Representation of Class

I'm going to jump

What is upper class defined by?

Status, not control of capital

Types of Classes

• Noble or Aristocratic → born into upper-class status (ended in 1821 but were powerful until the start of the 20th century)

• Patricate - non-noble upper Class

  • High Ranking Officials (judges, military leaders, high-ranking academics etc.)

  • Haute - Wealthy industrialists, bankers and investors (May not classify for upper class)

• Petite Bourgeoise

  • Middle Class - small business owners, low level civil servants, academics etc.

• Working Class

  • Lower Class - Domestic servants, farmer, manual labourers, fisherman etc.

Where is each character on the class list

Berta

• Working Class

Tesman Family

• Petite Bourgeoise (Middle Class)

General Gabler

• Patrocate - High ranking military leader

Brack

• Patricate - Judge

Lovborg

• Haute bourgeoisie → Petite bourgeoisie (through destruction of reputation and throwing away his money on debauchery)

Hedda

• Patricate → Petite bourgeoisie (through lack of money and thus “forced” marriage). She still considers herself a member of the upper bourgeoisie and like she’s married into a lower social class which she despises.

What is class consciousness and how is it seen in Hedda Gabler?

An individual or group’s awareness of their own social status and its relation to other classes. All characters are aware of their social position but Hedda is the most. Hedda clings to her aristocratic identity and resents her new middle-class life, while others like Tesman and Lövborg obsess over moving up or falling down the ladder.

What is classism/class prejudice and how is it seen in Hedda Gabler?

The discrimination or disdain related to someone’s social class - often due to association of class and wealth. There is constant judgement based on class — Hedda looks down on Berta and Thea, while Brack uses social power to control others.

What is class mobility and how is it seen in Hedda Gabler?

The ability of individuals or groups to move up and down the social class list. Hedda and Lovborg both experience downward mobility and suffer for it, while Tesman hopes to rise through academic success. Class mobility is limited and mentally damaging.

What are some problems with the heirachies?

1. Inequality and unfairness - disproportionate privilege and oppression

2. Classism and exclusion - judged by class and not personality/character

3. Division and tension - fuels conflict and mistrust. Competition is also made in an effort to preserve or improve one’s status.

4. Transactional relationships - marriages and social connections to maintain or elevate one’s status.

Risk of Poverty

Despite the pretensions of both the upper and middle class, all the characters in the play are at risk of poverty, bar Brack. Hedda and Thea both married for financial security and Thea risks her social and financial security when she leaves her husband for Lovborg. Tesman’s finances are threatened by not getting the professorship and his aunts mortgaged their financial annuity to help him buy his new house.

• The so called “rock-solid” bourgeoisie is very fragile and vulnerable to the loss of wealth and status

Restricted Social Behaviour

Restricted social behaviour of the upper bourgeoisie provided serious penalties for any individuality or creativity. The life of a non-conformist was difficult, if not impossible, in this social class.

Hedda’s cowardice + Hedda vs Thea

We realize how cowardly Hedda is by her contrast to Thea. While Thea is able to create and recreate, Hedda can only destroy. She destroys the manuscript, destroys Eilert Lovborg, and finally, destroys herself. She is, ultimately, an ignorant, highly romantic woman due to her upper class like ideals, trapped in the rigid bourgeois society of 19th century Norway. Of all the characters, Thea is the most able to act from her own conscience and convictions, despite the disapproval of society and this may be related to the fact that Thea herself is not and has not been a part of the upper class.

Hedda clings to the glamour of being her father’s daughter (clings to being born into the upper bourgeoisie) but is a coward, not a heroic soldier. This cowardice is reflected in anything that might cause scandal. She clearly desired Eilert but rejected him because she would not break a social taboo.

She is wretched and destructive because she refuses to live according to her feelings and instead conforms to the social order, thinking that she will be able to move back up the social hierarchy.

Class and aestheticism

• Thinks Eilert Lovborg dying with “vine leaves” in his hair is romantic but does not care about the true meaning of the death.

Hedda x Tesman

• Marries beneath her class - solely to secure a socially acceptable and to relieve her financial situation

• Tesman worships Hedda, seeing her as a social prize that elevates his status

• Hedda resents him for his ordinariness, academic ambition and bourgeoisie life.

Class mismatch!

• Hedda: Bored and let down by how married life below one’s old class actually is

• Tesman: Oblivious to Hedda feeling trapped by his values

Hedda x Brack

• Represents the authority Hedda hates (because of her fall), but must tolerate him

• They are equal intelligence and wisdom from her background but not same power

• Brack holds social power and Hedda’s fear of scandal shows even the high-born are vulnerable

• Brack symbolises the invisible prison of social decorum

Hedda x Lovborg

• Hedda is drawn to Lovborg and his non-conformity but wants to rise on her own terms, not together.

