. Yes! He wrote only after consulting with me. We have always worked together. Hedda. Like good friends. Thea (with enthusiasm). Comrades! Yes, think, Hedda, and he said so!.. Oh, I should consider myself so happy. But I can not. I don't know how long it will take. Hedda. Are you so little sure of him? Thea (breathing heavily). Between Eilert Levborg and me stands the shadow of a woman. HEDDA (looks at her with intense attention). Who could it be? Thea. Don't know. Some kind of ... old love, which he, it’s true, never completely forgot. Hedda. Did he... say something like that? Thea. Only once hinted ... and then in passing. Hedda. Well? And what did he say? Thea. He said that when they parted, she wanted to shoot him. HEDDA (mastering herself, coldly). Like? This is somehow not in the local mores. Thea. Yes. That's why I think that this is none other than that red-haired singer, for whom he at one time ... Hedda. I think, yes. Thea. And I remember hearing about her that she always walks around with a loaded revolver. Hedda. Well, of course it is her! THEA (wringing his hands). And imagine, Hedda, I found out that this singer... is here again in the city! Oh, I'm so desperate... HEDDA (looking askance at the door to the small room). Shh!.. Tesman! (Getting up, in a whisper.) Thea... all this must remain between us. THEA (jumping up). Oh yes yes! For God's sake!..

Tesman passes on the right through a small room. He has a letter in his hand.

Tesman. Well... the message is ready. Hedda. And great. But Fru Elvstead seems to be about to leave. Wait a minute. I walk her to the garden gate. Tesman. Listen, Hedda, can't you have Bertha send this? HEDDA (taking the letter). OK I will tell her. Berta enters from the front. Bertha. Assessor Brakk came and said that he would very much like to see the gentlemen. Hedda. Ask an assessor. And then... throw this letter in the mailbox. BERTHA (takes up the letter). Good. (Opens the door for the assessor and leaves.)

Assessor Brakk is a man of about forty-five, squat, but well built, with soft elastic movements. The face is rounded, with a noble profile. Her hair is still almost black, cut short and carefully curled. Vivacious eyes. Thick eyebrows. The mustache is also thick, with trimmed ends. He was dressed elegantly, though somewhat youthful for his age, in an urban dress for a walk. She resorts to pince-nez, which she drops from time to time.

BRACK (with a hat in his hands, bows). Is it possible to afford such an early visit? Hedda. Yes, you certainly may. Tesman (shakes his hand). You are always our welcome guest. (Introduces.) Assessor Brakk... Miss Ruesing... Hedda. Oh. Brakk (bowing). Very nice... HEDDA (looks at him and laughs). Really, it's interesting to look at you in daylight, assessor! Brakk. Do you find... a change? Hedda. Yes, you seem to have rejuvenated. Brakk. Much obliged. Tesman. What about Hedda? BUT? Didn't it bloom? She's just... Hedda. Please leave me alone. Better thank the assessor for all his troubles... Brakk. Excuse me... it's a pleasure for me... HEDDA. Yes, you are a true friend. But, I see, my friend is impatient to leave... Goodbye, assessor! I'll be right back.

Mutual tributes. Thea and Hedda exit through the anteroom.

Brakk. Well, well ... your wife is not completely dissatisfied? Tesman. Oh, we don't know how to thank you. Of course... some movement is necessary... Something is missing... Some small things will have to be purchased. Brakk. Yes? Indeed? Tesman. Of course, we won't bother you with this. Hedda herself wants to arrange everything... Shouldn't we sit down? BUT? Brakk. Thanks to. For a moment. (Sits down at the table.) There is something I need to tell you, my dear Tesman. Tesman. Yes... Ah, I understand! (Sits down.) Now the serious part of the celebration must begin. BUT? Brakk. Well, money matters still endure for now. Although, however, I am ready to regret that we did not settle down a little more modestly. Tesman. Why, it couldn't have been otherwise. Think of Hedda, dear assessor. You know her well... Could I offer her a purely philistine environment? Brakk. No, no, that's the problem. Tesman. Besides, fortunately, my appointment is not far off. Brakk. Well, you know... things like that often drag on. Tesman. Have you heard anything like that? BUT? Brakk. That is, nothing is certain. (Interrupting.) But really, I can tell you one piece of news. Tesman. Well? Brakk. Your old comrade Eilert Levborg is here again. Tesman. I already know it. Brakk. How? Where? Tesman. Yes, that lady who left with Hedda told me. Brakk. That's what! What, however, is her name? I did not hear. Tesman. Fru Elvstead. Brakk. Ah! Vogt's wife. Levborg, it seems, lived there with them. Tesman. Yes. And think, I found out, to my greatest joy, that he again became a completely decent human being. Brakk. Yes, they say something. Tesman. And wrote a new book. BUT? Brakk. How, how! Tesman. And she made a big noise! Brakk. Extraordinary noise, yes. Tesman. Think! Isn't that nice to hear? After all, he is remarkably gifted ... And I really almost gave up on him. Brakk. Like everyone, it seems, who knew him. Tesman. I just don't understand what he's going to do now? Have mercy! What will he live on? BUT?

At his last words, Hedda returns from the hall.

HEDDA (to Brakka, with a slight sneer of contempt). Tesman always rushes about with this question - what to live on! Tesman. God... we were talking about poor Eilert Levborg. HEDDA (looking quickly at her husband). Yes? (Sits down in an armchair by the stove. In an indifferent tone.) What's the matter with him! Tesman. Why, he probably lost his inheritance a long time ago. Well, he can’t write a new book every year. BUT? So I ask, what will happen to him? Brakk. About this I can perhaps tell you something. Tesman. Well? Brakk. Don't forget, he has relatives, and quite influential ones... Tesman. Unfortunately, they completely abandoned it. Brakk. In the old days, however, he was considered the pride and hope of the family. Tesman. Yes, in the old days! But he messed himself up. Hedda. How to know? (With a fleeting smile.) After all, there, at the Vogt, he was again returned to the true path ... Brakk. Add to that his new book... Tesman. Yes Yes! God forbid that they really help him get settled somehow. I just sent him a letter. You know, Hedda, I invited him to our place tonight. Brakk. However, my dear, you are participating today in my single feast! You gave your word yesterday at the pier. Hedda. Have you forgotten, Tesman? Tesman. And I forgot! Brakk. However, he is unlikely to come to you, be calm. Tesman. From what? BUT? BRAKK (gets up and, leaning his hands on the back of the chair, speaks as if reluctantly). You see, my dear Tesman... and you, Mrs Tesman... It would be unfriendly of me not to tell you something... something like that... Tesman. Concerning Eilert Levborg? Brakk. Both him and you. Tesman. What is the matter, dear assessor? Brakk. You must be prepared for the fact that your appointment will take place, perhaps, not as soon as you wish and expect. Tesman (rising anxiously from his chair). Any trouble? BUT? Brakk. A competition will probably be announced... Tesman. Competition! Think Hedda! HEDDA (sitting down deeper into the armchair). Well well. Tesman. Who is the competitor? It's not... Brakk. Exactly, Eilert Levborg. Tesman (clasping his hands). No, it's unthinkable! Absolutely impossible! BUT? Brakk. Hm ... Perhaps, we will live to see this. Tesman. But listen! After all, what is it? .. It would be such an incredible arrogance towards me! (Waving his arms.) Think about it, I'm a married man! We got married with the expectation of this... spent our money... and borrowed money from Aunt Yulla... Excuse me! After all, I was almost certainly promised this appointment! BUT? Brakk. Well, well, well ... you will probably get it, only by competition. HEDDA (without moving in her chair). Think, Tesman... it will be like racing! Tesman. But, my dear Hedda, I don't understand how you can be so indifferent to it! HEDDA (still). And I don't think so. On the contrary, I am very interested in the result. Brakk. In any case, Mrs. Tesman, it's good that you know the state of things, and now ... that is, even before that; how you got down to those little purchases that I hear you threaten. Hedda. Well, as far as this is concerned, nothing will change. Brakk. Here's how? Then the matter is different. And then... goodbye! (To Tesman.) I always go for a walk after dinner, so I'll pick you up. Tesman. Yes, yes... Ah, I've completely lost my head! HEDDA (reclining, holding out his hand). Farewell, Assessor! You are welcome again. Brakk. Thank you. Goodbye. Tesman (escorting him to the door). Farewell, dear assessor. Please excuse me...

Brakk leaves through the anteroom.

(Returning.) Ah, Hedda! Never fantasize! BUT? HEDDA (looks at him with a smile). And are you doing this? Tesman. Yes, you know, one cannot but admit that it was very fantastic ... to get married and arrange a house on hopes alone. Hedda. Perhaps you are right. Tesman. Well, at least we got our own corner, Hedda. Think... we both dreamed about this house so much. Almost raved about it... can I say. BUT? HEDDA (rising wearily from her chair). The agreement was to live openly. Accept. Tesman. Ah, Lord! And I was so happy about it! To see you as the hostess in the chosen circle! Think! BUT? Yes, yes, what to do. While you have to, then, live in solitude, together. To host only Aunt Julle from time to time... Eh! You should have lived very, very differently! Hedda. Of course, I won't have a livery footman at first. Tesman. No, alas! Keeping a lackey is out of the question. Hedda. About your own riding horse, it must be ... Tesman (frightened). About a riding horse! .. Hedda, ... Now there is nothing to think about. Tesman. God save... of course! HEDDA (going into the back of the room). Well ... I still have one entertainment left for now ... Tesman (beaming). God bless! What is Hedda? BUT? HEDDA (at the door to the little room, looking at him with hidden mockery). My pistols, Jorgen. Tesman (frightened). Pistols! HEDDA (with a cold look). Pistols of General Gabler. (Leaves through a small room to his left.) Tesman (runs after her to the door and calls after her). But God bless you, sweet, dear Hedda... don't touch those dangerous things. Well, for me, Hedda! BUT?

ACT TWO

The same room as in the first act. Only the piano has been removed and replaced by an elegant writing table with a shelf for books. The sofa to the left also has a new table. Most of the bouquets have been taken away. Thea Elvstead's bouquet is on the table in the middle of the room. Afternoon time. Hedda, dressed in an elegant dress for receptions, stands at the open glass door and loads a revolver. Another of the same is in an open case on the desk.

HEDDA (looks down into the garden and shouts). Hello again, Mr. Assessor! Brakk (from the garden). My respects, fru Tesman! HEDDA (raises his revolver and takes aim). Now I'm going to shoot you. Brakk (there). Well, well, well! .. Don't aim directly at me! Hedda. And you don't go down the sidewalk. (Pulls the trigger. Shot.) Brakk (closer). Yes, you are completely out of your mind! Hedda. My God!.. Did I hit you? Brakk (closer still). Well, stop this foolishness! Hedda. So come in, assessor!

Brakk, already dressed for a single party, with a light coat slung over his arm, enters through the glass door.

Brakk. Damn... you still don't quit this sport? What are you shooting at? Hedda. Just like that ... I shoot in the air! BRACK (carefully releases the revolver from her hands). Allow me, ma'am. (Examines the revolver.) Ah, an old acquaintance! (Looks around.) Where is your case? But. (Hides the revolver in the case and locks it.) We will have this fun for today. Hedda. What would you like me to do? Brakk. There were no visits? HEDDA (shutting the glass door). No one. All close acquaintances, it is true, are still at their dachas. Brakk. Tesman, perhaps, is also not at home? HEDDA (locks the revolver case in the drawer). No. As soon as I had dinner, I ran to my aunts. He didn't expect you so early. Brakk. Hm... If only I could guess! Stupid! HEDDA (turning her head towards him). How so? Brakk. Yes, of course... could have come here... a little earlier. HEDDA (moving to the middle of the room). Well, then you wouldn't have found anyone at all. I changed my clothes after dinner. Brakk. Wouldn't you have found some tiny slit there through which you could talk? Hedda. You forgot to make one for yourself. Brakk. Second miss! Hedda. Well, we'll have to sit here and wait until Tesman comes back. He probably won't be soon. Brakk. Well, sit down, I'll be patient.

Hedda sits down in the corner of the sofa. Brakk hangs his coat on the back of the nearest chair and sits down, hat in hand. A small pause. Their eyes meet.

Hedda. Well? Brack (in the same tone). Well? Hedda. I was the first to ask. BRACK (leaning slightly forward). Well, let's spend an hour in friendly conversation, fru Hedda! HEDDA (leaning back on the sofa). Doesn't it seem to you that a whole century has passed since we last talked? .. Two or three phrases that we exchanged yesterday at the pier and this morning, of course, are nothing to count. Brakk. So... eye to eye? Intimate, do you want to get off? Hedda. Yeah, like that. Brakk. Every day I thought of you here and wished you to return as soon as possible. Hedda. Yes, and I, perhaps, all the time wished the same. Brakk. You? Really, Fru Hedda? And I thought you had so much fun traveling. Hedda. Yes, there is nothing to say! Brakk. But after all, Tesman only talked about this in his letters. Hedda. Well, yes, he is! After all, in his opinion, there is no greater fun than walking and rummaging through various libraries and archives ... and pore over the correspondence of old parchments or something else. Brakk (somewhat venomously). Well, that's his calling. Partly, at least. Hedda. Oh sure. And then it's no wonder... But I am! What was it like for me! Really, dear assessor, I was unbearably bored. Brakk (with participation). Are you really serious about this? Hedda. I think you can imagine! For half a year not to see a single person, even in the slightest degree from our circle ... with whom we could talk about things that are interesting to both of us. Brakk. Yes, yes ... it would be a great deprivation for me too. Hedda. And what is most unbearable of all... Brack. Well? Hedda. To be forever in society... the same... Brakk (nodding his head approvingly). Y-yes, from morning to evening! Think... constantly. Hedda. I said forever. Brakk. I agree. But with our good-natured Tesman, really, it seems to me, one could ... Hedda. Tesman is a specialist, dear assessor. Brakk. Undoubtedly. Hedda. And traveling with a specialist is no fun at all. In any case, if such a journey is delayed for a long time. Brakk. Even... with the specialist you love? Hedda. Ugh! Do not use this hackneyed word! Brakk (stricken). What, what, fru Hedda? HEDDA (half joking, half annoyed). Yes. You should try it yourself! Hear about the history of culture from early morning until late at night... Brakk. Forever!.. Hedda. Yes Yes Yes! And even about handicrafts in the Middle Ages! .. This is the most terrible thing! BRACK (looks at her inquisitively). But tell me how then, in essence, to understand that ... um ... Hedda. That Jørgen Tesman and I have become a couple, you mean to say? Brakk. Well, at least that's it. Hedda. God! Does it surprise you so much? Brakk. Yes and no, Fru Hedda. Hedda. You see, I managed to dance to my fill, kind assessor. And my red days are already over... (With an involuntary start.) Ah, no! I won't say that though! And I don't want to think. Brakk. And, really, there is no reason to think so. Hedda. Well, there are reasons ... (Looking inquisitively at him.) And from Tesman, in any case, it cannot be taken away that he is a completely correct person. Brakk. Both correct and solid. Have mercy! Hedda. Inna I can find in it, in fact, nothing so ... funny. Do you find it? Brakk. funny? N-no... I won't actually say that... Hedda. So. And, in any case, he is a hard worker, a zealous collector ... It is very likely that he will eventually come forward. BRACK (looks at her a little uncertainly). I thought that you, like many others, were sure that something outstanding would come out of it. HEDDA (with a weary expression). Yes, and so did I... And since, besides, he almost by force sought gracious permission to take me into his care, then... I don't know why I would have refused him? Brakk. Of course. From this point of view... HEDDA. It was, after all, more than I could have expected from my other obliging admirers, dear assessor. Brack (laughing). I do not undertake to answer for all the others, but as for me personally, then, you know, I have always had ... some special, respectful fear of marriage in general ... Fru Hedda. HEDDA (jokingly). Oh, I never counted on you! Brakk. All I long for is to make myself a nice intimate circle of acquaintances, where I could be useful in word and deed... I could constantly be... as a trusted friend... Hedda. Friend of the owner of the house, you mean? BRACK (leaning slightly forward). Frankly speaking ... it would be better if the hostess. But then the owner too, of course. In a word, I dreamed of such... shall we say... a triangle. In fact, it is both convenient and pleasant for all parties. Hedda. Yes, more than once during the trip I missed a third partner ... Sitting all the time together in a compartment ... oh! Brakk. Fortunately, the honeymoon trip is over. HEDDA (shaking his head). Well, it might drag on... for a long time. I just arrived at the way station. Brakk. That way you can jump out. And stretch a little, Fru Hedda. Hedda. I never jump out. Brakk. Not? Hedda. No. There's always someone... Brack (laughing). Stands and looks at your feet, right? Hedda. Exactly. Brakk. Well, my God! What of this? .. Hedda (makes a dismissive gesture with his hand). I don't like it... It's better to stay where you are then. At least two. Brakk. Well, what if the third one sits next to a couple? Hedda. Yes ... this is a completely different matter! Brakk. Some experienced and quick-witted friend... Hedda. ...Interesting, informative in all respects... Brakk. ... And by no means an expert! HEDDA (sighing loudly). Yes, it's definitely a big relief. BRAKK (hearing the front door open, squinting at the front door). So the triangle is built. HEDDA (in an undertone). And the train is moving on.

