"They're not even up yet." "With the steamer being so late and the mistress would insist on unpacking so much before she would go to bed." "Well, let them sleep, sleep as long as they like." "But when they do get up, they'll certainly need a breath of fresh air." "So, now you have a new mistress, Berte." "Heaven knows, it was difficult enough for me to part with you." "And for me too, Miss Julia." "After all those years with you and Miss Rena." "Poor thing lying there helpless, how will she manage?" "We'll just have to make the best of it, Berte." "George needs you, he really does." "You've looked after him since he was a little boy." "But there's another thing, Miss Julia." "I'm so afraid I won't please the new mistress." "She's so particular." "Oh, that's only natural, dear." "After all, she's General Gabler's daughter." "She was used to being spoilt when her father was alive." "Do you remember when we used to see her out on her horse?" "How smart she always looked in her riding clothes!" "I never thought I'd live to see the day when she and Master George would make a match of it." "Neither did I. By the way, Berte, you mustn't call him Master George any longer." "It's Dr. Tesman now." "(Singing merrily)" "Good morning, my dear George, good morning." "Aunt Julia, you've come all this way so early in the morning." "You got back from the pier all right?" "Yes, quite all right, dear, thank you." "Judge Brack saw me all the way home." "I was sorry we didn't offer you a lift, but Hedda had a mountain of luggage!" "Would you take that for me, Berte?" "Yes, sir, I'll put it in the attic." "Do you know, Aunt Julia, I had that suitcase full of notes." "You've no idea how much I discovered from those archives I examined - curious old details no one had any idea existed." "You certainly didn't waste your time on your wedding trip." "I certainly haven't." "Well, take your hat off, Aunt Julia." " Can I help you?" " Thank you, dear." "Oh, that's a very elegant hat you've got, Aunt Julia." "I bought that on Hedda's account." "I didn't want her to feel ashamed of her old aunt in case we should go out together." "Dear Aunt Julia, you think of everything." "Come on, sit down and let's have a cozy chat." "Oh, it's good to see you again." "And to know that you still have a place in your heart for your old aunts." "Tell me, Aunt Rena, she isn't any better?" "No, dear." "I'm afraid she'll never be any better, poor soul." "Now that I longer have you to look after," "I don't quite know what will become of me when she goes." "There, there, there." "It seemed such an age that you were away, George." " Five whole months!" " Six." "Six." "Forgive me, dear." "Now, tell me, George, have you been over the house yet?" "Oh, yes." "It's splendid, it's simply splendid." "It's awfully big." "I don't know what we'll do with all those empty rooms." "(Laughs)" "My dear George," "I expect you'll find plenty of use for them later on." "Oh, I expect so." "When I get more and more books, you mean?" "(Laughs) Yes, dear." "It was your books I was thinking of." "I'm especially pleased for Hedda." "You know, she'd always set her heart on living in this place." "It belonged to Secretary Falk, you know, the cabinet minister." "Even before we were engaged, she used to say this is the one place she'd really like to live in." "Yes, but I'm afraid you're going to find all this very expensive." "Very expensive." "Oh, no, Judge Brack wrote to Hedda that he'd secured favorable terms." "But you mustn't worry about it, my dear." "In the first place, I've given security for all the carpets and the curtains." "Security?" "What kind of security?" "I borrowed on our annuity." "But my dear Aunt Julia, you must be mad, simply mad." "That annuity is all that you and Aunt Rena have to live on." "Don't get so excited about it, dear." "It's only a matter of form, Judge Brack says." "That's all very well, but..." "The only happiness I have in the world is making things easier for you, dear." "Now, you've nothing to stand in your way." "You'll have your own salary and soon your new book will appear." "What's it to be about, George?" "It's about the handicrafts of Brabant in the Middle Ages." "Gracious, fancy being able to write about such things!" "And, best of all, you have your wife, the wife you've longed for." "Yes, she's the most wonderful part of it all, Aunt Julia." "I expect a few of my friends are a little bit jealous of me." "Good morning, Hedda, good morning!" "What an early visitor you are." "How kind of you." "Not at all." "Did the bride sleep well in her new home?" "Thank you." "Fairly well." "(Laughs) I like that, Hedda, you were sleeping like a log