Written for AQA Theatre Studies A-Level, but can be used for other exams too.
Complete grids on each character, their function in the play, character traits and the scenes they are in. Also includes a grid on each character's relationship with one another.
Written by a straight A* student. Well o...
Hedda Gabler - Character Descriptions and Relationships
HEDDA GABLER
Function in the play Character traits Sections in script
• Hedda is the daughter of the famous General Gabler; as a child she was used to • Power hungry p10 - 11 Act I: Introduction, Hedda with Tesman and Juju
luxury and high-class living • Determined p15 - 17 Act I: Hedda with Thea (insulting)
• Hedda is an intelligent, unpredictable, and somewhat dishonest young woman • Manipulative p25 - 26 Act I: Hedda with Thea (manipulative)
who is not afraid to manipulate her husband and friends • Intelligent p32 - 34 Act I: Hedda and Tesman (insulting)
• She is a mass of contradictions: irtatious and frigid; romantic and calculating; in • Unpredictable p35 - 37 Act II: Hedda and Brack ( irtatious)
love with danger yet fearing its consequences. • Bored p40 - 42 Act II: Hedda and Brack with Tesman’s Entry
• Not quite daring to break out of the constraints put upon her by her upbringing • Immature p59 - 61 Act II: Hedda with Loevborg and Thea
and social status, she contents herself with meddling in other peoples’ lives, • Destructive p63 - 64 Act II: Hedda with Thea (bullying)
fancying herself as the puppet-master for whom others will perform • Aristocratic p73 - 74 Act III: Hedda and Brack ( irtatious)
• As an actor it is hard to know how far an audience should feel sympathy with • Jealous p83 - 85 Act III: Hedda with Loevborg and the Manuscript
Hedda. She has been described as a ‘monster’, and it is hard to like the person • Irritated p89 - 91 Act IV: Hedda and Tesman (manipulative)
who is so bitchy about Thea Elvsted and who burns Thea and Eilert’s ‘love-child’ • Trapped p97 - 99 Act IV: Hedda and Brack (submissive)
- the manuscript • Ruthless p102 - 104 Act IV: Death
• Hedda is unable to listen. This is because she is so self obsessed, only seeing • Apathetic
the world as it a ects her and she can a ect it. • Insulting
GEORGE TESMAN
Function in the play Character traits Sections in script
• He tries very hard to please his young wife, Hedda, and often does not realise • Amiable p8 - 9 Act I: Tesman and Juju
that she is manipulating him • Foolish p14 - 16 Act I: Tesman and Hedda
• He often seems foolish for his age, and when he annoys Hedda, the audience • Naive p32 - 34 Act I: Tesman and Hedda with Brack
has reason to sympathise with her • Driven p52 - 53 Act II: Tesman with Hedda and Loevborg (ignorant)
• His book, which is on small domestic trivia in history, is indicative of the • Sentimental p89 - 91 Act IV: Tesman and Hedda (naive)
smallness and triviality of his mind • Conventional p102 - 104 Act IV: Tesman with Thea, Brack and Hedda
• Sheltered all his life by the over-coddling adoration of his Aunts, George has • Ridiculous
never had to get to grip with real life • Compassionate
• It is clear that his mind is not sparky, like Eilert’s; he is a note-taker and sifter • Careful
of other peoples’ work and not particularly bright • Mundane
• George is jolted out of his tramlines by his profound shock at Hedda’s • Mothered
burning of his rival’s manuscript - the only time we see him thinking and • Enthusiastic
feeling for someone else • Intelligent
Page 1 of 8 A Level Theatre Studies
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, Hedda Gabler
JUDGE BRACK
Function in the play Character traits Sections in script
• He is a friend of both Tesman and Hedda, and he visits their house regularly • Generous p28 - 29 Act I: Brack with Tesman
• He is a clever man with high social rank, in a period when a man can dally with women, • Manipulative p35 - 37 Act II: Brack with Hedda ( irtatious)
so long as he is discreet, although the same rules are less applicable to women • Denigrates others p73 - 74 Act III: Brack with Hedda ( irtatious)
• He sees ahead of him many more years without any responsibility to any other than • Power p97 - 99 Act IV: Brack with Hedda (power)
himself and is an extremely sel sh perso • Insecure p101 - 102 Act IV Brack with Hedda (power)
• A married woman is far more desirable to a man like Brack: providing they are both • Intelligence p102 - 104 Act IV: Brack with Hedda and Death
careful, there is much mutual pleasure to be had and no threat of being tied down • Flirtatious
• Experience of women has given him enough perception to know what pleases a woman: • Innuendo
discreet attery, companionship, a willing ear [up to a point] and intelligent and witty • Suave/charming
conversation, but he still lacks that extra degree of perception that can only come when • Sportive
one truly cares for someone other than oneself • Teasing
• He has connections around the city, and is often the rst to give Tesman information • Worldly
about alterations in the possibility of his professorship
• He seems to enjoy meddling in other people's a airs
EILERT LOEVBORG
Function in the play Character traits Sections in script
• A genius, is Tesman’s biggest competitor in the academic world • Intelligent p47 - 49 Act II: Loevborg with Tesman and Brack
• Born to a powerful family with high social standing, we know little about his • Outcast p52 - 53 Act II: Loevborg with Hedda
upbringing - his background may have given him the opportunity to be a • Weak-minded p57 - 59 Act II: Loevborg with Thea and Hedda
wild young man and perhaps he has rebelled against too strict a family, or • Ill-adapted p80 - 81 Act III: Loevborg with Thea and Hedda (manipulated)
perhaps they were the opposite and did not care enough • Confesser
• After a series of scandals related to drinking, he was once a public outcast • Guilty
but has now returned to the city and has published a book to rave reviews • Con icted
• He also has another manuscript that is even more promising • Temperamental
• Mrs Elvsted helped him with both manuscripts • Dependant
• He once shared a close relationship with Hedda • Lustful
Page 2 of 8 A Level Theatre Studies
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