Tesman emerges from the hall in a gray walking suit and a fedora. Under his arm and in his pockets he has many unbound books.

Tesman (going to the table in front of the corner sofa). Phew, it was hard to drag such a pile ... (Puts books on the table.) I was just sweating, Hedda! .. Ah! You are already here, dearest assessor! BUT? Bertha didn't tell me anything. BRACK (getting up). I walked through the garden. Hedda. What kind of books did you bring? Tesman (leafing through the books). Various new special compositions that I needed to acquire... Hedda. Special essays? Brakk. N-yes! All special compositions, Fru Tesman.

Brakk and Hedda exchange meaningful smiles,

Hedda. Do you still need any special compositions? Tesman. More, sweetie! No matter how much you buy, you can't buy too much. You have to watch everything that is written and printed, Hedda. Yes, probably... so. Tesman (rummages through the books). But look - I also got a new book by Eilert Levborg. (Pulls it out.) Would you like to look into it, Hedda? BUT? Hedda. No, thank you very much. However ... later, perhaps. Tesman. I leafed through it a little dear. Brakk. Well, what is your opinion ... as a specialist? Tesman. Wonderful!.. Logical, clear, restrained! He had never written like that before... (He collects books.) Well, it is necessary, however, to take away all this. That would be fun to cut! .. And then I still have to change clothes. (to Brakku) We're not going now, are we? BUT? Brakk. Have mercy, where is the hurry! Tesman. Well, I'll have a little more... (He leaves with the books, but stops at the door.) Oh, yes, Hedda... Aunt Yulle won't come to you tonight. Hedda. Will not come? What is the fault of the hat? Tesman. Here you go! How can you think that about Aunt Yulla? Have mercy!.. Aunt Rina is very ill, that's what. Hedda. Yes, she's sick all the time. Tesman. Yes, but today she, poor thing, something is very bad. Hedda. Well, then it's in the order of things that she stays with her. I'm not in a complaint. Tesman. And you can't imagine, Gedda, how happy Aunt Julle is that... you've gained so much weight during the trip. HEDDA (getting up, in an undertone). Oh, these aunts to me! .. Tesman. BUT? HEDDA (going to the glass door). Nothing. Tesman. Oh well. (He leaves through a small room to the right.) Brakk. What hat are you talking about? Hedda. You see, Miss Tesman was here in the morning and put her hat here on a chair. (Smiling.) And I pretended to take it for a servant's hat. Brakk (shaking his head). However, dearest Fru Hedda... how are you? With such a respectable old woman ... HEDDA (nervously, pacing the room). Yes ... you know, sometimes it suddenly comes over me ... And then there's nothing to be done. (Throws herself into an armchair by the stove.) I don't really know how to explain it myself. BRACK (standing behind her chair). The point seems to be... that you are, in fact, not quite happy. HEDDA (looking ahead). And why would I be ... happy? Maybe you can tell me? Brakk. Yes, if only because... by the way... that you settled down just as you wished. HEDDA (looks at him and laughs). So you also believe in this wish story? Brakk. Isn't there truth in it? Hedda. Perhaps there is ... a share. Brakk. Well, sir? Hedda. The fact is that Tesman served as my guide from the evenings last summer. Brakk. Unfortunately... I was completely off the track. Hedda. Yes, yes, your paths were different last summer. Brack (laughs). Shame on you, Fru Hedda! Well ... so you and Tesman? .. Gedda. Yes ... so once we passed here. Tesman, the poor fellow, hesitated and hesitated, and still could not think of a topic for conversation. I felt sorry for the learned man... Brakk (smiling incredulously). It's a pity? Hm! .. Hedda. Trust me. And, in order to somehow help him get out, I rather frivolously said that I would gladly settle in this mansion. Brakk. And nothing more? Hedda. That evening, yes! Brakk. After, you mean? Hedda. Yes. My frivolity had consequences, dear assessor. Brakk. Unfortunately, our frivolous acts too often have consequences, fru Hedda! Hedda. Thank you! So it was these dreams of the house of State Counselor Falk that brought Tesman and me closer. This led to an engagement, and a wedding, and a trip, and everything, everything! Yes, yes, assessor, that's exactly what you sow, so you reap, I'm ready to say. Brakk. It's preposterous. But in fact, all this, perhaps, did not attract you at all? Hedda. That's it. Brakk. Well, what about now? After all, we seem to have tried for you ... arranged everything more comfortably? Hedda. Phew! .. In my opinion, here all the rooms smelled of lavender and pink salt. However, this smell was carried, perhaps, by Jule's aunt, Brakk (laughing). Rather, it is a legacy from the late general's wife, Hedda. Yes, it smells of old stuff in here. Reminds me of ball flowers... the day after the ball. (Putting his hands behind his head, he leans back in his chair and looks at Brakka.) Oh, dear assessor, you cannot imagine what mortal boredom awaits me here! Brakk. Doesn't life prepare some tasks for you too, fru Hedda? Hedda. That is, something interesting, tempting? Brakk. This, of course, would be the best. Hedda. I don't know... what tasks are there! I often think ... (Interrupting.) But this, perhaps, will not work either. Brakk. Who knows? Come on, tell me. Hedda. What if I could get Tesman into politics? Brack (laughs). Tesman? No, you know, politics is not his thing at all. Hedda, I willingly believe... What if I had succeeded? Brakk. What joy will you get from this? Is he no good? Why do you then force him? .. Hedda, Then why am I bored! Do you hear? (After a short pause.) So. Do you think that Tesman will not be able to become a minister under any circumstances? Brakk. Hm... You see, dear Fru Hedda... in order to become a minister, he would first of all have to be a sufficiently rich man. HEDDA (getting up, irritably). Yes, that's it! All these miserable conditions that I found myself in! .. (Starting to walk around the room.) They make life so miserable, downright absurd. That's what. Brakk. I think the reason is something else. Hedda. Well? Brakk. You have never experienced anything so ... real, shaking. Hedda. So nothing serious, you mean? Brakk. Yes, call it what you want. But now, perhaps, it will not keep itself waiting long. HEDDA (throwing her head). Do you mean adventure with that pathetic professorship? So this is Tesman's case. It doesn't concern me at all. Brakk. Yes, yes, so be it. Well, what if you... speaking in a high style... will be entrusted with serious, holy duties? (Smiling) New duties, dear Fru Hedda! HEDDA (angrily). Shut up! Nothing like this will ever happen! Brakk (soothing tone). Well, we'll talk about this a lot, a lot in a year. HEDDA (briefly). I have no inclinations for this, Mr. Assessor. Leave me with your duties! Brakk. It's like you don't have the makings for what most women see as a vocation that... HEDDA (at the glass door). But stop it, they tell you!.. Really, I often think that I have the makings of only one thing. BRACK (coming closer to her). You may ask... for what? HEDDA (looking into the garden). Die of boredom. There you are. (Turns to the door of the small room and laughs.) So it is! The professor himself. Brakk (quietly, in a tone of warning). Well, well, well, Fru Hedda!

Tesman, already in disguise, with gloves and a hat in his hands, comes out on the right through the back room.

Tesman. Hedda, has there been a letter of rejection from Eilert Levborg yet? BUT? Hedda. No. Tesman. Well, you'll see, he'll be here soon. Brakk. So you still think that he will come? Tesman. Almost certain. After all, everything you said here this morning is true, just empty rumors. Brakk. Indeed? Tesman. At the very least, Aunt Yülle said that she would not believe for anything in the world that he would now want to stand in my way. Think! Brakk. In this case, everything is going well. TESMAN (putting the gloves into his hat, leaving it on the chair to the right). And I should probably wait. Brakk. Well, we have plenty of time. No one will come to me before seven, half past seven. Tesman. Well, we can keep Hedde company for now. And we'll see. BUT? HEDDA (taking off the Assessor's coat and hat from the chair to put it on the corner sofa). In the worst case, Mr. Levborg can spend the evening with me. BRACK (wanting to take his things himself). Excuse me, Mrs. Tesman! .. And what do you really mean by the worst case? Hedda. If Mr. Levborg does not wish to join you and Tesman. Tesman (looking at his wife, bewildered). But, my dear, would it be convenient if he stayed here with you? BUT? Remember, Aunt Yulle can't come, Hedda. Yes, but Fru Elfstead is coming. Here we are three together and drink tea. Tesman. Yes, then so. Brack (smiling). And for Levborg himself, this, perhaps, will be more useful. Tesman. Why is that? Brakk. Have mercy! You seem to have attacked my idle revels more than once! In your opinion, only men with very, very strict rules can visit them. Hedda. I thought that Herr Levborg was firm enough now in his rules. Newly converted sinner...

Berta enters from the front.

Bertha. Lady, some gentleman wants... HEDDA. Let him come in.

Bertha leaves.

Tesman (quietly). I'm sure it's him! Think!

Eilert Levborg enters from the hall. He is the same age as Tesman, but looks older than him. You can see from his face that he had time to live. Lean and lean. Elongated, pale face with bright spots of blush on the cheeks, dark hair and beard. Dressed gracefully in a new black business pair. Dark gloves and a top hat. He stops near the door and makes a quick bow. Seems a little confused.

(Comes up and shakes his hand.) Well, dear Eilert... We had to see each other again! Levborg (quietly). Thank you for your letter. (Goes up to Hedda.) May I shake your hand too, Mrs. Tesman? HEDDA (gives him her hand.) You are welcome, Herr Levborg. (Pointing to the assessor.) I don't know, gentlemen... You... Levborg (with a slight bow). It seems assessor Brakk? Brakk (bowing). He is. A few years ago... Tesman (puts both hands on Levborg's shoulders). I ask you now to be at home, Eilert! Isn't that right, Hedda? Are you thinking about settling here in the city again? BUT? Levborg. Yes I want to. Tesman. This is understandable. Listen, I got your new book. Only, really, I haven't had time to read it yet. Levborg. Yes, it's not worth the trouble. Tesman. Why? Levborg. There is nothing special about her. Tesman. Think! And that's what you're talking about! Brakk. She is, however, highly praised by all, I have heard. Levborg. This was just what I needed. After all, I wrote it in such a way that everyone would like it. Brakk. Very reasonable. Tesman, However, dear Eilert! Levborg. You see, I wanted to create a position for myself again. Start over. Tesman (somewhat embarrassed). Yes, yes, perhaps! .. Levborg (smiling, puts his hat aside and takes out a package wrapped in paper from his side pocket). But when this comes out, Jorgen, you read it. Only here is real. In this, I am myself. Tesman. Here's how? What is this? Levborg. This is a continuation. Tesman. Continuation? What? Levborg. Books. Tesman. The one new? Levborg. Well, yes. Tesman, But, my dear Eilert... you have already come close to our time in it! Levborg. Yes. This one talks about the future. Tesman. About future! My God, we don't know anything about the future! Levborg. No, you can still say something about him. (Removes the wrapper from the package.) Look here... Tesman. It's not your handwriting. Levborg. I dictated. (Flipping through the manuscript.) There are two parts. The first is about the cultural forces of the future, and the second (pages further) is about the cultural progress of the future. Tesman. Marvelous! It would never have crossed my mind to write about something like that! HEDDA (at the glass door, drumming her fingers on the glass). Um... Yes, yes. LEVBorg (puts the manuscript in the cover and puts it on the table). I grabbed the manuscript thinking to read you something tonight. Tesman. How nice of you! Only today... (Glancing at Brakk.) I really don't know how to arrange this... Levborg. So you can do it another time. Not in a hurry. Brakk. You see, Herr Levborg, I have a small company going tonight. .. Mainly for the sake of Tesman, you understand... Levborg (looks for a hat). BUT! Well, in that case, I... Brakk. No, listen. Could you make me a pleasure to join us too? Levborg (quickly and firmly). No I can not. Thank you very much. Brakk. From what? Please! A small select circle will meet... and, believe me, it will be very "lively"... as Fru Guede... Fru Tesman puts it. Levborg. No doubt. But nevertheless... Brakk. No, right! They would take the manuscript with them and read Tesman from it. I have enough rooms. Tesman. Really, Eilert, why don't you go? BUT? HEDDA (coming between them). But, my friend... What if Mr. Levborg doesn't feel like it at all? I'm sure he'd rather stay here and have dinner with me, Levborg (looks at her). With you, fru Tesman? Hedda. And with Fru Elvstead. Levborg. Ah! .. (As if casually.) I saw her briefly today. Hedda. Yes? So she will too. And it is almost necessary for you to stay, Herr Levborg. Who else will take her home? Levborg. This is true. Thank you very much, sir. In that case, I stay. Hedda. So I'll just make small orders.. (Goes to the door to the hallway and rings.)

Bertha enters. Hedda speaks softly to her, pointing to a small room. Berta nods her head and leaves.

Tesman (at the same time). Listen, Eilert! So this is that new topic - this progress of the future? .. Is that what you wanted to lecture about? Levborg. Yes. Tesman. I was told at the bookstore that you intended to give a series of lectures here in the autumn. Levborg. Yes. Excuse me, Tesman... Tesman. Have mercy! But... Levborg. I understand that for you this is not quite the way Tesman (despondently). Well, how can I demand that you because of me ... Levborg. But I, of course, will wait for your appointment Tesman. Wait! Yes, but... don't you want to enter the contest? BUT? Levborg. No. I only want to defeat you... in public opinion! Tesman. But, my God... so Aunt Yulle is still right! I knew it! Hedda! Think, Levborg does not want to stand in our way at all! HEDDA (sharply). Us! Leave me aside.

She goes to the door of a small room, where Bertha is placing decanters and glasses on the table. Hedda nods her head approvingly and returns to the guests again. Bertha leaves.

Tesman (at the same time). And you, assessor, what do you say to that? BUT? Brakk. Let me just say that honor and victory... um... sometimes extremely pleasant things... Tesman. Yes Yes. But still... HEDDA (looking at her husband with a cold smile). Really, you seemed to be deafened by thunder. Tesman. Yes... sort of... perhaps... Brakk. Why, the storm has passed over us, Mrs. Tesman Hedda (pointing to a small room). Would you like a glass of cold punch, gentlemen? BRACK (looking at his watch). To the track? That would be foolish. Tesman. Great, Gedda! Perfect! With such a light heart as I have now... HEDDA. And you, Mr. Levborg?.. Please! Levborg (evasively). Very grateful. That is out of my range. Brakk. My God! .. Cold punch is not poison! Levborg. It depends. Hedda. Well, I'll try to keep Mr. Levborg busy for the time being. Tesman. Yes, yes, honey. Please.

Tesman and Brakk go into a small room, sit on a sofa, drink punch and smoke, chatting merrily among themselves during the next scene. Levborg remains standing by the stove, Hedda goes to the desk.

