[Nervously, crossing the ....... how to explain it. | Hedda Gabler By Henrik Ibsen | Eureka Study Aids

[Nervously crossing the room.] Well, you see -- these impulses come over me all of a sudden; and I cannot resist them. [Throws herself down in the easy-chair by the stove.] Oh, I don't know how to explain it. 

[Nervously, crossing the .......... how to explain it.

Reference

(i) Drama: Hedda Gabler

(ii) Dramatist: Henrik Ibsen

Context

(i) Occurrence: Act 2

(ii) Content: Hedda marries George but finds life with him to be dull. George spends most of his time in libraries doing research in history for a book. A friend of Hedda comes to visit her and tells her of Lovborg, an old friend of both women. Lovborg has also written a book on history. In the past, he has lived a life of degeneration. Now he has quit drinking and has devoted himself to serious work. Lovborg loses his manuscript at a party. When George returns home with Lovborg's manuscript, Hedda burns it. Lovborg comes to Hedda and confesses how he has failed in his life. Hedda talks him into committing suicide which he does. George begins to reconstruct Lovborg's manuscript with the help of Thea. In the end, Hedda commits suicide with her pistol.

Explanation

 In these lines Hedda says to Brack that her behaviour suddenly assumes the form of uncontrollable impulses. Hedda has insulted her old, devoted aunt Juju by feigning to believe that the bonnet left on a chair of the drawing room belonged to some careless servant, when she knew that it was her aunt's. The aunt is deeply wounded by Hedda's remark, which was exactly the effect sought by Hedda, yet without justification or apparent realization. Brack expresses surprise at Hedda's behaviour. "Now, my dear Mrs. Hedda", says Brack, "how could you do such a thing? To that excellent old lady, too!" Crossing the room nervously, Hedda replies that her "impulses" are beyond her control. She cannot resist her impulses because she is desperate for a release of her anger. She sits in an easy-chair by the stove and says that she cannot explain to him her pent-up emotions. In short, Hedda is a frustrated woman who does not feel comfortable in any of the suitable roles for women. Rather than defy social convention, she attempts to conform which results in uncontrollable impulses. 

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar