Symbolism and feminism in Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House painted the image of a strong, independent woman who stands against an oppressive and dominant society; the protagonist, Nora, abandons not only her husband, but her entire family, in an attempt to discover herself and become a liberated woman. The work is known for its universal appeal and the powerful blow it dealt to a male-dominated society, showing not only that a woman can free herself from the restrictions that society imposes on her, but that men are actually completely helpless in this regard. face of a strong woman; Nora's husband Torvald is left in tears as she leaves him at the end of the play. The strong feminist themes that were the hallmarks of A Doll's House are equally evident in the work Hedda Gabler, although the latter seems to lack the immediacy, clarity and force of the former, regarding its feminist ideals. Hedda and Thea, the two female protagonists, possess both admirable and detestable feminine traits, and only in combination with each other can the characters reveal the true feminist message of the work. To help the reader understand these concepts and to illustrate the distinct differences between the two characters, Ibsen uses symbolism. The symbolic nature of the hair, Lovborg's manuscript, and General Gabler's guns often seem to strip Hedda of her feminine characteristics and emphasize Thea's femininity. During the time this play was written, and as is very true in modern times, a sign of female beauty was long, abundant, flowing hair. Even today, short hair is often considered the sign of a more liberated woman, and has been used to characterize... the center of the card... age." Thesis. Brigham Young U, 1990 .Dyhouse, Carol. “Mothers and Daughters in the Middle-Class Home: c. 1870-1914." Work and Love: Women's Experience of Home and Family 1850-1940. Ed. Jane Lewis. New York: Blackwell, 1986. 27-45. Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in attic: The Nineteenth-Century Writer and Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Ibsen, Hedda Gabler New York: Dover, 1990. Lewis, Jane "Introduction: Reconstructing the Experience of Home and Family." and Love: Women's Experience of Home and Family 1850-1940 Ed. Jane Lewis New York: Blackwell, 1986. 1-26. Lyons, Charles R. Hedda Gabler, Role and World 1990. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 62. Boston: Twayne, 1991.Salomé, The Heroines of Lou Ibsen, ed, 1985.