Hedda moves the album from the desk to the table in front of the sofa and sits herself in the right corner of the sofa. Levborg comes closer, stops and silently looks at her. Then he takes a chair and sits down to her left, with his back to the small room.

(Opening the album.) Take a look at this mountain view, Mr. Levborg. This is Ortler. Tesman himself signed. (Reads.) "Ortler at Meran." Levborg (who has never taken his eyes off her all the time, speaks quietly, with an arrangement). Hedda... Gabler! HEDDA (with a furtive glance at him). Shh!.. Levborg (repeats quietly). Hedda Gabler! HEDDA (looking at the album). Yes, that's what they called me before. In those days... when we knew each other. Levborg. And henceforth... and forever... I'll have to get out of the habit of calling you... Hedda Gabler. HEDDA (continuing to leaf through the album). Yes, you will. And I think it's time for you to quit. The sooner, the better. Levborg (voice trembling with anger). Hedda Gabler is married! And for... Jorgen Tesman! Hedda. Yes, it happens in the world. Levborg. O Hedda, Hedda! How could you ruin yourself like that! HEDDA (looking sternly at him). Do not do it this way. Levborg. What? I don't understand you.

Tesman gets up from the table and walks towards them.

HEDDA (hearing footsteps, in an indifferent voice). And this, Mr. Levborg, is the valley of Ampezzo. Look at those mountain peaks! (Looking affectionately at Tesman.) Listen, what are the names of these strange mountain peaks? Tesman. Show me. Ah, those are dolomites. Hedda. Yes, yes!.. These are the Dolomites, Herr Levborg. Tesman. You know, Hedda, I wanted to ask you if you could bring some punch here after all? At least you? BUT? Hedda. Thank you. And maybe a couple of cakes. Tesman. And a cigarette? Hedda. No, don't. Tesman. Good. (Goes through the small room to the right.)

Brakk looks from time to time at Hedda and Levborg from his seat.

LEVBORG (still quiet). Answer, Hedda!.. How could you dare to do this? Gedda (seemingly deepened into the album). If you keep saying "you" to me, I won't answer. Levborg. What? I can't afford it even face to face with you? Hedda. No. Unless - mentally. And you can't hear it. Levborg. Ah, I understand. It will shock your love... for Jorgen Tesman! HEDDA (looking sideways at him with a smile). Love? No, it's nice! Levborg. So not love, then? Hedda. But, however, and not treason! I don't want to know anything like that. Levborg. Hedda... tell me one thing... Hedda. Shh!.. Tesman (returns with a tray and puts it on the table). Well, here are some goodies for you. Hedda. What is it yourself? Tesman (pouring glasses). May it amuse me to serve you, Hedda! Hedda. But you poured two glasses. Herr Levborg doesn't want to. Tesman. So Fru Elvsted will be here soon. Hedda. Yes, it's true - Fru Elvsted. Tesman. Did you forget? BUT? Hedda. We've been so busy here... (Points to one of the photographs.) Do you remember this village? Tesman. Ah, it's at the foot of the Brenner Pass! We spent the night there... Hedda. And we also caught such a cheerful group of tourists. Tesman. Yes, yes... Think, if you could be there with us, Eilert?... Well! (Returns to Assessor Brakk.) Levborg. Just tell me one thing, Hedda... Hedda. Well? Levborg. And in those relations with me ... was there no love either? .. Not a glimpse? .. Not a spark? Hedda. Yes, how to say? I think we were just good friends. Real buddies. (Smiling.) Especially you ... were amazingly frank. Levborg. You wanted it. Hedda. Thinking back now... I find something beautiful, exciting... something bold in this secret friendship... in this camaraderie that not a single soul knew about! Levborg. Isn't that right, Hedda? It is so? I remember I used to come to your father after dinner... The general would sit down at the window with a newspaper... with his back to us... HEDDA. And the two of us on the corner sofa ... Levborg. And before us is the same illustrated magazine... Gedda. For lack of an album, yes. Levborg. Yes, Hedda! .. And I opened my soul to you! .. I told about myself what no one else knew then. He confessed to his revelry, to night and day revelry. Oh, Hedda, what power did you possess that could call me to such frankness? Hedda. Do you think I had a special power? Levborg. How else can you explain it to yourself? And all these approaches... the straight questions you asked me... Hedda. And which you understood so well. .. Levborg. How could you question me like that? So boldly, not shy? Hedda. Sorry - dumbass. Levborg. And yet bold. Ask me about such things! Hedda. And you... how could you answer, Herr Levborg? Levborg. This is what I cannot understand now. But tell me, Hedda... was there not a spark of love behind all this? Didn't the desire speak in you to lift me up, to purify me... through my confessions? It is so? Is not it? Hedda. Not certainly in that way. Levborg. What then attracted you? Hedda. Isn't it so inexplicable to you that a young girl... seizes a chance... furtively... Levborg. Well? Hedda. Look at least with one eye into the world about which ... Levborg. About which?.. Hedda. ...She's not allowed to know anything, Levborg. That means that! Hedda. Yes, and this is partly ... perhaps. Levborg. Fellowship based on the desire to enjoy life. But why didn't it continue like this? Hedda. You yourself were to blame. Levborg. No, you broke up with me. Hedda. Yes, when the relationship threatened to take a serious turn. Shame on you, Eilert Levborg, how could you forget yourself in front of your ... brave comrade! Levborg (clasping his hands). Oh, why did you really ... why didn't you shoot me then, as you threatened! Hedda. That's what I'm afraid of scandal! Levborg. Yes, Hedda, you are basically a coward. Hedda. Terribly cowardly. (Changing tone.) But it was lucky for you. And then you were so wonderfully comforted there... by Elfstead. Levborg. I know Thea has opened up to you. Hedda. Perhaps you told her something about you and me? Levborg. Not a word. She doesn't understand anything like that. Too stupid. Hedda. Stupid? Levborg. This part is stupid. Hedda. And I'm cowardly. (Bends slightly towards him, without looking into his eyes, and speaks in an undertone.) Now I want to reveal to you ... something. Levborg (tensely). Well? Hedda. I didn't dare to shoot you then... Levborg. Well?! Hedda. But that wasn't where my cowardice showed up the most... that evening. LEVBorg (looks at her for a moment and, realizing, whispers passionately). O Hedda, Hedda Gabler! I catch now the secret lining of our camaraderie! You and me! It means that passion spoke in you too... HEDDA Beware! Don't imagine anything like that!

It starts to get dark. Berta opens the front door.

(Slamming the album, he exclaims with a friendly smile.) Well, finally! Darling Thea... come in!

Thea, dressed in smart business dress, enters from the hall, and Bertha closes the door again.

(Without getting up from the sofa, he holds out his hands to her.) Dear Thea! You can't imagine how I've been waiting for you!

Thea casually exchanges bows with the men in the small room, then approaches the table and offers Hedda her hand. Levborg at this time gets up and answers Thea at her nod with a silent bow.

Thea. I should probably go talk to your husband for a bit. Hedda. Here's another. Let them there. They'll leave soon. Thea. Will they leave? Hedda. Yes, goofing. THEA (quickly, to Levborg). You are not with them, I hope? Levborg. No. Hedda. Mr. Levborg stays with us. THEA (taking a chair for herself, wishing to sit next to Levborg). Oh, how nice it is! Hedda. No, sorry honey! Not there! Would you like to be closer to me? I want to be in the middle. Thea. Please, please.

Thea walks around the table and sits on the sofa at Hedda's right hand. Levborg takes his place on the chair.

Levborg (after a short pause, turns to Hedda, pointing to Thea). Well, isn't she adorable? Nice to watch! HEDDA (running her hand through Thea's hair). Just watch? Levborg. Yes. Because... she and I... we are real friends and comrades. We definitely believe in each other. And we can safely say everything to each other. Hedda. Straightforward, Herr Levborg? Levborg. Well... THEA (gently snuggling up to Hedda, softly). How happy I am, Hedda! Think... he says I inspired him! HEDDA (looking at her with a smile). Really? Is that what he says? Levborg. And what effective courage she has, Ms. Tesman! Thea. Oh my god! I have courage! Levborg. Limitless... when it comes to a friend! Hedda. Courage... Yes, it would be good to stock up on it... Levborg. And for what, in your opinion? Hedda. Then it would still be possible to live for real. (Interrupting.) Well, my dear, now you have a glass of cold punch! Thea. No thanks. I don't drink anything like that. Hedda. Well, so you, Mr. Levborg! Levborg. Thanks, me too. Thea. Yes, he does too. HEDDA (looks straight at him). What if I want it? Levborg. Useless. HEDDA (laughing). So I, the poor, no longer have any power over you? Levborg. Not in this. Hedda. No, seriously speaking, you still should decide. For your own sake! Thea. Hedda, what are you!.. Levborg. What is it like? Hedda. Or rather, for the sake of the people. Levborg. You think? Hedda. Why, otherwise people might think that you... don't really feel really brave... quite sure of yourself. Thea (quietly). Hedda, please! Levborg. Let people think what they want, for now. Thea (happily). Is not it? Hedda. I read the assessor's face so clearly... Levborg. What did you read?.. Hedda. He smiled so contemptuously when you did not dare to go with them there to the table. Levborg. Don't dare! I just preferred to stay here and talk to you. Thea. That's quite understandable, Hedda! Hedda. The assessor, apparently, could not even think of this. I also noticed how he grinned and winked at Tesman when you were afraid to take part in his little feast. Levborg. Afraid! Are you saying I'm afraid? Hedda. Not me at all. But the assessor understood that. Levborg. Well, let him! Hedda. You mean you won't go with them? Levborg. No, I'm staying with you and Thea. Thea. Yes, Hedda, judge for yourself!.. Hedda (smiling and nodding approvingly to Levborg). It means that they are as hard as granite ... have established themselves in their rules for all eternity! This is how a man should be! (Turning to Thea and caressing her.) Well, didn't I tell you in the morning when you ran in to us so upset ... LEVBorg (amazed). Upset! Thea (frightened). Hedda, Hedda!... Hedda. You see yourself now. There is no need for you to tremble with fear forever. (Interrupting.) Well, there you are! Now all three of us can have fun with all our hearts! .. Levborg (in great excitement). Ah! What does all this mean, Mrs. Tesman? Thea. My God, my God! What are you, Hedda! .. What are you talking about! What are you doing! Hedda. Quiet! This nasty assessor is watching you! Levborg. Tremble forever?.. For me! Thea (quietly, plaintively). Oh, Hedda, you have made me so unhappy! Levborg (looks at Thea for a few moments, his face contorted with anger). So here it is - the bold faith of a comrade! Thea (pleasantly). My friend ... listen first! .. Levborg (takes one of the poured glasses, raises it and speaks in a hoarse voice). To your health, Thea. (Drinks and takes another.) THEA (quietly). Ah, Hedda, Hedda! .. And you could want this! Hedda. want? I? Are you in your mind? Levborg. Another for your health, fru Tesman! Thanks for the truth. Long live the truth! (Drinks and wants to pour more.) HEDDA (touching his arm). Well, well... that's enough for now. There is still a feast waiting for you. Thea. No no! Hedda. Shh! They are looking at you! Levborg (putting down his glass). Listen, Thea... tell the truth now... Thea. Yes. Levborg. Vogt knew you were after me? THEA (wringing his hands). Oh Hedda! Do you hear what he asks? Levborg. Was it agreed between you that you would go into town to follow me? Maybe he forced you himself?.. Yes, that's it!.. Perhaps he needs me again in the office... or he misses me at the green table!.. THEA (quietly, with a groan). O Levborg, Levborg!.. Levborg (grabs a glass and wants to pour it). So for the old man Vogt! HEDDA (preventing his movement). So far enough. Remember, you have yet to read Tesmana. Levborg (calming down, puts down his glass). It was stupid of me, Thea... to act like that. Don't be angry with me, dear comrade... You and others will see that even though I fell, but... now I'm back on my feet! With your help, Thea! THEA (beaming with joy). God bless!

Assessor Brakk at this time looks at his watch, then he and Tssman get up and go into the living room.

BRACK (takes his hat and coat). Our hour has come, Mrs. Tesman! Hedda. As seen. Levborg (getting up). And mine, too, Mr. Assessor. THEA (pleasantly, quietly). Oh Levborg, don't! HEDDA (pinching her arm). They do hear! Thea (weakly screams). Ai! Levborg (to the assessor). You were so kind to invite me... Brakk. So are you going anyway? Levborg. Yes, thank you. Brakk. Very, very happy. LEVBorg (hiding a package wrapped in paper in his pocket to Tesman). I would very much like to read something to you before I submit the manuscript for printing. Tesman. Tell me please, it will be interesting! But, dear Hedda, how will you get Fru Elvstead home? BUT? Hedda. Well, let's do it somehow. Levborg (looking at the ladies). Fru Elvstead?... I'll be back, of course, and I'll see her off myself. (Comes closer.) So about ten o'clock, Mrs. Tesman? Is it coming? Hedda. Excellent. Tesman. Well, then it's all right. Only you can't wait for me so early, Hedda! Hedda. Well, my dear, stay ... as long as you like. THEA (trying to hide her excitement). Mr. Levborg... so I'll be waiting for you... Levborg (with a hat in his hands). Of course, Fru Elvsted. Brakk. So, the pleasure train moves off. I hope we will have a "live", as one beautiful lady likes to say. Hedda. Ah, if only this beautiful lady could be invisible there! .. Brakk. Why invisible? Hedda. To admire your genuine animation, Mr. Assessor! Brack (laughs). Well, I would not recommend this beautiful lady! Tesman (also laughs). That's what you wanted, Hedda! Think! Brakk. Well, goodbye, ma'am! Levborg (bowing once more). So about ten.

Brakk, Levborg and Tesman go to the hall. At the same time, Berta brings a lighted lamp from the back room and, having placed it on the table, leaves.

THEA (agitatedly, aimlessly wandering about the room). Hedda, Hedda... how will it all end? Hedda. At ten o'clock he will come. I still see him in front of me, topped with vine leaves... Hot and bold... Thea. God bless! Hedda. And then, therefore ... he again pulled himself together. Then he... a free man for life! Thea. Yes, yes ... if only he would return the way you draw him for yourself. Hedda. So he will return! (He gets up and goes over to her.) Doubt him as much as you like - I believe in him. So let's see! .. Thea. You've got something on your mind, Hedda! Hedda. Yes. For once in my life I want to hold the fate of a person in my hands! Thea. But don't you have such a person? .. Hedda. No, and never have been. Thea. And your husband?.. Hedda. He's worth it! Ah, if you could understand how poor I am! And it fell to you to become such a rich woman. (He passionately wraps his arms around her.) But I’ll probably burn your hair anyway! Thea. Let go, let me go! I'm afraid of you, Hedda! BERTHA (at the door). Tea is served in the dining room, lady. Hedda. Good. Let's go. Thea. No no no! I'd rather go home alone. Right now! Hedda. Nonsense! I'll give you tea first, silly. And there ... at ten o'clock ... Eilert Levborg will come from the feast ... crowned with vine leaves ... (Almost forcefully drags Thea with him into a small room.)

ACT THREE

Same room. The curtains on the doors to the small room are drawn, as are those on the glass doors. On the table in front of the sofa, a lamp under a lampshade burns faintly. In the stove, the doors of which are open, the fire burns out. By the stove, wrapped in a large shawl, with her feet on a bench and sunk deep into an armchair, sits Thea Elvstead, dressed. Hedda, also dressed, lies on the sofa under the covers and sleeps.

Thea (after a short pause, quickly straightens up and listens intently. Then she sinks wearily back into her chair and whispers plaintively). Not yet!.. My God! My God! Still no!

Berta sneaks in from the hall with inaudible steps. She has a letter in her hand.