when I got up." "Fortunately." "Good heavens, what a nuisance!" "They've made us open the window and let in a flood of sunlight." "Well, we'll just close it again." "Don't do that." "Draw the curtains." "That will give us softer light." "There, Hedda, now you have both shade and fresh air." "Heaven knows, we need some fresh air." "Do sit down, my dear Miss Tesman." "No, I won't, thank you, my dear." "Now I know everything's all right here," "I must get back to my sister." "Give Aunt Rena my love and tell her I'll come and see her this afternoon." "Yes, dear, I will." "Oh, good gracious me, I was almost forgetting." "I've brought something for you." "Oh, what is it, eh?" "Oh, how very touching, my slippers, Hedda, my old bedroom slippers." "I remember." "You spoke of them often on our wedding trip." "But I can't tell you how many times I've missed these." "Look." "We shall never get on with this servant!" "Not get on with Berte?" "Look, she's left her old hat lying on the chair." "But Hedda, dear..." "Think if someone were to see it!" "Hedda, dear, that's Aunt Julia's hat." " Oh, is it?" " Yes, indeed it is." "And what's more, it's not old." "Really, I didn't look very closely, Miss Tesman." "It's a beautiful hat, it's beautiful." "It's not as beautiful as all that." "What did I do with my parasol?" "Here it is." "For this is mine too, not Berte's." "A new hat and a new parasol." "Think of that, Hedda." "Lovely, I'm sure." "Aunt Julia, look at Hedda." "Isn't she lovely?" "I think she's looking even especially well." "She may have filled out a little..." " Do be quiet!" " Filled out?" "You may not notice in that loose dress, but I have certain opportunities." "You have no opportunities at all, George!" "Maybe it was the mountain air..." "I'm just as I was when we left!" "Lovely." "Lovely, loveliest Hedda." "God bless and keep you, Hedda Tesman, for George's sake." "Please, let me go." "I shan't let a day pass without coming to see you." "Yes, do that, Aunt Julia, do that." "Goodbye, my dearest Hedda." "Goodbye." "How proud your poor father would be if he could see what a great man his little boy has become." "(George) You've become like a father and a mother to me..." "Hedda dear, if you could manage, just be a little more affectionate with her." "For my sake, eh?" "I shall try to call her "Aunt"." "But that's really all I can do." "What are you looking at, Hedda?" "I am just looking at the leaves." "They are so yellow and withered." "Well, we're well into September now." "September." "Yes, September already." "Is there something the matter, Hedda dear?" "Excuse me, Mrs. Tesman, Mrs. Elvsted is here." "She called earlier this morning." "She brought those flowers." "Sheriff Elvsted's wife?" "The one who was Miss Rysing?" "Yes." "Ask her to come in." "Yes, that girl with the mass of hair." "She was always showing off." "An old flame of yours, I've heard." "Oh, that didn't last long." "That was before I met you, Hedda." "I wonder what she's doing in town." "I haven't seen her for years." "Why should she call on us?" "Oh, my dear Mrs. Elvsted, I'm delighted to see you again." "It's been a very long time." "It's a long time since we met too." "Thank you for your lovely flowers." "I arrived in town yesterday morning." "I was so upset not to find you at home." "I hope you're not in any trouble." "Well, yes." "Yes, I am." "And there was no one else here I could possibly turn to." "Please, sit down." "Do sit down there." " Is anything wrong at home?" " Well, yes." "Yes and no." "I..." "Well, I do hope you won't misunderstand me..." "Well, I suppose you've already heard " "Ejlert Lovborg is back in town too." "What?" "Ejlert Lovborg's come back?" " Think of that, Hedda." " Yes, I heard." "I'm so afraid he may get into trouble." "But my dear Mrs. Elvsted, why should you be so worried about him?" "Well, you see, he's the children's tutor." " Your children?" " My stepchildren, my husband's." "I've none myself." "Is Ejlert dependable enough for such a position?" "For the past two years, his conduct has been irreproachable." " Well, fancy that, Hedda." " Yes, I heard." "Irreproachable in every respect." "After his book was published..." "He's published a new book?" " Recently?" " Oh, yes, a wonderful book." "A sort of outline of civilization." "It came out a couple of weeks ago." "Sold marvelously." "Made quite a sensation." "I suppose it was something he wrote some time ago, during his..." "well, better period." "Oh, no, no, no." "He's written it all while he's been with us." " Have you seen him in town?" " No, not yet." "I had difficulty in finding his address." "But this morning, I got it." "Doesn't it seem odd