• When Lovborg shows true independence, Hedda seeks to destroy him, burning his manuscript and handing him a pistol to exert influence in a world where she’s not meant to have any.

Hedda x Thea

• Thea leaves her respectable marriage which can be seen as an act of class defiance. Hedda stays in her “proper” role, and thus finds Thea both admirable and threatening.

• Hedda can only destroy while Thea can promote and create.

Tesman x Thea

• Both non-threatening, cooperative and diligent

• Shows middle-class values: industriousness (hard work, ambition and professional achievement), respectability (dignity and modesty) and sentimentality.

• Also shows that true progress comes from intellectual collaboration, not class boundaries

Tesman x Brack

• Tesman respects and relies on Brack

• Brack treats Tesman as an useful but inferior associate

• Brack subtly manipulates the Tesman House by inserting himself into Hedda’s group by using his status

Aunt Tesman x Hedda

• Aunt Tesman tries hard to please Hedda, trying to gain her approval - she respects the upper-class norms

• Hedda treats her with barely disgusted contempo → bonnet + lower taste/importance

• Class snobbery poisons well-meant relationships

• Hedda uses class as both a shield and a weapon

Berta - Class and Notes

• Working Class

• Invisible in society and spoken about rather than to. She has been excluded from social structures.

• She is the foundation of the household but is emotionally neglected and treated with contempt paralleling the working-class being excluded emotionally and intellectually.

Tesman Family - Class and Notes

• Petite Bourgeoisie

• Tesman - Aspirational middle class - reliant on hard work and marriage to Hedda.

• Aunt Tesman is obsessed with traditional values and legacy (house and baby)

• Riddled with anxiety about money and appearances.

• Tesman’s insecurities about Lövborg and obsession with the professorship reveal the fragility of the petite bourgeois identity — it's dependent on external validation.

Lovborg - Class and Notes

• Haute → Petite bourgeoisie (through destruction of reputation and throwing away his money on debauchery)

• Bourgeoisie punishes deviation - creativity and passion are not rewarded unless conforms to the “rules”

• Manuscript symbolises intellectual capital and how hated one can be for it

• Socially and academically lower than Tesman despite being smarter

Hedda - Class and Notes

• Patricate → Petite bourgeoisie (through lack of money and thus “forced” marriage). She still considers herself a member of the upper bourgeoisie and like she’s married into a lower social class which she despises.

• Deeply class-conscious

• Manipulation is an attempt to regain power she once had from being the general’s daughter.

• Disgust for Thea and Berta stems from class superiority

• Hedda kills herself to reject social demotion

• Her refusal to conform isolates her from every class

General Gabler - Class and Notes

• Social legacy haunts Hedda’s current life and allows her to compare them,

• Status is linked to honour, pride and duty which contrasts with Tesman’s.

• Hedda’s pistols are a literal and psychological relic from the general’s class

What are class signifiers and how are they seen in Hedda Gabler?

A sign or marker that signal’s a person’s status - clothing, material possessions, hobbies etc. Objects like Hedda’s pistols, her dress, and the Tesmans’ house show how people perform class and basically identity, status, and insecurity.

Middle class values

• Industriousness 

  • Hard work, ambition, professional achievement 

  • Primary path to self-improvement and social mobility.

  • Jobs were not just businesses but moral callings that demonstrated discipline and responsibility  

  • Success was earnt through effort 

• Respectability  

  • Presenting oneself with dignity, modesty, social decorum  

  • Moral uprightness, appropriate dress, social restraint  

  • Form of social capital especially to those newly rising into middle class  

• Sentimentality  

  • Family, emotional sincerity, moral sensitivity  

  • Domestic life was associated with love, kindness, and sanctity of the home  

  • Emotional openness = moral depth and proper upbringing  

Upper class values

• Refinement and aestheticism 

  • Tradition of aesthetic judgement, grace, and high cultural standards  

  • Elite distinguished themselves through taste in art, fashion, leisure  

  • Having an eye for beautiful material items were taken as natural signs of superiority  

• Leisure and detachment from labour  

  • Valued freedom from the need to work  

  • Activities governed by choice rather than necessity  

  • Noble pursuits – hunting, travel, engaging in arts 

  • Reflected freedom from economic pressure  

• Emotional reserve  

  • Prioritisation of self-control and composure  

  • Emotional restraint was a marker of value  

• Power and influence  

  • Social connections were a form of soft power – governed by lineage, reputation, and access to elite spaces  

  • Members of the upper class sought to preserve their place within a closed circle using marriage and other connections to reinforce their dominance