(Turns around and whispers excitedly.) What? Did anyone come? BERTHA (quietly). Yes, now the girl brought the letter. THEA (quickly holding out her hand). Letter! Give! Bertha. No, ma'am, it's for the doctor. Thea. Ah! Bertha. This is a servant from Miss Tesman brought. I'll put it here on the table. Thea. Good. BERTHA (laying down the letter). Perhaps put out the lamp ... it only smokes. Thea. Put out. Dawn soon? BERTHA (extinguishes the lamp). It's already dawn, sir. Thea. Yes, it's already day! And he still hasn't come back! Bertha. Oh god, I thought so. Thea. Thought? Bertha. Yes ... when I saw that a certain gentleman showed up here in the city ... and dragged them with him. We have heard enough about this gentleman since long ago. Thea. Don't talk so loud. Wake up the lady. BERTHA (looks at the sofa and sighs). Oh, no, no ... Let yourself sleep, poor thing! Why don't you put it in the oven? Thea. No thanks, I don't need it. Bertha. Well, don't, don't. (Quietly goes through the door into the hall.) HEDDA (awakening from the creaking of the closed door). What is it?.. Thea. It was the girl who came in... HEDDA (looks around). Oh, that's where I am!.. Yes, yes! I remembered... (She sits up on the couch, stretches and rubs her eyes.) What time is it, Thea? THEA (looks at her watch). Already the eighth. Hedda. When did Tesman return? Thea. He did not return. Hedda. Haven't come yet? THEA (getting up). Nobody came. Hedda. And we sat here and waited until four o'clock! .. THEA (wringing his hands). And how I was waiting for him!.. HEDDA (yawns and says, covering her mouth with her hand). Yes, yes, you shouldn't have bothered yourself... Thea. And then you fell asleep a little? Hedda. Yes, she seems to have slept well. Did you sleep? Thea. Not a minute. I couldn't, Hedda! Was not able to. HEDDA (gets up and goes to her). Well, it's full! Is it worth it to worry! The matter is very simply explained. Thea. What do you think? How do you explain? Hedda. Well, of course, it just took too long there, at the assessor's... Thea. Yes, yes ... probably! But still... HEDDA. And then, you see, Tesman did not want to come here and make noise at night, call. (Laughing.) Yes, perhaps, it was also undesirable to show off ... like that, straight from a merry feast! Thea. But, darling... where could he have gone? Hedda. Went, of course, to the aunts and spent the night there. They have his old room free. Thea. No, it can't be there. From there they just brought a letter to him from Miss Tesman ... Over there on the table ... Hedda. Yes? (Glancing at the inscription.) Yes, indeed, from Aunt Yulle. Her hand. Well, that means he stayed with the assessor. And Levborg, crowned with vine leaves, also sits there and reads his manuscript. Thea. Oh, Hedda, you only say all this, but you yourself do not believe it. Hedda. Really, you are quite stupid, Thea! Thea. Oh yes, unfortunately it is. Hedda. And you look very tired. Thea. Yes, I'm dead tired... HEDDA. So listen to me... go into my bedroom and lie down on the bed. Thea. Oh, no, no, I still can't sleep. Hedda. You will fall asleep. Thea. But now your husband must return soon... And I must know at once... Hedda. I'll call you when he comes. Thea. Do you give your word, Hedda? Hedda. Be calm. Go and sleep for now. Thea. Oh, thanks. I'll try. (He leaves through the small room to the left.)

Hedda goes to the glass door and pulls back the curtains. Daylight fills the room. Then Hedda takes a hand mirror from the desk, looks into it and straightens her hair. Then he goes to the front door and presses the bell button. Soon Berta appears at the door.

Bertha. What does the lady want? Hedda. We need to put wood in the stove. I got cold. Bertha. Oh you, Lord! This minute it will be warm. (She rakes the coals into a heap and puts a log on, suddenly stops and listens.) Bell, mistress. Hedda. So go open it. I'll take care of the stove myself. Bertha. Now it will flare up. (Leaves through the front.)

Hedda kneels on the bench and throws a few more logs into the stove. A little later, Tesman appears from the hall with a tired and somewhat preoccupied look. He tiptoes to the door of the small room and is about to slip between the curtains.

HEDDA (at the stove, without raising her head). Good morning. Tesman (turning around quickly). Hedda! (Approaches her.) What is it, you are already on your feet! Such early! BUT? Hedda. Yes, I got up early today. Tesman. And I was so sure that you still sleep peacefully. Think! Hedda. Don't talk so loud. Fru Elvstead lay down in my room. Tesman. Did Fru Elvstead spend the night at your place? Hedda. After all, no one came for her. Tesman. Perhaps so. HEDDA (closing the stove door and getting up). Well, was the assessor having fun? Tesman. Are you worried about me? BUT? Hedda. And I didn't think. I'm just asking if it was fun. Tesman. Wow... well, for a change. But more at the beginning, as I recall now. Levborg read to me from his manuscript. After all, we arrived too early, almost an hour before ... think! The assessor still had to dispose of something. So Eilert read to me. HEDDA (sits down on the right side of the table). Well, tell me... Tesman (sits down on a pouffe by the stove). Ah, Hedda! You can't imagine what this thing is! This is perhaps one of the most wonderful essays ever written! Think! Hedda. Yes, yes, but I'm not interested... Tesman. I confess one thing to you, Hedda. When he finished, something bad stirred in me. Hedda. Not good? Tesman. I envied Eilert that he could write such a thing. Think Hedda! Hedda. I think, I think! Tesman. And to think all the same that he, with his talents ... seems to be completely incorrigible, unfortunately. Hedda. So you mean to say that he uses life more boldly than others? Tesman. Yes, for mercy, he does not know any measure at all. Hedda. Well, how did it all end? Tesman. Yes, in my opinion, almost an orgy, Hedda! Hedda. He reclined there, crowned with vine leaves?! Tesman. Vine leaves? I have not seen anything like it. But he made a long and incoherent speech in honor of the woman who inspired him to this work. Yes, that's how he got out. Hedda. Did he name her? Tesman. No, but I don't think it's any other than Fru Elvsted. You'll see! Hedda. Well ... and where did you part with him? Tesman. On the way back to the city. We, a few people, went out together ... the last. And Brakk also joined us to get some air. Well, you know, we decided to walk Eilert home. He was also overburdened. Hedda. Presumably. Tesman. Well, now, Hedda, I will tell you something absolutely amazing! Rather, however, sad ... Oh, and to tell something directly ashamed. .. for poor Eilert! Hedda. Well, well? .. Tesman. Why, while we were still walking outside the city, you see, I was a little behind the others ... just a few minutes ... understand? Hedda. Come on! .. Tesman. Then, catching up with the company, you know what I find at the side of the road? BUT? Hedda. How can I know? Tesman. Only you, please don't tell anyone, Hedda. Do you hear! Promise me for Eilert's sake... (Takes out a package wrapped in paper from his coat pocket.) Think about it, this is what I found. Hedda. Isn't it the package that Levborg brought with him yesterday? Tesman. Yes Yes. His precious, irreplaceable manuscript... the whole thing! He lost her and ... did not even notice. Just think, Hedda, what a pity! .. Hedda. Why didn't you give him the package now? Tesman. I was afraid... he was in such a state... HEDDA. Have you told anyone about this? Tesman. Here you go. I didn't mean to, for Eilert's sake... you understand? Hedda. So no one knows that you have Eilert Levborg's manuscript? Tesman. No, no one needs to know. Hedda. What did you talk about with him after? Tesman. We didn't have to talk at all. When we entered the street, Eilert and two or three others somehow lost sight of us. Think! Hedda. Yes? So they, right, and brought him home. Tesman. Apparently. And Brakk also disappeared somewhere. Hedda. Well, where have you been wandering since then? Tesman. Yes, I and some others went to one of these cheerful gentlemen for a cup of morning coffee. Rather, however, the night. BUT? Now, as soon as I have a little rest and I can count on that poor Eilert, the poor fellow, overslept, I will go to him with the find. HEDDA (holding out her hand to the package). No, don't give it away! I mean, not now... I mean... Let me read it first. Tesman. No, my dear Hedda, I can't, I dare not, by God. Hedda. Don't you dare? Tesman. Why, you can imagine how desperate he will be when he wakes up and misses the manuscript. He doesn't have a copy. He spoke himself. HEDDA (looking inquisitively at him). Isn't it possible to write the same thing again? Again? Tesman. No, I don't think it succeeded. Inspiration, you know... Hedda. Yes, yes, perhaps. (As if casually.) Oh, yes, here is a letter for you. Tesman. Yes? Think! .. HEDDA (gives a letter). They brought it early in the morning. Tesman. From Aunt Yule! What would that mean? (Puts the packet on another pouffe, opens the letter, runs it over and jumps up.) Ah, Gedda!... She writes that poor Aunt Rina is dying!... Gedda. This was to be expected. Tesman. And what if I want to say goodbye to her, I must hurry! I'm going there right now! HEDDA (suppressing a smile). Are you going to jump now? Tesman. Oh, dear Hedda, if you could break yourself and go there too? Think!... HEDDA (getting up, in a weary voice). No, no, and don't ask me for anything like that. I don't want to see sickness and death. “Please… get rid of all the ugly things!” Tesman. Well, God bless you!.. (Running around the room.) Where is my hat? BUT? Hedda. Download only...

Bertha appears at the entrance door.

Bertha. Assessor Brakk asks if he can come in. Tesman. At a time like this! No, no, I can't take it now! Hedda. But I can. (Take it.) Please!

Berta goes into the hall.

(Whispering hastily to Tesman.) Package, Tesman! (Seizes the package from the pouffe.) Tesman. Let's! Hedda. No, no, I'll hide it myself for now. (Goes to the desk and puts the package on the shelf.)

Tesman in a hurry can not pull on gloves. Brakk enters from the front.

(Nodding her head to him.) What an early bird you are! .. Brakk. Is not it? (To Tesman.) Have you already gathered somewhere? Tesman. Yes, I need to go to my aunts as soon as possible. Think, poor sick thing near death! Brakk. Oh, my God, near death? .. In that case, you do not hesitate because of me. At such a serious moment... Tesman. Yes, yes, we must run... Goodbye, goodbye! (Goes hurriedly through the door into the hall.) HEDDA (goes up to Brakk). It seems that your nightly revelry was more than lively, Mr. Assessor? Brakk. Yes, I didn’t even undress, Fru Hedda! Hedda. You too? Brakk. As you can see. And what did Tesman tell you about his nocturnal adventures? Hedda. Something so uninteresting. That they went somewhere to drink coffee. Brakk. Yes, yes, I already know about this coffee company. But Eilert Levborg was not with them, was he? Hedda. No, buddies walked him home earlier. Brakk. And Tesman as well? Hedda. No, one of the others, he said. Brakk (with a smile). Jorgen Tesman, right, a prenaive soul, Fru Hedda. Hedda. It's right. But was there something wrong? Brakk. Yes, something. Hedda. Here's how. Let's sit down, dear assessor. You better be able to tell. (Sits down on the left side of the table, Brakk next to her.) Well? Brakk. I had special reasons to follow where my guests, or rather some of them, went during the night. Hedda. Between them was probably Eilert Levborg? Brakk. I must confess... HEDDA. You have directly intrigued me! .. Brakk. Do you know, Fru Hedda, where he and two or three others spent the rest of the night? Hedda. If possible, please tell me. Marriage to. Excuse me, why not! They attended another extremely fun party! Hedda. From the animated ones? Brakk. Of the busiest. Hedda. I ask for more details, assessor... Brakk. Levborg received an invitation there even earlier. I knew it very well. But at first he refused ... How! He's become a new man, as you know. Hedda. Yes, yes, there, at Vogt Elvsted! .. And then, then, did you go after all? Brakk. Yes, you see, Fru Hedda... it was he who inspired me inopportunely in the evening... Hedda. Yes, yes, I heard... how inspired he was. Brakk. Pretty unbridled. Well, apparently he changed his mind. We, men, in general, unfortunately, are not always as firm in our rules as we should be... Hedda. Oh, you must be an exception, Mr. Assessor... Well, Levborg... Brakk. Yes, in a word, in the end he dropped anchor in the cabin of Miss Diana. Hedda. Miss Diana? Brakk. Yes, it was she who threw a party for a select circle of her friends and admirers. Hedda. Is that a redhead? Brakk. Exactly! Hedda. Something like... singers? Brakk. Yes, yes ... by the way, she is a singer. And besides, a very dangerous hunter... of men, Fru Hedda. You must have heard of her. Eilert Levborg was one of her most zealous patrons ... in the days of his prosperity. Hedda. Well, how did it all end? Brakk. The end, apparently, was not particularly peaceful. They say that Miss Diana went from the most tender meeting to assault. Hedda. Hit Levborg? Brakk. Yes. He accused her or her friends of stealing. Claimed his wallet was missing... and something else. In a word, they say, he made an incredible scandal. Hedda. And what came of it? Brakk. From this came a uniform cockfight between ladies and gentlemen. Luckily, the police arrived... Hedda. And the police got it! Brakk. Y-yes, not cheap, perhaps, all this will cost the crazy Eilert Levborg. Hedda. That's how! Brakk. He is said to have put up a violent resistance. He slapped one of the policemen and tore off his uniform. In the end, he had to go to the police. Hedda. How do you know all this? Brakk. From the police themselves. HEDDA (looking into space). So that's how it was. So... not crowned with vine leaves... Brakk. Vine leaves, fru Hedda? HEDDA (changing tone). Now tell me why, in fact, you have been following Levborg so diligently... stalking him? Brakk. In the first place, I am not entirely indifferent if, during interrogation, it turns out that he came there directly from me. Hedda. So there's still an interrogation? Brakk. Of course ... Because of this alone, however, I would not have bothered yet. But it seemed to me that, as a friend of the house, it was my duty to inform you and Tesman about Levborg's nocturnal adventures. Hedda. That is, why is it, in fact, Assessor Brakk? Brakk. Yes, if only because I strongly suspect him of intending to use you as a screen. Hedda. Where did you get it from? Brakk. Have mercy, we are not blind, Fru Hedda! You see, this Mrs. Elvstead will not leave here so soon. Hedda. Well, if there is anything between them, then you never know where they can meet! Brakk. Not in family homes, however! The doors of every respectable house will now again be closed to Levborg. Hedda. And my door, in your opinion, should be too? .. Brakk. Yes, I confess, it would be more than unpleasant for me if this gentleman took root in your house. If he, a completely superfluous... stranger... intruded... Hedda. In a triangle? Brakk. Exactly. For me, it would be like stepping out the door. HEDDA (looks at him with a smile). BUT! So "one rooster in the coop" is your goal? BRACK (lowering his head slowly and speaking in a low voice). Yes, that's my goal. And in order to achieve it ... I will use all the means at my disposal. HEDDA (ceasing to smile). After all, you are perhaps a dangerous person when it comes down to it. Brakk. You think? Hedda. Yes, now I'm starting to think so. And I rejoice from the bottom of my heart that you still have no power over me. Brakk (smiling ambiguously). Perhaps you are right, Mrs. Hedda ... Who knows if I would not have turned out to be a very resourceful person in this case. Hedda. But listen, Mr. Assessor! It's almost a threat. BRACK (getting up). Far from it. The triangle, you see, is the strongest when it is built on mutual agreement. Hedda. And I think so. Brakk. So, I managed to tell you everything that I wanted. Now it's time to look home too... Goodbye, Fru Hedda! (Goes to the glass doors.) HEDDA (gets up). Are you through the garden? Brakk. Yes, I'm closer. Hedda. And besides... it's a roundabout way. Brakk. Quite right. I have nothing against detours. Sometimes they are quite spicy. Hedda. That is, when they shoot with non-blank charges, right? BRAKK (turning around at the door and laughing). Well, who shoots their pet cocks! HEDDA (also laughs). Especially when there is only one!

Both laugh and nod to each other in farewell. He's leaving. She closes the door behind him and stands for a minute, looking earnestly into the garden. Then he goes to the door to the small room, parting the curtains a little and peering in. He goes to the writing table, takes Levborg's manuscript and begins leafing through it. Suddenly the voice of Bertha is heard in the hall, loudly arguing with someone. Hedda turns around, listens, quickly locks the manuscript in the drawer of her desk and puts the key on the table. The door from the hall swings open with force, and Eilert Levborg appears in a coat and with a hat in his hands.
He looks somewhat upset and agitated.

LEVBorg (turning to Bertha, who is standing outside the door). And I tell you that I need to go in, and I will go in! That's what! (Having shut the door behind him, he turns around and, at the sight of Hedda, immediately mastering himself, bows.) Hedda (at the desk). Well, Mr. Levborg, you're coming for Thea late! Levborg. Or... I come to you early. I beg your pardon. Hedda. Why do you think she's still here? Levborg. At her apartment they told me that she was not at home all night. HEDDA (going to the table in front of the sofa). Did you notice anything special in the tone when you were told this? Levborg (looks at her inquiringly). Did you notice anything?.. HEDDA. I mean... didn't you hear from their tone that they thought something about her? Levborg (suddenly realizing). Oh yes! Truth! I drag her with me into the mud! However, I didn’t notice anything of the sort... Tesman, right, hasn’t gotten up yet? Hedda. It seems... Levborg. When he came back? Hedda. Terribly late. Levborg. Did he tell you anything? Hedda. Yes, I heard that the assessor had a lot of fun. Levborg. And nothing more? Hedda. No, it seems ... However, I was so sleepy ...

Thea enters from the small living room and rushes to Levborg.

Thea. Ah, Levborg! Finally!.. Levborg. Yes, finally. And... too late. Thea (looking at him in fear). What is late? Levborg. Everything is late now. I'm gone. Thea. Oh, no, no, don't say that! Levborg. You'll say it yourself when you find out... Thea. I don't want to know anything! Hedda. Perhaps you would like to talk in private? In that case, I'll leave. Levborg. No, you stay. I ask you to. Thea. But I say I don't want to know. Levborg. I'm not talking about nocturnal adventures. Thea. About what? Levborg. That our paths must now part. Thea. Disperse! HEDDA (involuntarily). I knew! Levborg. I don't need you anymore, Thea. Thea. And you can say so! You don't need me anymore! Can't I help you like before? Aren't we going to keep working together? Levborg. I'm not going to work anymore. Thea (besides himself) Where should I put myself then? Own life? Levborg. Try to live it like you never knew me. Thea. I can not! Levborg. Try it, Thea. Go home... THEA (excitedly). Never! Where you are, I want to be there. I won't let myself be driven away like that. I want to stay here! Be with you when the book comes out! HEDDA (in an undertone, tensely). Ah, the book... yes! LEVBorg (looks at her). Our book. Mine and Thea. She's our common. Thea. Yes Yes. And I feel it. And that's why I have the right to be with you when she comes out. I want to see you regain your respect again, restore your honor... And joy... joy... I want to share with you! Levborg. Thea, our book will never be published. Gedda, a! Thea. Will it not come out?.. Levborg. Can't get out! THEA (with a premonition). Levborg! Where did you put the manuscript? HEDDA (looks at him tensely). Yes, a manuscript?.. Thea. Where is she with you? Levborg. Oh, Thea, you better not ask! Thea. No, no, I want to know... I have the right to know immediately. Levborg. Manuscript?.. Well, so be it. I tore it into small pieces. Thea (shouts). Ah, no, no!... HEDDA (involuntarily). Why, it's not... Levborg (looks at her). Not true, you think? HEDDA (recovering). No, of course... since you say it yourself. It just seemed so implausible to me... Levborg. And yet it's true. THEA (wringing his hands). Oh, my God, my God! .. Hedda! .. Break your own work! Levborg. I tore my own life to shreds! .. So why should I tear the work of this life as well! .. Thea. And you did it tonight? Levborg. They tell you, yes... In small pieces. And threw it into the bay. Far... In any case, not into stagnant, fresh water. Let them sail where they want ... with the wind and the current. Then they will load. Deeper and deeper. As am I Thea! Thea. You know, Levborg... this act of yours with the book... It will always seem to me that... you killed a child! Levborg. You're right! It's like infanticide! Thea. But how could you!.. After all, this child belonged to me too ... HEDDA (almost silently). Ah, child... THEA (breathing heavily). So it's over. Yes, yes ... I'll go now, Hedda! .. Hedda. I hope, however, you will not leave yet? Thea. I don't know anything myself! Ahead is solid darkness ... (He leaves through the hall.) HEDDA (after a while). So you won't go to see her off, Herr Levborg? Levborg. I! Through the streets! To be seen with me? Hedda. I don't know what else happened tonight. Is it really something so irreparable? Levborg. This one night is not the end. This I know for sure. But the point is, I don't want to live that kind of life anymore, to start it all over again. Thea broke my courage... the audacity of life. HEDDA (looking ahead). So this cute fool launched her paw into the fate of man! (Transferring her eyes to him.) But how could you still treat her so heartlessly! Levborg. Don't say it's heartless. Hedda. Take it with one blow to crush everything that filled her soul for so long! Isn't that heartless? Levborg. To you, Hedda, I can tell the whole truth. Hedda. The truth? Levborg. First, promise me, give me your word, that Thea will never know what I reveal to you. Hedda. I give you my word. Levborg. Good. So: what I told her in front of her is not true! Hedda. About the manuscript? Levborg. Yes. I didn't tear it to shreds or throw it into the bay. Hedda. Yes, yes... but... where is she then? Levborg. And yet I destroyed it. Finally, Hedda. Hedda. I do not understand. Levborg. Thea said that my act seemed to her infanticide... Hedda. Yes... said Levborg. But killing your child is not the worst thing a father can do! .. Hedda. Not the worst? Levborg. No. I wanted to spare Thea and didn't say the worst. Hedda. What is it? Levborg. Imagine, Hedda, that a man... so, in the morning... after a reckless night revelry, returned home to the mother of his child and said: I was there and there, in such and such places. .. And he took our child with him there ... to such and such places ... And then he lost him, lost him completely. The devil knows where it is now, into whose hands it fell... Who put their paw on it! Hedda. Yeah! But in the end... it's just a book... Levborg. Thea's pure soul lived in this book. Hedda. Yes, understand. Levborg. You will probably also understand that we have no future in common with her now. Hedda. Where are you heading now? Levborg. Nowhere. I'll try my best to get this story over with as soon as possible. And the sooner the better. HEDDA (taking a step towards him). Eilert Levborg... listen... Can't it just... make it... beautiful? Levborg. Handsomely? (Smiling.) Ah! "Crowned with vine leaves..." as you used to like to imagine... Hedda. No. Topped with leaves... I don't believe it anymore. But still, to be beautiful! For once!.. Farewell. Leave now... And don't come back. Levborg. Farewell, Fru Tesman. Bow for me to Jorgen. (Wants to leave.) Hedda. Wait! You should take something from me as a memento. (Goes to the desk, opens a drawer, takes out a case with revolvers and, taking one of them, goes up to Levborg.) Levborg (looks at her). This? Are you giving it to me as a keepsake? HEDDA (lowering her head slowly). Do you recognize him? Once it was directed at you. Levborg. You shouldn't have let him in then! Hedda. Well ... now you can do it yourself. LEVBorg (hiding the pistol in the side pocket of his coat). Thank you! Hedda. And remember... beautiful, Eilert Levborg! Give me a word! Levborg. Farewell, Hedda Gabler! (Leaves through the front.)

Hedda listens for some time at the door, then goes to the writing table, takes the package with the manuscript, looks into the wrapper, pulls out several sheets of paper halfway and looks at them. Then he goes to the stove and sits down in a chair, placing the package on his lap. After sitting for a while, she opens the oven doors and unpacks the package.

HEDDA (throwing one notebook into the fire, in a whisper). Now I will burn your child, Thea! Curly! (Throws a few more notebooks.) Your child and Eilert Levborg! (Throws the rest.) I will burn ... I will burn your child! ..

ACT FOUR

Same room. Evening. The large living room is dark. The small room is lit by a hanging lamp above the table. The curtains on the glass doors are drawn. Hedda in a black dress wanders around the dark living room, enters a small room and turns left. From there, a few chords on the piano are heard. Then Hedda returns to the living room again. From a small room on the right, Bertha appears with a lighted lamp. Her eyes are teary, and there is a black ribbon on her cap. Putting the lamp on the table in front of the corner sofa in the living room, she quietly walks away to the right. Hedda comes to the glass doors, pulls back the curtains a little, and looks out into the darkness. Soon, Miss Tesman appears from the hall in a mourning dress, with a crepe on her hat. Hedda goes to meet her, holding out her hand.

Freken Tesman. Yes, Hedda, I come to you in mourning. My poor sister suffered at last. Hedda. I already know, as you can see. Tesman sent me a note. Freken Tesman. Yes, he promised me. But it still seemed to me that here, to Hedda... to this abode of life... I should have brought the news of death myself. Hedda. It's very kind of you. Freken Tesman. Ah, such a pity that Rina left us just now. Hedda should not be in mourning at such a time! HEDDA (wanting to change the conversation). She died quietly... I heard, Miss Tesman? Freken Tesman. Oh yeah! So good, so quiet! And what a blessing that she managed to see Jorgen once more, to say goodbye to him well!.. Hasn't he returned home yet? Hedda. No. He wrote that I should not expect him so soon. But swear. Freken Tesman. No, thank you, my dear, glorious Hedda! I would love to, but never. We still need to remove the deceased ... Equip her in the grave properly. Hedda. Is there anything I can do to help? Freken Tesman. What are you, God be with you! There is no need to put your hands on anything like Gedda Tesman. And you don’t need to think about anything like that at all ... at a time like this. Hedda. Well, thoughts are... not so easy to deal with! Freken Tesman (sighing). Yes, that's how it goes in the world! There now we have to sit down for sewing for Rina. And then, perhaps ... sewing will soon begin ... only of a different kind, thank God!

Jørgen Tesman enters from the front.

Hedda. It's good that it finally arrived. Tesman. Are you here, aunt Yulle? At Gedda? Think! Freken Tesman. I was about to leave, my dear. Well? Did you arrange everything as you promised me? Tesman, I'm afraid I forgot half. I'll probably have to run back to you tomorrow. Today my head is spinning! I can't think of anything! Freken Tesman. Well, dear Jorgen, you can't do that... Tesman. So? How so? Freken Tesman. We must rejoice in the sadness itself. Rejoice in what has happened, as I rejoice. Tesman. Ah, yes, yes! You're thinking about Aunt Rina... Gedda. It will be empty for you now to be alone in the house, Miss Tesman. Freken Tesman. At first. Hopefully not for long though. The room of the late Rina will not be empty after all. Tesman. How so? Who do you want to put in it? BUT? Freken Tesman. Ah, there will always be some poor patient who needs care and care. Hedda. And do you really want to take on such a cross again? Freken Tesman. Cross? God be with you, my child! What is this cross for me? Hedda. But if it is a stranger... Freken Tesman. Oh, how long will it take to get close to the poor sick? .. And I need to live for someone, I need to. Well, yes, God willing ... and here in the house, perhaps, there will be something for the old aunt. Hedda. Oh, don't talk about us! Tesman. Yes, think how nice it would be to have a threesome, if only... HEDDA. If?.. Tesman (anxiously). Oh nothing. That's right, things will still get better ... Let's hope. BUT? Freken Tesman. Yes, yes... Well, I see you have something to talk about among yourselves. (Smiling) Perhaps Hedda has something to tell you, Jorgen? So goodbye! It's time to go home to Rina. (Turns around at the door.) Lord, how strange! Rina is now with me, and already with her late brother! Tesman. Yes, think about it, aunt Jule! BUT?

Freken Tesman leaves through the front.

HEDDA (following Tesman with a cold, inquisitive look). Really, you seem to take this death closer to your heart than even she. Tesman. Oh, this death is not the only one... I am terribly afraid for Eilert! HEDDA (quickly). Anything with him again? Tesman. I was about to run to him after dinner to tell him that the manuscript was safe and sound... HEDDA. Well? And didn't you? Tesman. Something that isn't. He was not home. Then I met Mrs. Elvstead and learned from her that he had come here in the morning. Hedda. Yes, as soon as you left. Tesman. And as if he said that he tore up the manuscript? BUT? Hedda. He assured. Tesman. But, my God! Then he went crazy! And you, perhaps, were afraid to give him the manuscript, Hedda? Hedda. Yes, I didn't. Tesman. But you, right, said that we have it? Hedda. No. (Quickly.) Did you tell Fru Elvstead? Tesman. No, I didn't want to... But you should have told him. Think, suddenly he will lay hands on himself out of desperation? Give me the manuscript, Hedda! I'm going to run to him right now. Where is she with you? HEDDA (not moving and leaning his hand on the back of the chair, in a cold tone). I no longer have her. Tesman. Don't you have it? Have mercy, what does that mean? Hedda, I burned everything to the ground! Tesman (starts frightened). Burnt! Eilert's manuscript! Hedda. Don't scream like that... the servants will hear. Tesman. Burnt! Merciful God!.. No, no, no! It's impossible! Hedda. And yet it is so. Tesman. Do you know what you have done, Hedda! After all, this is an illegal concealment of what was found ... think! Ask Assessor Brakk and you will know... HEDDA. The best thing, I think, is not to tell the assessor or anyone else about this. Tesman. But how could you decide on such an unheard-of act! How could it come to your mind? What got into you? Answer! BUT? HEDDA (suppressing a slight smile). I did it for you, Jorgen. Tesman. For me? Hedda. Returning home in the morning, you told how he read this manuscript to you... Tesman. Well, well, next? Hedda. And you confessed to me that you envied him. Tesman. God! After all, you can’t take it so literally! .. Hedda. Anyway, I couldn't bear the thought of someone outshining you. Tesman (hesitating between doubt and joy). Hedda, are you really speaking the truth?.. Yes, but... how come I haven't noticed such love in you until now... Think! Hedda. Well, at the same time, find out that I'm just ... (Breaking abruptly.) No, no. You'd better ask Aunt Julle. She will tell you. Tesman. Oh! I think I almost guess, Hedda... (Waving her hands.) Oh, my God! Yes, can it be! BUT? Hedda. Don't shout like that, the girl will hear! Tesman (laughs happily). Young woman! No, what a funny fellow you are, Hedda! Young woman! Why, it's Bertha! I'll run to tell her myself. HEDDA (clasping her hands in despair). Ah, no strength ... all this will suffocate me! Tesman. What is all this, Hedda? BUT? HEDDA (mastering herself, coldly). It's all... funny, Jorgen! Tesman. funny? Why am I so incredibly happy? However ... perhaps, really, Bertha should not be involved here. Hedda. Oh no, why not. Already one to one! Tesman. No, no, it's still early. But Aunt Julle, really, should know about it. And that you start calling me Jorgen! Think! Oh, she will be so happy, so happy! Hedda. When he finds out that I burned Eilert Levborg's manuscript... for you? Tesman. Yes, and that's true. No one should know about the manuscript. By itself. But the fact that you love me so ardently, Aunt Julle must certainly know! By the way, I would like to know... is this the case with all young wives? BUT? Hedda. Cope by the way and about this with Aunt Yulle! Tesman. Well... on occasion, of course... (Again he assumes a preoccupied look.) No, but still, it's a manuscript, a manuscript! My God! Horror takes me when I remember poor Eilert!

Thea Elvstead, dressed as on the first visit, in a hat and cape, enters from the hall.

