Hedda’s confinement to one room is made worse by the free movement of other characters in and out of the room. The first scene of the play describes how Aunt Julia comes into the house early on the first morning Hedda spends at the house, and then remarks disapprovingly, “They aren’t up yet!” This first line of the play signifies the start of the suffocation of Hedda in the room, as Aunt Julia is uninvited and the two do not get on, and yet Hedda is indebted to her, as Aunt Julia “gave security for the furniture, the carpets” of her new house. Although Hedda may not approve of the décor of the house, with the grant that Tesman assumed he would receive with the professorship in jeopardy, they do not have the money to change this, and therefore Hedda is unable to complain about Julia’s being there.
Although many characters enter and exit freely, none causes more suffocation to Hedda than Brack. In the first instance, he comes into Hedda’s room through the garden, showing his sly and secretive character, and proceeds to talk to her even though she is alone, suggesting that she should have a secret affair with him – “I tell you, this kind of . . . triangular relationship . . . can be highly satisfying for all three parties.” Later on in the play when Brack makes the connection between Lovborg’s suicide and General Gabler’s pistols, he makes a similar suggestion, only this time he threatens to expose her if she does not comply. Hedda says, “ You mean I’m in your power, Judge Brack. You . . . own me.” This final threat in her home is the final act before she ends her own life.
In the same way, Doctor Miranda has invaded Paulina’s property, yet she believes that he is also the man who also invaded her body – he beat and raped her countless times while she was under interrogation. The sense of Miranda being her prisoner is enforced by the movement of the characters – Paulina and Gerardo enter a and exit freely, however Miranda is tied to the chair throughout, apart from when eating and when he goes to the toilet, yet even then Paulina accompanies him ‘sticking the gun in his back.’ It is being in her own personal setting where she feels safe and secure and can control what occurs that gives her the confidence to try this man. She says to him, “Out there your bastards may still give the orders, but in here, for now, I’m in command. Now is that clear?” The invasion of her property by the Doctor acts as the catalyst for her actions. This attempt to control the space is also reflected in the stage directions showing Paulina’s movement – they show her to be constantly walking around the interrogation room, and moving in and out of the room.
The boredom that results from Hedda’s prolonged confinement leads to her morality becoming increasingly worse. The first instance that her boredom causes her to be manipulative is when she convinces Mrs. Elvsted that they are good friends. Hedda does not, and never has felt any affection for Thea– Mrs. Elvsted admits that Hedda “terrified” her and “When [they] met on the stairs, [Hedda] pulled [her] hair.” Felt any affection for Thea. Hedda puts pressure on Mrs. Elvsted, by getting ever closer to her – ‘She propels MRS ELVSTED to the chair beside the stove, and herself sits on one of the stools’ then ‘she moves the stool closer’ finally, ‘Hedda leans on the arm of the chair.’This constant movement around the room is similar to Paulina’s movement, and to the same effect - Hedda is using the confinement that she has been faced with to force admissions out of Thea, later revealing her fears about Lovborg. The lack of control in her life makes her want to control another’s, and so she sees Thea as a weaker character that she can control. The second instance of her manipulation is of her Husband, Tesman. Although she does not find him stimulating, he provides the respectability that she requires. In Act Two, Hedda is having an intimate conversation with Lovborg about their past. While this is occurring, Tesman is sitting in one of the inner rooms, having a conversation with Brack. Tesman enters the room occasionally, oblivious to the history between them, and the conversation they are having. When he does come in, Hedda pretends that they have been looking at a photo album of their honeymoon, mocking Tesman by asking him about particular photos – “What do they call these wonderful mountains, Tesman?” He acts more as a servant than as Hedda’s husband, bringing in punch and biscuits.
This is also seen in ‘Death and the Maiden’, as Paulina spends more and more time in the room interrogating Miranda, she begins to forget she is only playing the role of the commission, and becomes increasingly irrational. Her language becomes filled with profanities, even when she is talking to Gerardo – “I want to know how many times you fucked that bitch.”, and from saying at the start “I haven’t the slightest intention of killing him.”, once Roberto has admitted the crime at the end after being briefed by Gerardo, Paulina says “The one thing I need to make this day truly perfect? … To kill you.”
Throughout the play, Hedda becomes more and more desperate as her power is increasingly being taken away from her. She tries to make the communal room her own, - Berta shows this, saying “Madam told me. She won’t have covers on chairs.” And yet she is unable to do so – there is clutter everywhere, and Tesman cant afford the furniture she wants, when she asks for the piano to be replaced. Hedda is increasingly pushed into the ‘Inner room right’ that only she goes in. Here she keeps the things that mean something to her – General Gabler’s pistols, her writing desk, and the portrait of her father always looking over her. It is the imprisonment of her marriage, the invasion of the other characters, and the sexual blackmail of Brack which lead to her spending more and more time in this room, and eventually when the situation she finds herself in becomes too intolerable, she tries to protect her honour with a beautiful death of shooting herself in the temple.
Similarly, Paulina’s increasing irrationality means she isolates herself from her husband. Gerardo says “Paulina, Paulina. You want to destroy me? Is that what you want?” Despite this isolation, we find out that Gerardo is set free from the imprisonment in her house, and yet whether she is free from her emotional imprisonment is unclear. At the end, the Doctor still denies what he did, and doesn’t repent like she needed him to. The play ends with Gerardo and Paulina playing the happy couple at a concert. Roberto is also there and he and Paulina’s ‘eyes interlock for a moment,’ then Paulina looks away. Although she may not have liberated herself through the mental suffering she endured, through not killing him, she frees herself from the savagery that afflicted her torturers, whether or not Miranda was one of them.
In conclusion, setting is the driving force in both plays. It gives Paulina the confidence to confront her torturer, however at the same time isolates her from her husband, and despite her best efforts she does not get the confession she is looking for. Hedda on the other hand is a victim of her setting. The lack of control which she needs, and the invasion of other characters suffocates her, leading to her becoming increasingly manipulative, and eventually her death.
P.18, Death and the Maiden
Stage, directions P.22 Death and the Maiden
P. 21, Death and the Maiden
Stage directions P. 22,23 and 25, Hedda Gabler
P36, Death and the Maiden
P23, Death and the Maiden
P42, Death and the Maiden
P36, Death and the Maiden
P46, Death and the Maiden