that your husband were to send you on such an errand." "Why didn't he come to look after his friend?" "Oh, no, he's so busy." "Besides, I had some shopping to do." "Yes, I see." "Please, Mr. Tesman," "I'm sure Ejlert Lovborg will come to see you." "You and he were such great friends," "I'd be grateful if you'd keep an eye on him." "I should be delighted to." "You can rely on me." "Oh, how kind of you." "My husband is so very fond of him." "Yes, of course." "I think you should write him, George." "He may not want to come on his own accord." "I'll write to him this very minute." "Have you his address, Mrs. Elvsted?" "Yes, yes." " Here it is." " Splendid." "Write him a nice, friendly letter and a good long one too." " I certainly will." " Don't let him know I suggested it!" " What?" " Oh, no, not a word." "You'll see, we'll kill two birds with one stone." " What do you mean?" " Couldn't you see?" "I wanted to get rid of him so I could talk to you alone." "There's nothing to tell, absolutely nothing." "Of course there is, I can see that." "There is a great deal more to tell." "Now we'll have a nice, friendly talk." "I want to know all about your life at home." "I'd prefer not to speak about that." "But to me, my dear, after all, we went to school together." "Yes, but you were in a higher class and I was so terribly afraid of you then." " Afraid of me?" " Yes." "When we met on the stairs, you always used to pull my hair." "Oh, did I really?" "Once you said you'd burn it all off." "(Laughs) But I was only teasing you of course." " There now!" " I was so silly in those days." "And afterwards, we drifted so far apart." "Then we must drift together again." "Come, let us sit down over here." " There." " Thank you." "In school, we used to call each other by our first names." " Why don't we now?" " I think you're mistaken." "Of course not." "I remember very well." "We were great friends, so you should call me Hedda and I shall call you my dear little Tora." "My name is Thea." "Oh, yes, of course, I meant Thea." "Tell me, Thea, I'm a little vague about it, but when you first went to the Elvsted's you were a housekeeper..." "No, no, no..." "Well, you see Mrs. Tesman..." "Now, now." "Well, you see, Hedda, I was supposed to go as governess, but Mrs. Elvsted - the first Mrs. Elvsted, that is - she was an invalid and rarely left her room, so I had to take charge of the house as well." "And eventually, you became mistress of the house." "Yes, I married him." " How long ago was that?" " Five years ago." "Oh, yes, that's right." "And Ejlert Lovborg has lived near you about three years, hasn't he?" "Ejlert Lovborg?" "Why, yes." "Yes, he has." "I suppose you saw a good deal of him." "Yes, he came to the house every day, to give the children lessons." "And your husband's away a great deal, I suppose?" "Yes." "As sheriff, he often has to travel about his district." "But my dear, isn't he far too old for you?" "There must be at least 20 years between you." "Yes." "That's what makes it so difficult..." "And we haven't a thought in common." "Nothing in fact." " Is he kind to you?" " I think he finds me useful." "I don't think he cares for anyone except himself and perhaps the children." "A little." "And Ejlert Lovborg." "Ejlert Lovborg?" "What makes you say that?" "That's obvious." "He sends you all this way just to look for him." "At least, that's what you told George." "Yes, I..." "Yes, I suppose I did." "My husband knew nothing about my coming here." "Your husband didn't know?" "He was away himself at the time." "I couldn't stand it any longer, Hedda," "I felt so alone and deserted." "Yes, yes, well?" "I packed a few of my things, I didn't tell anyone." "I simply left the house and took the next train to town." "How did you dare?" "What will your husband say when you go home again?" "Back to him?" "I shall never go back to him again." "But what will people say about you, Thea?" "They can say whatever they like!" "I did what I had to do." "If I am to live at all, I must live near Ejlert Lovborg." "How did this friendship start between you and Ejlert Lovborg?" "It grew..." "It grew gradually." "I began to have a sort of power over him." " Power?" " Yes." "After a while, he gave up his old habits." "Not because I asked him to, but because I suppose he realized how unhappy they made me and so he dropped them." "So, you have reformed him, you little dear." "Well, he says so." "And in return, he's taught me how to live." " He gave you lessons too." " Well, not lessons exactly." "He talked to me, explained things to me." "The most wonderful thing was when he allowed me to share in his work," " allowed me to help him." " He did, did