THEA (quickly greeting, speaking excitedly). Ah, dear Hedda, forgive me for stopping by again... Hedda. What's wrong with you, Thea? Tesman. Anything with Eilert again? BUT? Thea. Oh, I'm terribly afraid that something bad has happened to him. HEDDA (seizing her hand). Ah!.. Do you think? Tesman. But, my God... where did you get that, Fru Elfstead? Thea. I overheard a conversation about him in our boarding house as soon as I entered. Ah, the most unbelievable rumors are circulating around the city today about him. Tesman. Come to think of it, I heard it too. Meanwhile, I can testify that he went straight home to sleep yesterday. Think! Hedda. Well ... what did they say about him at the boarding house? Thea. Oh, I didn't really know anything. Either they themselves did not know anything true, or ... Only when they saw me, everyone fell silent at once. I didn't dare to ask. Tesman (pacing the room uneasily). Let's hope... let's hope you heard wrong, Fru Elvsted. Thea. No, no, I'm sure the conversation was about him. And I picked up something about a hospital or... Tesman. Hospitals? Hedda. No, It is Immpossible! Thea. Ah, I was so mortally frightened that I immediately ran to his apartment to inquire. Hedda. And you made up your mind, Thea? Thea. What was I to do? It seemed to me that I simply could not bear this uncertainty any longer. Tesman. Well, and you must not have found him? BUT? Thea. No. And they don't know anything about him. They only said that he left yesterday afternoon and has not returned since. Tesman. Yesterday! Think! How could they say that! Thea. Oh, something bad must have happened to him. Tesman. Listen, Hedda... I'm thinking, why don't I go and find out here and there?.. Hedda. No, no, please don't get involved in this!

The front door opens and Bertha lets in Assessor Brakk. He looks serious. He silently bows to everyone, holding his hat in his hands. Berta shuts the door behind him and leaves.

Tesman. Oh, it's you, kind assessor! BUT? Brakk. Yes, I could not help visiting you today. Tesman. I can see from your face that you have already received news from Aunt Julle... Brakk. Yes, I got it from her too. Tesman. Isn't it sad? BUT? Brakk. Well, you know, my dearest Tesman, how anyone will look ... Tesman (looking uncertainly at him). Perhaps something else happened? Brakk. Yes, it happened. HEDDA (tensely). Anything sad, Assessor Brakk? Brakk. Same as anyone else, Mrs. Tesman... THEA (with an involuntary impulse). Ah, this is with Eilert Levborg! Brakk (looking at her). Why do you think so, Mrs Elvstead? Or do you already know something? Thea (embarrassed). No, no, but... Tesman. Yes, Lord, speak quickly! Brakk (shrugs). Yes, unfortunately... Eilert Levborg has been taken to the hospital, and they say he is already dying. THEA (jumping up). Oh, God, God! .. Tesman. In hospital! And at death! HEDDA (involuntarily). So soon, then! .. THEA (plaintively). And we did not have time to make peace with him, Hedda! HEDDA (quietly). But, Thea... Thea! THEA (not paying attention). To him! Hurry! I want to keep him alive! Brakk. It's useless, ma'am. Nobody is allowed to see him. Thea. So at least tell me what happened to him? What? Tesman. Yes, yes ... I hope ... not he himself! .. Huh? Hedda. And I'm so sure it's me. Tesman. Gedda... how can you! Unfortunately, you guessed it, Mrs. Tesman. Thea. Oh, what a horror! Tesman. So... himself! Think! Hedda. Shot himself! Brakk. You guessed it too, sir. Thea (trying to control herself). When did this happen, Mr. Assessor? Brakk. Today. Between three and four in the afternoon. Tesman. My God, my God! Where is he!.. Huh? Brakk (uncertainly). Where?.. Yes, probably at home. Thea. No, there's something wrong! I went to see him between six and seven in the evening... Brakk. Well, somewhere else. I probably can't say. I only know that they found him... He shot himself... in the chest. Thea. Horror, horror to think! For him to end up like this! Hedda (to the assessor). In the chest, you say? Brakk. Yes exactly. Hedda. But not in the temple? Brakk. In the chest, Fru Tesman. Hedda. Yes, yes, and nothing in the chest either. Brakk. What, ma'am? HEDDA (evasively). So. Nothing. Tesman. And the wound is fatal? BUT? Brakk. Definitely deadly. Now it's probably all over. Thea. Yes, yes ... I feel it! .. It's over, over! O Hedda!.. Tesman. But tell me, how did you know all this? Brakk (briefly). From a police official I had to talk to. HEDDA (loudly). Finally a bold move! Tesman (frightened). Lord have mercy!.. What are you talking about, Hedda! Hedda. I say there is beauty in it. Brakk. Um... fru Tesman... Tesman. The beauty! No, think! Thea. Oh Hedda! Is it possible to talk about beauty here! Hedda. Eilert Levborg committed suicide. He had the guts to do what... what he had to do. Thea. No, I don't think it was. He did it without remembering himself. Tesman. Yes, in a fit of desperation. Hedda. No! Of this I am sure. Thea. Yes Yes! I don't remember myself! Just like tore our book. Brakk (stricken). book? Is that a manuscript? Did he tear it apart? Thea. Yes, last night. Tesman (in a whisper). Oh Hedda! This will forever be on our conscience! Brakk. Hm... that's weird. Tesman (in agitation, takes a few steps around the room). To think that Eilert had to end his life like this! Without leaving behind a work that would immortalize his name! .. Thea. Ah, if only it could be restored! Tesman. Yes, think about it!.. I don't know what I wouldn't give for it! Thea. But, perhaps, it will be possible, Mr. Tesman. Tesman. How so? THEA (digging into the pockets of her dress). Here, look. I saved the rough drafts he dictated to me. HEDDA (taking a step towards her). Ah! Tesman. Did you save them, fru Elvstead? BUT? Thea. Yes, here they are. I took them with me when I left... They remained in my pocket... Tesman. Let me take a look! THEA (gives him a sheaf of papers). Only here everything is so confused, all the sheets are mixed up. Tesman. And think, if we still managed to figure it out? Perhaps, by common efforts... helping each other... Thea. Oh yes! At least try!.. Tesman. Should succeed. By all means! I am ready to give my life for this. Hedda. Are you Jorgen? Own life? Tesman. Yes. Or rather, all the time. My own materials can lie down for now. Do you understand, Hedda?.. Huh? I am obliged, this is my duty to the memory of Eilert. Hedda. Perhaps. Tesman. So, dear Fru Elvstead, let's gather our courage. Lord, what is the use of being killed in what has already happened! BUT? Let's try to calm down better, concentrate our thoughts so that ... Thea. Yes, yes, Mr. Tesman, I will try my best. Tesman. So come here. We need to look at these sketches now. Where can we get settled? Is it here? No, it's better there, in the back room. Excuse me, dear assessor... Please, Fru Elvsted. Thea. Oh my God... if only I could!

Tesman and Thea go into the back room. Thea takes off her hat and cape; then both sit down at the table under a hanging lamp and diligently begin to sort through the papers. Hedda goes and sits down in an armchair near the stove. A little later, Assessor Brakk follows her.

HEDDA (in an undertone). Ah, assessor, what freedom emanated from this act of Eilert Levborg! Brakk. Freedom, fru Hedda? Yes, he is now, of course, freed ... Hedda. No, I'm talking about myself. It's somehow easier to breathe when you know that in the world, after all, something free and bold is sometimes done. On what lies the imprint of natural, involuntary beauty. Brack (smiling). Um... dear Fru Hedda... Hedda. I know, I know what you'll say. You are also a kind of specialist, as well as ... well! BRACK (looking intently at her). Perhaps Eilert Levborg meant to you incomparably more than you yourself want to admit. Or I'm wrong? Hedda. I won't answer this for you. I can only say that Eilert Levborg had the courage to live life in his own way. And then this last ... his great step, marked with the seal of beauty! He had the willpower to leave the feast of life ... so early! Brakk. I'm sorry, Mrs Hedda... but I have to put you out of a beautiful delusion. Hedda. Delusions? Brakk. From which, however, you would soon be taken out anyway. Hedda. What's the matter? Brakk. He did not shoot himself ... not voluntarily. Hedda. Not voluntarily? Brakk. No. I have not quite accurately stated now the circumstances of his death. HEDDA (tensely). So did you hide something? What? Brakk. Out of pity for poor Mrs. Elfstead, I took the liberty of softening a few things. Hedda. What? Brakk. First, he is already dead. Hedda. In the hospital? Brakk. Yes. Without regaining consciousness. Hedda. What else have you hidden? Brakk. It didn't happen in his apartment. Hedda. Well, it's pretty irrelevant. Brakk. Not really. I must tell you that Levborg was found shot dead... in Miss Diana's boudoir. HEDDA (tries to jump up from her chair, but immediately sinks down again). It's impossible, Assessor Brakk! He couldn't go there again today! Brakk. He was there this afternoon. He came to demand what he seemed to have lost there ... He said something incoherent, about some kind of lost child ... Hedda. Ah... so because of this... Brakk. I thought it was... if he was talking about the manuscript. But now I find out that he himself destroyed it ... So, right, it was about his wallet. Hedda. It must be... So they found him there... there... Brakk. Yes, there. With a revolver in my pocket. The revolver ran out of juice and he was mortally wounded. Hedda. In the chest ... yes? Brakk. No... in the stomach. HEDDA (looks at him with an expression of disgust). Only this was missing! Whatever I grab onto, wherever I turn around, everywhere I follow on my heels funny and vulgar, like some kind of curse! Brakk. That's not all, fru Hedda. There was also something dirty about it. Hedda. What is this? Brakk. The revolver that was found on him... HEDDA (barely catching his breath). Well! What? Brakk. He apparently stole it. HEDDA (jumping up). Stolen! Not true! Not! Not! Brakk. It cannot be otherwise. He must have stolen it... Shh!

Tesman and Thea rise from the table in the back room and enter the living room.

Tesman (with leaves in his hands). You know, Hedda, I can't really make out anything under that hanging lamp. Think. Hedda. I think, yes. Tesman. Can we sit down at your desk for a while? BUT? Hedda. Do me a favor! (quickly) No, wait! Let me clean up first. Tesman. Don't worry, Hedda. Enough space. Hedda. No, let me clean up first, I say. I'll just take this... on the piano for now. Here you go. (Taking from under the bookshelf on the table some object covered with music books, puts a few more music pages on top of it and takes everything to the back room on the left.)

Tesman lays out the papers on the table and carries the lamp there from the corner table. Then he and Thea return to work.

(He returns and, standing behind Thea's chair, lightly touches her hair.) Well, dear Thea? Is the monument to Eilert Levborg moving? THEA (looks sadly at her). Oh, Lord!.. I'm afraid it will be difficult to figure it out, terribly difficult. Tesman. Must succeed! No matter what! Understanding other people's papers, putting them in order - just my specialty!

Hedda goes to the stove and sits there on a pouf. Assessor Brakk stands beside him, leaning on the back of his chair.

HEDDA (in a whisper). What did you say about the gun? Brakk (also quietly). That Levborg must have stolen it. Hedda. Why did you have to steal? Brakk. Because no other explanation is possible, Fru Hedda. Hedda. Here's how. BRACK (looks at her for a moment). Eilert Levborg came here in the morning, didn't he? Is not it? Hedda. Yes. Brakk. Were you alone with him? Hedda. Yes, not for long. Brakk. Did you leave the room while he was here? Hedda. No. Brakk. Remember. Didn't leave... not for a minute? Hedda. No, perhaps for a minute ... in the hallway. Brakk. And where was the case with the pistols at that time? Hedda. The case?.. It was in... Brakk. Well, Fru Hedda? Hedda. He was at the desk. Brakk. And then you looked, both pistols are intact? Hedda. No. Brakk. And it is not necessary. I saw the pistol found at Levborg. And I immediately recognized him. I saw him yesterday. Yes, before too. Hedda. Do you have him? Brakk. No, the police. Hedda. What will the police do with him? Brakk. Will try to find the owner. Hedda. Do you think this is possible? BRAKK (leaning towards her, in a whisper). No, Hedda Gabler... while I'm silent. HEDDA (looking at him with fear). And if you do not become silent ... then what? Brakk (shrugs). There's always a way out... that the gun was stolen. HEDDA (firmly). Better to die! Brakk (with a smile). Well, that's what they usually say, but they don't do it. HEDDA (not answering). And if the gun isn't stolen... the owner will be found... then what? Brakk. Yes, Hedda... then scandal cannot be avoided. Hedda. Scandal! Brakk. Yes, scandal. What you are scared to death of. Of course, they will demand you for trial... Both you and Miss Diana. After all, she would have to explain how it happened ... whether it was an accidental shot or a murder ... Was he going to grab a gun from his pocket, threatening her, and at that time a shot followed. Or did she snatch the gun from his hand, shoot him dead, and slip the gun back into his pocket? It would have happened to her, perhaps. She's a disaster, this Miss Diana! Hedda. But all this dirt does not concern me, does it? Brakk. No, but you will have to answer the question: why did you give the gun to Eilert Levborg? Well, what conclusions will be drawn from the fact that you gave him a gun? HEDDA (hanging his head). Yes true. I didn't think about it. Brakk. Well, fortunately, there is nothing to fear ... while I am silent. HEDDA (looks at him). So now I'm in your hands. In your full power. Brakk (in a whisper). Dearest Hedda... trust me, I will not abuse my position. Hedda. Still. .. in your full power. I depend on your will and desires! Not free means not free! (He gets up impulsively.) No, I can't bear the thought! Never! BRACK (looks at her half-mockingly). They usually come to terms with the inevitable. HEDDA (answering him with the same look). It may happen. (Goes to the desk and, suppressing an involuntary grin, says, imitating Tesman's intonations.) What? Coming, Jorgen? BUT? Tesman. God knows. In any case, the work will drag on for months. HEDDA (still). Think! (Lightly running her fingers through Thea's hair.) Aren't you strange, Thea? Now here you are sitting with Tesman... as you used to do with Eilert Levborg... Thea. Oh, if only I could inspire your husband too! Hedda. Nothing, probably, will succeed ... with time. Tesman. Yes, you know, Hedda... indeed, I seem to be beginning to feel something... But you go back to the assessor. Hedda. Is there anything I can do to help you? Tesman. No, no, nothing. (Turns to the assessor.) Now, my dear assessor, take the trouble to entertain Hedda! Brakk (glancing quickly at Hedda). With the greatest pleasure! Hedda. Thank you. But today I'm kind of tired. I'm going to lie down on the couch. Tesman. Yes, yes, honey. BUT? Hedda goes into the back room and draws the curtains behind her. A small pause. Suddenly, a stormy motive of dance is heard. THEA (jumping up). Ai! What is this! Tesman (running up to the curtains). Darling! Don't play dance today! Think of Aunt Rina... and of Eilert too... HEDDA (putting her head between the curtains). And about Aunt Yulla... and about everyone. I won't make any more noise. (He tightly draws the curtains.) Tesman (at the desk). She, perhaps, should not see us at this sad work. You know what, Mrs. Elvstead? Move to Aunt Yulla. And I will come there in the evenings. We will do great work there. BUT? Thea. Yes, perhaps that would be the best... HEDDA (from behind the curtain). I hear, I hear what you say, Tesman. How am I going to spend my evenings here? Tesman (turning over the papers). Well, our dearest assessor, it is true, will be so nice that he will not refuse to visit you all the same. BRACK (sitting in an armchair, shouting merrily). With pleasure! Though every evening, fru Tesman! And hopefully we'll have fun together. HEDDA (clearly and loudly). How can you not hope, assessor! To you, the only rooster...

A shot is fired. Everyone jumps up.

Tesman. She's fiddling with guns again. (He draws back the curtains and runs into the back room. Thea follows him.)

Hedda lies sprawled on the couch, lifeless. Confusion and screams. Bertha, frightened, runs in from the right.

(To the assessor.) She shot herself! Straight to the temple! Think!.. BRAKK (sinking into an armchair in a semi-consciousness). But, merciful God... they don't do that!

NOTES

HEDDA GUBLER
(HEDDA GABLER)

"Hedda Gabler" Ibsen wrote in 1890 in Munich. The play was published at the end of 1890. Shortly after the publication of "Hedda Gabler" on February 26, 1891, it was staged in Christiania by the National Theater. On August 28, 1891, it was shown at a solemn performance on the occasion of Ibsen's return to his homeland. In the same year, performances of "Hedda Gabler" took place in theaters in Sweden and Denmark. In Russia, "Hedda Gabler" was first played by the French troupe of the St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Theater on March 21, 1892. On February 19, 1899, the premiere of "Hedda Gabler" took place at the Moscow Art Theater directed by K. S. Stanislavsky. About Brabant handicrafts... - Brabant is a region in North-Western Europe. In the Middle Ages, Brabant was famous for linen, woolen, leather goods and especially lace. Ortler at Meran, - Ortler - the peak in Tyrol. Merap (Merano) is a city in northern Italy, located near the Austrian border. The Ampezzo Valley is located in northern Italy. The Brenner Pass is one of the lowest and most convenient passes in the Alps on the way from Central Europe to South.

