IBSEN

[schmergo]

Know the signs before it’s too late!

[schmergo]

Working on this production of Hedda Gabler, I’ve been thinking a lot about my character, Judge Brack, and how I’d classify him. I would not call him a villain, and I’m not sure he’s even really an antagonist. So I’ve come to the conclusion than LESS important than what type of character I think Brack is would be what type of character he considers himself. And I’ve decided that he thinks he’s a Jane Austen hero.

The closest parallel would probably be Mr. Knightley from the book EMMA, another piece with a flawed female protagonist who wishes to influence and mold other people’s destinies. Like Brack, Knightley is significantly older than the heroine and has known her since she was young, has a position of influence in the community, is a trusted friend of the family’s who often comes over to help out. He hosts social events at his home, he’s always doing gentlemanly favors and bringing by local news, and he even tries to give helpful advice to the heroine when he feels she’s behaving unwisely. He listens to the heroine and her concerns, so closely that he repeats her own words.

In Jane Austen novels, love is expressed through actions– not only to the beloved but her family and friends as well. Think of Mr. Darcy dashing off to the rescue of Lydia Bennet who has been seduced by an unscrupulous fellow, Colonel Brandon finding a home and job for Edward Ferrars or bringing the sick Marianne’s mother to her bedside, Mr. Knightley gallantly helping Harriet Smith and Mr. Woodhouse in times of need.

Similarly, Judge Brack is always there to lend a helping hand. He helped the Tesmans secured their ‘dream home’ and helped fix it up for them and seems very invested in George Tesman’s personal career and success. He’s truly indispensable to their family.

At the end of EMMA, Mr. Knightley confesses that he’s loved Emma all along. He proposes to her and plans to live with her and her father– integrating himself fully into their life, providing love to her and help to her father. Brack also wants to be part of a 'triangle’ with Hedda and her husband, integrating himself into every aspect of their household.

But at the end of HEDDA GABLER, Brack reveals an aspect of his nature that is far more sinister and manipulative than what we’ve seen so far. He knows about Hedda’s involvement in the death of a man, and, in typical Brack fashion, he tells her not to worry because he can use his professional ties and station to help out: the authorities will never find out, “As long as I say nothing.” He never explicitly threatens, but we, the audience, should know Brack well enough to know what he expects in return.

I think, however, that Brack doesn’t see this subtle threat of blackmail the same way that we do. I think he feels that everyone else’s attachments are as shallow as his and that he, who has performed so many gallant and helpful deeds, will be able to finally win over Hedda with covering up her role in Lovborg’s death. Now that Lovborg is gone, there is no unsavory fellow to distract her– the way Frank Churchhill distracted Emma or Wickham distracted Elizabeth Bennet. She will be so grateful to him that she will voluntarily give her body to him. After all, he’s the hero, and everything will work out in his favor, right?

I think Judge Brack sleeps comfortably in his bed at night and looks placidly at his reflection in the mirror. He has no tortured backstory or secret sorrow. He’s always been comfortable and everything has always come easily to him. He’s friendly, helpful, charming, dignified, and a great listener. And he is just as comfortable cheerily drifting over the line from Jane Austen hero to lovable scoundrel to the inexcusable, irredeemable, and unforgivable.

[janeashersource]

Janet Suzman (as Hedda Gabler), Sir Ian McKellen (as George Tesman), Tom Bell (as Eilert Lovborg), Jane Asher (as Thea Elvsted) and Brendan Barry (as Judge Brack) in BBC Play of the Month’s Hedda Gabler, aired on 20 October 1972.

Hedda Gabler is a beautiful woman married to the solid and respectable academic George Tesman. Then an old flame, the dreamer Eilert Lovborg, turns up on the scene with tragic results.

Hedda Gabler is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen was present at the world premiere, which took place on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. It is recognized as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama. The title character, Hedda, is considered one of the great dramatic roles in theatre.

As for Jane’s role, Thea Elvsted is a younger schoolmate of Hedda and a former acquaintance of George. Nervous and shy, Thea is in an unhappy marriage.

* My screenshoots. The watermarks are necessary because of screen copying for web use without permission or credits.*

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

*whispers* I don’t know if this is the right place to put this, but I have to go anon since IRL people know my blog. I have a simple request: no Krogstad/Kristine fanfic exists. Is there a kind soul who would be willing to write some? Personal indulgence reasons. :’)

HEY followers—if any of you are fic writers and could help this human out, i’m sure it would be much obliged :)

[gnossienne]

Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving in Hedda Gabler, dir. Robyn Nevin (2004)

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

HAPPY 188TH BIRTHDAY, HENRIK IBSEN!!

[danishprince]

judge brack valentines because i am terrible and so is he

[rosamundpikesource]

Rob Brydon and Rosamund Pike attend the press night after party for ‘The Master Builder’ at The Old Vic Theatre on February 3, 2016 in London, England.

[oh-brave-sir-robin-deactivated2]

Henrik Ibsen, forever brooding in front of Oslo’s National Theater

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

Life is not tragic. Life is ridiculous—and that cannot be borne.

Ibsen, in his notes for Hedda Gabler

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

psa to everyone who writes/wants to write fanfiction based on ibsen plays: signups for the yuletide fic exchange are open! basically, you can both request fic and offer to write it in specific fandoms, and three of the fandoms that were nominated this year were a doll house, hedda gabler, and the wild duck. so definitely consider either requesting or offering to write (or both) for one of those three fandoms!!