he?" "Yes, he wanted me to be a part of everything he wrote." "Like two good comrades." "Comrades?" "Why, Hedda, that's exactly what he says." "Oh, I ought to be so happy and yet... somehow I'm not, I'm so afraid it may not last." "So, you're not sure of him then?" "Something stands between Ejlert Lovborg and me." " The shadow of another woman." " Who could that be?" "I don't know." "Someone he knew a long time ago." "Someone he never seems able to forget." "Has he told you anything about her?" "He talked about her once, quite lately." "What did he say?" "He said that when they parted, she threaten to shoot him." "Oh, nonsense!" "No one we know does that sort of thing." "That's why I think it must have been that red-haired cabaret singer - they say she went about with loaded pistols." " Then it must have been she." " They say she's here in town!" "I'm so worried, I don't know what to do." "Oh, dear, my dear, don't be so worried." "Tesman will take care of everything." "There." "Hedda, you're so understanding." "So kind." "Well, I hope your wife's pleased with everything." "We just can't thank you enough, Judge Brack." "Of course, she wants to rearrange a few things and she's talking of buying a few additional trifles." "Perhaps it might be wiser to be a bit more economical." "Oh, well, you know Hedda, Judge, she's accustomed to a certain standard of living." "Yes, that's just the trouble." "In any case, I shall soon be receiving my appointment, eh?" "Well, you see, such things sometimes hang fire." "You've heard something further?" "No, nothing really definite." "I've one bit of news for you." "Your old friend Ejlert Lovborg's back in town." "Yes, I knew that already." "I wonder what on earth he'll do." "How he'll manage to make a living?" "Isn't that just like Tesman?" "Always worrying about how people will make a living." "What fun to have a look at you by daylight, Judge." " You find me altered?" " Oh, a little younger, I think." "Oh, thank you very much." "(Laughs) We were talking about Ejlert Lovborg, dear." "I hear they quite reformed him up at the Elvsted's." "Well, I wonder what on earth he's going to do." "I've written him a letter," "I asked him to come and see me this evening." "But you're coming to my stag party this evening." "You promised me last night on the pier." " Oh, had you forgotten, Tesman?" " I'm afraid I had." "In any case, I think you can be certain Lovborg won't come here." "Oh?" "Why shouldn't he?" "Well, my dear Tesman, and you too, Mrs. Tesman," "I think it's only right that I should inform you of something." "I think you ought to be prepared to find your appointment deferred rather longer than you expected." "Has something happened to prevent it?" "The nomination may depend on the result of a competition." "Competition?" "Think of that, Hedda." "But who would my competitor be?" "Ejlert Lovborg." "Oh, no, that's impossible!" "That's..." "that's absolutely unbelievable." "It may happen, nevertheless." "That would be incredibly unfair to me, Judge Brack." "I'm a married man, Hedda and I married on these prospects." "Think of the money we've spent." "And we borrowed from Aunt Julia too." "After all, they practically promised me the appointment." "Don't get so excited, you'll probably get the appointment, only you'll have to compete for it." "Think, George, it'll have quite a sporting interest." "How can you be so indifferent about it, Hedda dear?" "I'm not in the least indifferent." "I can't wait to see who will win." "In any case, I thought I ought to warn you, Mrs. Tesman." "Under the circumstances, it might be better to go easy on those "additional trifles" you were thinking of buying." "I don't see how that could make any difference, my dear Judge." "Really?" "Well, then I've no more to say." "Goodbye." "I'll call for you this evening." "Yes, yes." "See you later, Judge." "Thank you, Mrs. Tesman." "Goodbye." "Hedda, Hedda." "We should never rush into adventure, should we?" "Do you do that, George?" "Well, what else can you call it?" "To get married, settle down, on mere expectation." "Yes, you may be right." "At any rate, we have our beautiful home, eh?" "The home we always dreamed of." "I counted on doing a lot of entertaining." "That was part of our agreement, I thought - we were to keep open house." "I was looking forward to it too, Hedda dear, to see you, a brilliant hostess, surrounded with distinguished guests." "We'll just have to make do for the time being, dear, after all, we can be happy in each other." "We can ask Aunt Julia every now and then." "Oh!" "I did want it to be so different, so very different." "I suppose this means I have to do without a butler." "I'm