V. Berkov. M. Yankovsky.

Henrik Ibsen

Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler
Henrik Ibsen

“Spacious, beautifully and tastefully furnished living room, furnished in dark colors. In the middle wall there is a wide door opening with curtains pulled back. It overlooks the next room, smaller, furnished in the same style as the living room. In the right wall of the living room there is a door to the front; on the left is a glass door, also with curtains pulled back, through which one can see part of the covered veranda and the autumn greenery of the trees. In the middle of the living room is an oval table covered with a tablecloth and chairs around it. In front, against the right wall, there is a wide dark-tiled stove, and next to it is a high-backed chair, a soft footstool and two poufs. Further, in the right corner, a corner sofa and a round table. Ahead, to the left, somewhat retreating from the wall, is a sofa. There is a piano near the glass door. On either side of the door to a small room is a bookcase filled with terracotta and majolica knick-knacks. In the back of the second room there is a sofa, a table and several chairs. Above the sofa is a portrait of a handsome old man in a general's uniform. Above the table is a hanging lamp with a milk-coloured cap. Bouquets of flowers are everywhere in the living room: in vases, glass jars, and some just lie on the tables. The floors in the rooms are covered with thick carpets. Morning lighting. The rays of the sun fall through the glass door ... "

Ibsen Henryk

Hedda Gabler

A play in four acts

Characters

Yorgan Tesman, PhD student in the Department of Cultural History.

Fru Hedda Tesman, his wife.

Freken Juliane, his aunt.

Fru Tea Elvstead.

Assessor Brakk.

Eilert Levborg.

Berta, servant in Tesman's house.

The scene of action is Tesman's country house in the western quarter of the city.

Act one

Spacious, beautifully and tastefully furnished living room, furnished in dark colors. In the middle wall there is a wide door opening with curtains pulled back. It overlooks the next room, smaller, furnished in the same style as the living room. In the right wall of the living room there is a door to the front; on the left is a glass door, also with curtains pulled back, through which one can see part of the covered veranda and the autumn greenery of the trees. In the middle of the living room is an oval table covered with a tablecloth and chairs around it. In front, against the right wall, there is a wide dark-tiled stove, and next to it is a high-backed chair, a soft footstool and two poufs. Further, in the right corner, a corner sofa and a round table. Ahead, to the left, somewhat retreating from the wall, is a sofa. There is a piano near the glass door. On either side of the door to a small room is a bookcase filled with terracotta and majolica knick-knacks. In the back of the second room there is a sofa, a table and several chairs. Above the sofa is a portrait of a handsome old man in a general's uniform. Above the table is a hanging lamp with a milk-coloured cap. Bouquets of flowers are everywhere in the living room: in vases, glass jars, and some just lie on the tables. The floors in the rooms are covered with thick carpets. Morning lighting. The rays of the sun fall through the glass door.

Miss Yuliane Tesman, a good-natured lady of about sixty-five, dressed simply but nicely, in a dirty dress for a walk, in a hat and with an umbrella in her hands, enters from the hall. Behind her is Bertha, an elderly maid of a simple and somewhat rustic appearance, with a bouquet wrapped in paper.

Freken Tesman (pauses at the door, listens and speaks in a low voice). It looks like they haven't gotten up yet.

Bertha. I told you, freakin. You think the steamer came late at night! And then! .. Lord, how much the young lady had to unpack before she lay down.

Freken Tesman. Yes, yes, let them have a good rest ... But they must freshen up the room by the time they leave. (Goes to the glass door and opens it wide.)

BERTHA (at the table, helplessly turning the bouquet in her hands). Well, this, the right word, and nowhere to go. At least, I’ll put it here, freken. (Puts the bouquet on the piano.)

Freken Tesman. Well, you have new gentlemen, too, my dear Bertha!... God knows, it was not easy for me to part with you!

BERTHA (almost in tears). And what do I feel, freken! What can I say! After all, how many years have I served you and your sister!

Freken Tesman. What to do ... you have to submit. Bertha! Jorgen needs you in the house now... necessary. You've been accustomed to follow him ... since his childhood.

Bertha. So something like that, yes, I'm very sorry for our patient! The poor thing is just like a little child. And then suddenly a new servant! She will never learn to walk properly after a sick person.

Freken Tesman. Well, nothing, I'll try to teach her. Besides, I'll take care of everything, you know? No, you have nothing to worry about my poor sick sister, dear Bertha.

Bertha. If only this alone, freken! Otherwise, I'm terribly afraid of not yet pleasing the young mistress.

Freken Tesman. Well... at first, perhaps, it may turn out that...

Bertha. She looks very important.

Freken Tesman. Still ... the daughter of General Gabler. After all, what a life she got used to with her father! Do you remember how she used to ride with him? In a long black Amazon? And with a feather on his hat?

Bertha. How, how! I didn’t think then, I didn’t guess that a couple would come out of her with our candidate!

Freken Tesman. And I didn't think either... Yes, that's what, Bertha, before I forget, don't call Jorgen a candidate again. He is now a doctor.

Bertha. Yes, yes, the young lady also talked about it last night ... as soon as they entered the door. Is that correct?

Freken Tesman. Of course. Just imagine, Bertha, he was made a doctor there, abroad. During their trip, you know? I knew absolutely nothing myself, but Jorgen told me about it yesterday at the pier.

Bertha. Well, of course... he could be anything. Such a scientist! I just didn’t think that he would also want to treat people.

Freken Tesman. Well, he's not that kind of doctor at all. (Nods her head meaningfully.) However, soon, perhaps, you will have to call him even more important!

Bertha. Yes really? How is it?

Freken Tesman (with a smile). Hm... yes, if only you knew! (Most touched.) Oh, my God! The late Yokum would have seen from his grave ... what came out of his little boy! (Looks around.) However, why did you take the covers off the furniture?

Bertha. So the lady ordered ... Tolerate, she says, I can’t cover the chairs.

Freken Tesman. Well… are they going to sit here on weekdays too?

Bertha. It seems so. That is, the lady, actually. The doctor himself didn't say anything.

In the back room on the right, Jorgen Tesman appears, singing, with an empty, open suitcase in his hands. He is of medium height, a very youthful-looking man of about thirty-three, somewhat plump. The face is round, open, with a benevolent expression. Blond hair and blond beard. Wear glasses. He is dressed in a comfortable, somewhat sloppy attire.

Freken Tesman. Hello, hello Jorgen!

Tesman (at the door). Aunt Yule! Dear aunt! (Goes up to her and shakes her hand.) So far to us ... and so early! BUT?

Freken Tesman. Yes, how could I not look at you!

Tesman. Even without a good night's sleep!

Freken Tesman. Well, it doesn't matter to me.

Tesman. I hope you got home safely yesterday from the pier? BUT?

Freken Tesman. Got it, got it. Thank God, the assessor is so amiable... he walked me to the very door.

Tesman. We were terribly sorry that we could not give you a ride in the carriage. But you saw it yourself… Hedda had so many cardboard boxes… everything had to be taken away…

Please note: the performance contains profanity.

A modern hard look at the well-known play required a new stage version. The action takes place today, in a stylish and comfortable world "without wires", where life is perfectly simple. Lots of trendy gadgets fill the apartment of newlyweds Gedda and Yorgan Tesman. Gradually, new acquaintances and people from the long past of the heroine will appear here, a strange story will begin with the birth of a brilliant book, and the characters will open from an unexpected side. But Hedda Gabler and her actions go beyond the ordinary and vulgarity of the surrounding world.

Directed by Timofey Kulyabin:
- In the world of our performance, Gedda is a cancer. And with getting rid of it, the body recovers. In a world where everything is simple, clear and unambiguous (and the more primitive, the more ideal), she is a complex person, with complexes, fears. It is superfluous in a society where everyone exists within the strict framework of social roles, the society of a TV show, a TV series. Here, the environment is stuffed with a bunch of devices designed to make life even easier. With Gedda, there are continuous difficulties.
The husband does not marry her for love. He needs her for status. And this, perhaps, is her personal tragedy, but this tragedy happened a long time ago - far beyond the scope of the action and before the beginning of the play. The very existence of such a character as Hedda in such a world is nonsense, absurdity, laughter. Everyone is trying to squeeze her into some simple social frame (wife, lover, mother), but she cannot fit into this by her very nature.

The performance uses fragments of the film "Melancholia" by Lars von Trier, as well as music:

• fragments of R. Wagner's opera "Tristan and Isolde";
• Eminem "Lose Yourself";
• Alberto Iglesias "Valsetto", "Soy Marco".

Ten Facts You Should Know Before You Watch Hedda Gabler

• Fact one

Hedda Gabler is a play by the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, whose work was fueled by the social processes of the “collapse of the old world” and the theme of the “strong man”. The drama was written and published in Munich, in 1890, the fateful year of the resignation of the "iron chancellor" Otto Bismarck, when the internal consolidation of Germany began, which resulted in the hell of the First World War. Despite the fact that the first production of the play, which took place almost immediately after its publication, was accepted by the audience coolly, today the work is the recognized crown of Ibsen's work and one of the pillars of classical European dramaturgy. The heroine is a genuine person who despises the limits and expectations of the "real" world, in which love can only destroy. Misunderstood by her husband, seduced by a lustful friend of the family and not accepted by a “good comrade”, in her rebellion against philistine vulgarity and narrow-mindedness, Hedda sees the only way out in suicide. Ibsen will say, "Please don't use that foreign word 'ideal'." Just say, in our language: “lie”.

• Fact two

Melancholia is a psychological disaster film by Lars von Trier. The premiere took place on May 18, 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival. Melancholy is the name of the planet. It is ten times larger than the Earth, approaches it and can blow it to smithereens. This process is watched by Justine and Claire, sisters and antipodes. The first had just married and already during the wedding she fell into a severe depression, realizing that she was sick of her husband, family and future children. The second has a husband and a child, unlike her sister, she is emotionally and mentally stable, afraid of death and wants to live.

The closer the end of the world, the more sincere and real Justine becomes and the faster the world of Claire's stereotypes collapses. In the finale, Melancholia covers the Earth and everyone dies - women, men, children. But for Trier, as for Justine, this is not only a catastrophe and tragedy, but also a moment of genuine liberation of a person. "Melancholia" is a very personal and honest film by the most crafty director in the world. And certainly the first, in which the apocalypse without any irony is a happy ending, majestic and very spectacular.

At a press conference after the film's premiere, Lars von Trier jokingly called himself a "Nazi" and expressed his sympathy for Hitler, for which he was declared persona non grata at the Cannes Film Festival.

Awards and nominations. Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or (nominated), Best Actress (award);
Hamptons International Film Festival: Best Actor (award);
European Film Awards: Best Film (award), Best Director (nomination), Best Screenplay (nomination), Best Actress (nomination), Best Cinematography (award), Best Production Design (award).

• Fact three

Apocalypse (Revelation of John the Theologian) is the title of the last book of the New Testament. The book describes the events preceding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth, which will be accompanied by numerous cataclysms and miracles (fire from heaven, the resurrection of the dead, the appearance of angels), so the word "apocalypse" is often used as a synonym for the end of the world or for a catastrophe on a planetary scale. From this word, the terms apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic were formed, denoting genres of science fiction in which actions develop in the world during or after some kind of global catastrophe, respectively.

• Fact four

Asperger's Syndrome is a form of mental disorder that is a lifelong dysfunction that affects how a person perceives the world, processes information, and relates to other people. Characteristic features of Asperger's syndrome are: social naivete, excessive truthfulness combined with normal or high intelligence. Those suffering from the syndrome do not perceive jokes and sarcasm. Among people with this syndrome, alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior, suicidal thoughts, and suicide are much more common. Symptoms: Difficulties with "eye contact" (very little eye contact, as this emotionally overloads the individual); intrusive and / or frightening thoughts that the patient is trying to get rid of with the help of calming rituals; mysophobia (fear of pollution, in which every contact with “dirty” objects causes discomfort and, as a result, excessively frequent washing of hands); arithmomania (irrational need to count objects).

Historical figures who may have had Asperger's Syndrome:
physicist Albert Einstein
physicist Isaac Newton,
economist Vernon Smith (Nobel laureate),
director Steven Spielberg,
artist Andy Warhol,
naturalist Charles Darwin.

People with Asperger's syndrome may lack social cognition, but at the same time they can appreciate what the rest of the world does not notice.

• Fact five

"Lose Yourself" is a song by Eminem, who was voted the best hip-hop rapper of all time by Vibe magazine. The paradox is that Eminem is the only white rapper who has gained worldwide fame. The song was released in 2002 on the 8 Mile (OST) compilation as the soundtrack to the autobiographical film 8 Mile, in which Eminem starred. The motives of the song and the film are close to everyone who had a chance to change his life, who was honest with himself, who hoped, doubted, and yet found life in true creativity. Lose Yourself was later re-released on Eminem's greatest hits album Curtain Call: The Hits. For this song, he received many awards, including an Oscar in 2003 in the nomination "Best Soundtrack". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was ranked 166 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Awards:

• Oscar (2003)
• Golden Globe (2003)
• Grammy (2003)
• MTV Movie Award (2003)
• BMI Film Music Award (2003)
• Most Performed Song from a Film (2003)
• Critics Choice Award (2003)
• Teen Choice Award (2003)
• ASCAP Award (2004).

• Fact six

A Brief History of Time is a non-fiction book about the nature of space and time, about black holes, about where the Universe came from, how and why it came into being, what its end will be, if at all. Its author, Stephen William Hawking, is perhaps the only living theoretical physicist known to the general public. Almost all his life he is terminally ill, has long lost the ability to speak and is almost completely paralyzed. It communicates with the outside world through a computer connected to the body. A cripple, from the point of view of most people, Hawking believes that man is not the crown of evolution and must be improved with the help of scientific and technical means (cyborgization, gene therapy, etc.), he is also a convinced atheist and tries to scientifically prove the impossibility of the existence of God. Hawking's main area of ​​research is cosmology and quantum gravity. The main achievement is the popularization of science. His main book is already almost a quarter of a century old, and it remains a bestseller even today, as it is written in a living language with virtually no single formula and is designed for the average reader.

• Fact seven

"Mr. Brainwash" or "Mr. Brainwash" are the pseudonyms of Thierry Guetta (fr. Thierry Guetta), a former second-hand clothing dealer and video lover, one of the best-selling and rich contemporary artists, who became such, presumably as a result of communication with the best representatives of street art, such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey and others. His first exhibition entitled Life is Beautiful was held in Los Angeles on June 18, 2008. In 2010 Phillips de Pury & Company Contemporary Art Sale held an auction in London, Mr. Brainwash featured two "unique" works: a portraiture-style model of Kate Moss, and the artist's footprints of several brush strokes and splatters of red, pink, and white paint, all set against a gold background. On another canvas, Albert Einstein was depicted against a wall with inscriptions. As a result, the work was sold for a price greater than the pre-auction estimate. The final price was approximately $67,000 and $120,000, respectively.

The alleged history of the creative formation of Mr. Brainwash is featured in the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy, 2010.

The artwork attributed to Thierry strongly emulates the styles of famous street artists. He uses well-known images, many of which are copyrighted, while constantly changing the originals in many ways, working through specially hired assistants to whom he describes his ideas. For example, one of the most characteristic techniques is the conversion of a well-known iconographic work into a barcode.

In the light of all of the above, the phenomenon of "Mr. Brainwash" looks like an amazing result of the inability of modern man to separate genuine art from impudent conjuncture.

