Compulsion vs. Volition: An Overview of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler

This article attempts to explore the role that compulsion plays in the overall thematic structure of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (1890). As a modern dramatist, Ibsen presents the conditions of the individual in a society of self-contradictory values and norms. Along with tackling society’s limitations and identity issues, Ibsen’s drama deals with the theme of free will pitted against compulsion on the individual level. This article also examines how action in the play is socially, morally, and ethically bound for some characters who have freedom in making essential steps in their lives. In contrast, other characters seem mostly strained as their action is governed psychologically and individually. Though Ibsen’s protagonists appear liberal-minded, bold, revolutionary, and unconventional, they are categorically classified to remain wavering between the zones of volition and compulsion, unable to settle on either of them when making crucial decisions. The article aims to discuss the factors determining the two categories to which a character can belong: the one whose actions and decisions are beyond control at moments of crisis, or the one who experiences volition and never, thus, loses their identity and freewill. By analyzing the main characters, the article applies Judith Butler’s theory of gender roles, promoting the notion that gender is a performative rather than a social construction.