[flawlessfionashaw]

Hedda Gabler

[macrolit]

Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

Do you have any fan fiction recommendations for Ibsen plays? I can only find a few out there :(

so after i got this message i went on a hunt for fanfiction about ibsen’s works, convinced you just weren’t looking hard enough. “surely,” i said to myself, “there is a hidden oasis of explicit nils krogstad/torvald helmer fanfiction out there somewhere. i just haven’t found it yet.”

alas, no such oasis exists; in fact, i ended up being forced to conclude that the anon’s right. there’s only a few fanfics devoted to ibsen plays in the whole wide world.

so without further ado, here is the list of Literally All The Ibsen Fics Out There, Categorized By Play (unless i’ve missed one for some reason, in which case you should let me know asap so i can add it to the list). i’m not counting ones that just loosely mention the plays even if they’re categorized under “ibsen”. they’ve got to be actually about the characters. 

hedda gabler:

No Longer Free (ff.net, rated T, ~2100 words)

[Hedda Gabler] AU. What if Hedda’s glorious suicide had failed?

Sprawling on a Pin (ao3, rated M, ~3500 words)

In all the tales you’d read as a child, the dragons were perfectly happy to lock the princesses in towers, but the princesses had never expressed their feelings on the matter. Maybe they’d hated it. Maybe their princes had never arrived and they’d spent the rest of their lives hating the dragons, hating the towers they were trapped in, hating themselves for the impulsive choices that had led them up to this moment.

And in Short, I was Afraid (ao3, rated M, ~3200 words)

General Gabler had always wanted a boy.

Or: Five times Hedda Gabler Tesman cried (and one time she didn’t).

there’s also this monologue of sorts on fictionpress, but there are a lot of grammar/style errors, and i am not really sure if it was even intended to be fanfiction in the first place, but whatever.

a doll house:

Act IV (ff.net, rated K+, ~2300 words)

COMPLETE. Based on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, what follows when Nora slams the door? R&R

Tarantella (ff.net, rated K+, ~800 words)

Nils and Torvald share a quiet moment. SLASH.

A Doll (ff.net, rated T, ~300 words)

After Nora Left, Torvald and Dr. Rank started to think about her.

The Wreck Comes Apart (ff.net, rated K+, ~200 words)

You can’t exactly turn around after slamming the door, can you? Nora ponders what Torvald has lost.

and…that’s it. that’s all i could find. i’m really, really hoping i somehow missed a ton. what do you mean there’s absolutely nothing for the wild duck? the master builder? the lady from the sea? ghosts? this is so upsetting.

if i missed one, please let me know. also please write fic yourself and i will totally promote it here

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

Do you have any fan fiction recommendations for Ibsen plays? I can only find a few out there :(

so after i got this message i went on a hunt for fanfiction about ibsen’s works, convinced you just weren’t looking hard enough. “surely,” i said to myself, “there is a hidden oasis of explicit nils krogstad/torvald helmer fanfiction out there somewhere. i just haven’t found it yet.”

alas, no such oasis exists; in fact, i ended up being forced to conclude that the anon’s right. there’s only a few fanfics devoted to ibsen plays in the whole wide world.

so without further ado, here is the list of Literally All The Ibsen Fics Out There, Categorized By Play (unless i’ve missed one for some reason, in which case you should let me know asap so i can add it to the list). i’m not counting ones that just loosely mention the plays even if they’re categorized under “ibsen”. they’ve got to be actually about the characters. 

hedda gabler:

No Longer Free (ff.net, rated T, ~2100 words)

[Hedda Gabler] AU. What if Hedda’s glorious suicide had failed?

Sprawling on a Pin (ao3, rated M, ~3500 words)

In all the tales you’d read as a child, the dragons were perfectly happy to lock the princesses in towers, but the princesses had never expressed their feelings on the matter. Maybe they’d hated it. Maybe their princes had never arrived and they’d spent the rest of their lives hating the dragons, hating the towers they were trapped in, hating themselves for the impulsive choices that had led them up to this moment.

And in Short, I was Afraid (ao3, rated M, ~3200 words)

General Gabler had always wanted a boy.

Or: Five times Hedda Gabler Tesman cried (and one time she didn’t).

there’s also this monologue of sorts on fictionpress, but there are a lot of grammar/style errors, and i am not really sure if it was even intended to be fanfiction in the first place, but whatever.

a doll house:

Act IV (ff.net, rated K+, ~2300 words)

COMPLETE. Based on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, what follows when Nora slams the door? R&R

Tarantella (ff.net, rated K+, ~800 words)

Nils and Torvald share a quiet moment. SLASH.

A Doll (ff.net, rated T, ~300 words)

After Nora Left, Torvald and Dr. Rank started to think about her.

The Wreck Comes Apart (ff.net, rated K+, ~200 words)

You can’t exactly turn around after slamming the door, can you? Nora ponders what Torvald has lost.

and…that’s it. that’s all i could find. i’m really, really hoping i somehow missed a ton. what do you mean there’s absolutely nothing for the wild duck? the master builder? the lady from the sea? ghosts? this is so upsetting.

if i missed one, please let me know. also please write fic yourself and i will totally promote it here

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

The Wild Duck—assistant directed by Christian O’Shaughnessy

[fuckyeahibsenplays]

TESMAN: (retrieving the slippers from the floor) What are you standing and looking at, Hedda?

HEDDA: (again calm and controlled) I'm just looking at the leaves—they're so yellow—and so withered.

TESMAN: (wraps up the slippers and puts them on the table) Yes, well, we're into September now.

HEDDA: (once more restless) Yes, to think—that already we're in—in September.