• Fact eight

Law of the Kingdom of Norway on firearms and ammunition of 04/01/1963, last amended on 12/28/2009.

Chapter 2 Acquisition of weapons § 7

Anyone who wants to buy or otherwise acquire a firearm or weapon parts must have a permit from the Chief of Police... A permit can only be issued to sober and reliable people who have a serious reason for owning a firearm, in the absence of such reasons, the permit cannot be issued...

Chapter 8 Penalties and sanctions § 33

Any person who willfully or through gross negligence violates the provisions prescribed by this Law shall be fined or imprisoned for up to 3 months... Illegal importation, sale, purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition shall be punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years... When making a judgment on a crime, special attention is paid to what kind of weapon the crime was committed with, the motives of the crime, including socially dangerous motives, are also taken into account... Complicity is punished in the same way.

• Fact nine

Truth is the reflection of the object by the cognizing subject, its reproduction as it supposedly exists on its own, as if outside and independently of the cognizing subject and his consciousness.

• Fact ten

Love is a feeling inherent in a person, a deep affection for another person or object, a feeling of deep sympathy.
Love is one of the fundamental and common themes in world culture and art. Discussions about love and its analysis as a phenomenon go back to the most ancient philosophical systems and literary monuments known to people.
The ability to love in higher animals can manifest itself in the form of attachment, complex relationships of a social type within the group, but it is fully controversial and has not yet been confirmed.

HEDDA GUBLER

GEDDA GABLER (Norwegian Hedda Gabler) - the heroine of G. Ibsen's drama "Hedda Gabler" (1890). The key to understanding the image is contained in the title of the play. GG., first of all, the daughter of her father, General Gabler, who, apparently, unlike all the other men around her, was an outstanding person. She would like to become like him. But women's lack of freedom hinders her: not only in a broad social context - a sphere where she is unconsciously drawn, but also in a private, personal one. GG. could choose as its motto "Noli me tangere" - "Do not touch me." She is one of those who are organically disgusted not only by the physical, but also by the spiritual human "touch", even if we are talking about a man with whom, as she herself thinks, she is in love - Eilert Levborg. Everything earthly for her has gone and ugly. She needs beauty. She is looking for a hero, who, of course, does not exist in the cozy-petty-bourgeois world of her environment. Having become Tesman's wife, she falls into the trap of a situation of family life - relatives, guests, a possible pregnancy. But the life role of G.G. - a tragic heroine. In any case, her hatred for the aggressively material world is of tragic, ancient proportions. She acts like one of the classic ancient heroines - Medea. G.G. commits suicide, kills not only himself, but also the unborn child. This is revenge on the world of men, concentrated in Tesman, which is not Jason at all, but revenge is just as terrible for him - the killing of a descendant. But GG also kills Levborg's "child" - destroys his manuscript, created with another woman, hated by Tea. Levborg himself is inaccessible to her. Therefore, one of the pair of pistols (a detail that inevitably accompanies GG until the end of the play in Chekhov's style) is intended for Lev-borg to commit suicide, which he did not commit and died only by accident. G.G. - the destroyer of not only the male world. It has the least feminist mentality. Genuine women, such as Tea with her shy femininity, fluffy curly hair, are almost physically disgusting to her. In herself, she, too, is an unbearable woman. She kills her with the second pistol.

Lit.: Andersen Butenson H. Nag Ibsen i Hedda Gabler skildret virkelige kvinder? Christiania, 1891; Nurtham). The Substance of Ibsen's Idealism

//Contemporary Approaches tj Ibsen. Oslo, Bergen, 1966, pp. 9-12; Host E. Hedda Gabler: En monograph. Oslo, 1958.

T.N. Sukhanova

literary heroes. - Academician. 2009 .

See what "HEDDA GUBLER" is in other dictionaries:

- "Hedda Gabler" play by Henrik Ibsen, which was first staged in 1891 in Munich. The first audience did not appreciate the play, but over the years it began to be perceived as one of the pillars of the world theater. Gla ... Wikipedia

Gedda: Gedda (noble family): Gedda, Mikhail Fedorovich (1818 1862) Russian statesman Gedda, Nikolai (born July 11, 1925) Swedish opera singer (tenor). "Hedda Gabler" play by Henrik Ibsen (207) Hedda ... ... Wikipedia

Cate Blanchett Cate Blanchett Blanchett at the festival ... Wikipedia

Keruchenko, Irina Vilyamovna Irina Keruchenko Irina Vilyamovna Keruchenko Place of birth: Molodechno, Belarus ... Wikipedia

I (Ibsen) famous Norwegian playwright, b. in 1828 in the small town of Skien, on the shores of the Gulf of Christiania. He comes from an ancient and wealthy Danish family of shipowners who moved to Norway around 1720. The playwright's father, Knud I., ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Henrik Johann Ibsen (1828-1906) Norwegian writer, one of the most prominent playwrights of the 19th century. R. in the small seaside town of Skiene, which at that time had barely 8 thousand inhabitants; his father, a wealthy shipowner, went bankrupt, ... ... Literary Encyclopedia

In 1993 she graduated from the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute named after M. Gorky, musical pedagogical department, faculty of elementary classes. In 1995, Minsk State Linguistic University, Faculty of German ... Wikipedia

- (Heinrich Ibsen) famous Norwegian playwright, b. in 1828 in the small town of Skien, on the shores of the Gulf of Christiania. He comes from an ancient and wealthy Danish family of shipowners who moved to Norway around 1720. The playwright's father, Knud I., ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Karbauskis Mindaugas Karbauskis Mindaugas Date of birth: January 28, 1972 (1972 01 28) (40 years old) Place of birth: Naisai ... Wikipedia

Cate Blanchett Birth Name: Katherine Eliza Blanchett Date of Birth: May 14, 1969 ... Wikipedia

Books

• Hedda Gabler, Ibsen Henrik. Henrik (Henrik) Ibsen (1828 - 1906) is a famous Norwegian playwright. His plays have not left the stages of the world's leading theaters for a century and a half. The glory of Ibsen went far beyond ...

Watch

Not "Drums in the Night" and not "The Good Man of Sezuan", but this production is good.
Gedda Gabler, played by Alexandra Ursulyak, is a confused girl, smart, strong, with "quirks", vicious, manipulator. And when the Heroine gets on the hook of Judge Brakk, is deprived of "freedom" of action and thought, she makes her choice (in my opinion, suicide is a demonstration of weakness).
Be sure to watch the production in order to understand how NOT to: treat yourself and the people around you, act, desire, strive, destroy.
I like both the drama of the work and the "life" of Alexandra Ursulyak, Alexander Matrosov (Eilert Levborg) and Anna Begunova (Tea Elvstead). I am neutral towards Alexei Voropanov (Jorgen Tesman), Natalya Nikolaeva (Yuliana Tesman), Boris Dyachenko (Judge Brakk). Perhaps the heroes of these actors should be like that - neutral.

Another attempt to read the famous play by Ibsen

“When you don’t know where to start, write: “The performance keeps you in suspense from the very first minutes.” Reception is cheap, but sometimes it shoots.
But... with all my desire, I cannot say this about the play based on Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler", the first act of which was shown at a press screening at the Pushkin Theater on October 26.
A complex psychological drama, so beloved by directors, in one of the most interesting theaters in Moscow - a promising premiere.
A play by Henrik Ibsen, which was first staged in 1891 in Munich. The first audience did not appreciate the play, but over the years it began to be perceived as one of the pillars of the world theater. They say that for an actress to play Hedda is the same as for an actor to play Hamlet.
The image of Gedda can be interpreted in any way: from an unsatisfied psychopath to a tragic nature, suffocating in the bourgeois swamp of life.
“We all cling to life, but its meaning somehow constantly slips away. And without this meaning, some kind of happy illusion, it is empty and lonely. For Gedda, after the death of his father, life is a daily conflict tearing from within. She was thrown out into the cold from her father's greenhouse, and she was completely unprepared for the new imperfect reality, ”said Anatoly Shuliyev, director of the play, before the premiere.
However, for a viewer who has not read Ibsen, and who sees Hedda's throwing, it is difficult to understand their reason!!!
Even to me, who had read the play a few years ago before watching the performance of the Taganka Theater, the beginning of Anatoly Shulyev's performance seemed like something like a detective story (boring, at that), where question after question is posed, and the answers to them should have been received only in the second act.
So, in front of us on the stage of the Pushkin Theater is Tesman's house in a state of unfinished repair (perestroika, in the words of the director).
Once Gedda frivolously told Yorgan that she would like to live in this house and dreams of him brought her closer to him.
Jorgen and Hedda Tesman (nee Gabler) have just returned from their honeymoon. Nice house, husband is a promising scientist, Frau Tesman is young and beautiful, but is she happy? Not a single minute!
And this is the performer of the main role, Alexandra Ursulyak, convincingly demonstrates from the first minutes of her appearance on stage. But WHY the audience becomes only a little clear from her fragmentary phrases:
"My time is up!"
“How deadly lonely I am here!”
“Try listening to folk crafts from morning to night. They make me sick!!!"
“Sometimes it just hits me and I can’t resist…”
From a dialogue with Brakk:
"To go for a long time!" - "At the station you can jump off and take a walk..." -
“I never jump! I'd rather be locked up together!!!"
In Ibsen's play, all the other characters serve as a backdrop for Hedda: husband Jorgen Tesman, Eilert Levborg, Brakk - they are all too small for the love of an extraordinary woman, which Hedda Gabler seems to be, they are boring, there is no "beauty" ...
Tesman. a quiet, awkward graduate student, all in science, selflessly loving Gedda, is beautifully performed by Alexei Voropanov.
I also liked Judge Brakk, a family friend who wants to be a convenient third side of the standard triangle, played by Boris Dyachenko.
Levborg (gulena, a drunkard, but talent, in general, such an example of vicious attractiveness, a “transformed sinner”) Alexander Matrosov did not convince me at all !!!
The female roles were great.
Natalya Nikolaeva showed her aunt Julia (Yuliana Tesman) very touching.
Anna Begunova was good in the role of Thea Elvstead, a governess who married the owner and was deeply unhappy.
“Playing Gedda Gabler sounds like a challenge,” Alexandra Ursulyak said in an interview. “It's always more interesting to tell a story. In this case, this is a short period in a woman's life, tragically ending in death. Desperate attempts to live, a series of crazy actions. With interest we delve into the characters of the heroes of the play. The roles are all as on selection, and the company of my colleagues is brilliant. Together with the young and talented director Anatoly Shuliev, we are trying to unravel the mystery of this famous Ibsen play.”
If it is possible to judge a performance by only one action, this attempt has failed...
However, respect to Anatoly Shuliev, who made it!!! His many fellow directors are increasingly taking the easier route - turning classic plays into farce!!!

With a gun to my head!

Actresses dream of this role just as actors dream of the role of Hamlet. She is iconic. She's complex. She is bright. It's about how NOT to. No need to live, think, feel. Because it leads nowhere. And ends with a gun at the temple.
The play “Hedda Gabler” based on the famous play by the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen is now on the playbill of the Moscow Theater. Pushkin. Lucky this time, Alexandra Ursulyak - it was she who tried on the role of the reckless daughter of General Gabler. It would seem, is it possible to be unhappy and not find a place for yourself if you have just got married, returned from your honeymoon, are settling in a new house, and besides, you found out that you are pregnant?
Can. And not only if the love is not mutual. And also when you just do not know how to love. Such is Hedda - a tossing, jealous, unhappy child who is frankly bored in this world. To her husband, she feels some semblance of disgust. And the former lover, whose appearance in the play at first makes one think of feelings that have not died out to the end, will only be rewarded with the fact that Gedda will burn the manuscript of his new book and “give out” a gun (oh, the general’s daughter, how many of them she has!), To gracefully leave from this worthless life. Alexandra Ursulyak said that in order to understand her character, while rehearsing the performance, she talked a lot with a psychologist.
In general, if then, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this profession was as common in the world as it is now, there would be much less life tragedies, including in world literature. But on the other hand, then we, the theatergoers, would have much fewer opportunities to experience the catharsis for which we go to the theater again and again. Sometimes it is enough to see someone else's "how not to" in order to look differently at your own life.
Is this show worth watching? I will say right away that the play has been modernized, and you will see Gedda not in a loose long dress in the fashion of the late 19th century, but in a loose jacket and berets. But after all, with these same berets, she crushes all living things that come across on the way! Is this not an additional touch to the image? But someone will definitely not like it. I usually look at this question from the point of view of the presence of outright vulgarity in what is happening on stage. For some reason, it is precisely this that many directors do not know how to dose today. Despite the new modern translation of the play, it was not noticed here. However, how do you like the word “rogue” from the lips of the heroes of the 19th century play?
P.S. Ticket prices Theatre. Pushkin pleased - stalls 1000-3500 rubles.

Has anyone read Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler?

The play is very complex and emotional. This is the tragedy of a man, a woman who does not understand her place in this world, feels superfluous, lost. On the one hand, she wants to be free and independent, to decide for herself what and how to do, whether to give birth to children, whether to receive guests, on the other hand, the world of men puts pressure on her, limiting her opportunities.

In the Pushkin Theater, this play was staged by a young director Anatoly Shuliev, who is already known for his work in the Vakhtangov and Mayakovsky theaters.

Alexandra Ursulyak in this role is very convincing. She carefully prepared for it, studied the psychological aspect of the problem. After all, it is so difficult to understand what pushes a person to commit suicide, what people with similar problems feel. The role is very difficult, they say that any man dreams of playing Hamlet, and any woman wants to play Gedda Gabler. Alexandra wanted to show that Hedda is not just a bored slacker, she is more layered, she clings to life, to every person that surrounds her, trying to find at least some kind of straw to live. But he does not find happiness either in the house, or in his wife, obsessed with his work, or in anticipation of a child.

Alexey Voropaev (Jogan Tesman), Natalya Nikolaeva (Julia Tesman), Anna Begunova (Tea Elvstead), Boris Dyachenko (Judge Brakk), Alexander Matrosov (Eilert Levborg) became her partners on the court.

The scenery is very interestingly solved: we see an unfinished house, which is still being renovated. The books lay on the floor, the walls were only half painted. This house shows the unsettled life of Hedda.

The play was staged according to a new translation of the play, which was performed by Olga Drobot. The text has become simpler, the presentation of the book will take place soon.

I liked the performance, although it is quite emotionally complex.

So, "Hedda Gabler" is a play about an unhappy woman. She has everything in order to live "like everyone else" in the common, philistine sense of the word. But the deepest split inside and all attempts to find harmony are crowned with failure. And a terrible, but such a logical conclusion: if I am ALREADY gone, then the only way to find the lost harmony is to cease to exist. to achieve, albeit negative, but a balance between external and internal sensations.

The complex role of the main character was brilliantly performed by one of the theater's leading actresses Alexandra Ursulyak. At a meeting with the press after the performance, she spoke about her understanding of the character of the heroine, about her strength and defenselessness. It's so easy to show a negative character in this story. But Alexandra managed to convey the deep psychologism of the role, and its tragedy.

The role is worthy of audience applause, it captures, convinces, fascinates. This is a strong and weak woman at the same time.

Stage partners Alexei Voropaev, Natalya Nikolaeva, Anna Begunova, Boris Dyachenko, Alexander Matrosov are all organic in their roles. Deep psychologism, subtle nuances of the relationship between the characters - two branches fly by like one moment.

The play was staged by the young director Anatoly Shuliev. Only in 2016, having graduated from the acting and directing course of the Shchukin Theater School, he, however, has experience of cooperation with the theaters named after Yevgeny Vakhtangov and Mayakovsky.

This work is an obvious directorial success of Shuliev. There are many interesting parallels. I liked the decision to show the house at the beginning of the renovation, at a moment when all the ingredients for building the future are in place, but no one ever starts building it. This is a kind of projection of the inner state of the heroine. The state when you need to start building a new orderly world, but this does not happen.

Good work by lighting designer Oskars Paulinish. An interesting find is the vague light images and shadows circling around the heroine, like fragments of thoughts and failed hopes.