afraid a butler's quite out of the question." "And you promised me a riding horse, do you remember?" "That's out of the question too, I suppose?" " I'm afraid so, Hedda dear." " Oh, money, always money!" "This...genteel poverty that makes life so hideous, so utterly ludicrous!" "At least I have one thing to amuse myself with." "Thank heavens for that." "What is it, Hedda?" "My pistols, George." "General Gabler's pistols!" "Please, Hedda, don't play with those dangerous things, please!" "For my sake, Hedda." "Welcome back, Judge." "Now I'm going to shoot you!" "Don't aim at me like that." "That's what you get for sneaking in the back way." " (Hedda laughs)" " Have you gone completely mad?" "Thank heavens I didn't hit you!" "I wish you'd stop all this nonsense." "Come along, Judge, I'll let you pass." "Come along." "(Laughs)" "Still playing about with pistols?" "What are you shooting at?" "Just killing time." "Allow me." "Ah!" "I know this pistol, I've seen it before." "Where's the case for it?" "That game's over for today." "What am I to do with myself all day long?" "Isn't Tesman at home?" "No, he rushed off to his aunt's directly after lunch." "He didn't expect you so early." "Fancy my not thinking of that." "How stupid of me." "Why stupid?" "Because I'd have come even earlier." "Then you would have found no one to receive you for I've been dressing ever since lunch." "Isn't there a crack in the door, through which one might converse?" "You forgot to provide one, Judge." "Again, stupid of me." "We must just sit and wait until Tesman comes." "He may not be here for quite some time." "Never mind, I shan't be impatient." " Well?" " Well?" "I asked first." "Let's have a really pleasant little talk, shall we?" "Mrs. Hedda." "It seems ages since our last "little talk", doesn't it?" "Every single day, I wished you were home again." " I have wished that, too." " You have?" "Really, Mrs. Hedda?" "I thought you were having such a fine time on your honeymoon." "(Sighs) I can't tell you, Judge, how bored I've been." "How would you like to spend six months without meeting a soul you could really talk to?" "I shouldn't like it at all." "But the most unendurable thing of all was..." "What?" "..to be everlastingly with one and the same person." "Yes, yes, morning, noon and night." "I said "everlasting"." "But surely, it's not so unbearable with someone you love?" "Don't use that repulsive word." "What's that, Mrs. Hedda?" "Just you try it." "Nothing but his special subject." "Medieval history, morning, noon and night." "Everlastingly." "Well, in that case, how did it happen that..." "That I married Tesman, you mean?" "Is there anything so very odd in that?" "I had literally danced myself tired and I wasn't getting any younger." "I don't want to think about it." "After all, one has to admit that George Tesman is a worthy man." "A worthy, reliable man - there's no question of that." "And I don't see anything especially funny about him, do you?" "Funny?" "No, not really." "No, I wouldn't say that." "Well, he is a distinguished scholar." "And since he was so bent on supporting me," "I didn't see why I shouldn't accept his offer." "If you look at it from that point of view..." "That was more than some of my other admirers were prepared to do, Judge." "(Laughs) Oh, well, of course, I can't answer for the others." "I've a great respect for the state of matrimony." "But I must admit, as an individual..." "I've never had any hopes as far as you're concerned." "All I ask of life is to know a few people intimately, nice people, who I can help and advise and in whose houses I can come and go as a trusted friend." "Of the master of the house?" "Well, of the mistress, preferably." "But of the master too, of course." "I find such a triangular friendship," "If I could call it so, a great convenience to all concerned." "I must admit, heaven knows, a third person would've been welcome on our journey." "Oh, those infernal tête-à-têtes!" "Well, cheer up, your wedding tour is over now." "No, not really." "We've only stopped at a station on the line." "Then the thing to do, Mrs. Hedda, is to jump out and stretch a bit." " I never jump out." " Really?" "Why not?" "There's always someone there to..." "Stare at your legs?" "Precisely." "I don't like that sort of thing." "I'd rather keep my seat and continue the tête-à-tête." "But if a third person were to jump in and join the couple, a trusted, understanding friend..." "Gay and entertaining in a variety of ways?" "And not a bit of a medieval specialist." "(Sighs) That certainly would be a great relief." "Hedda!" "Yes, George?" "The triangle is completed." "And on goes the train." "I'm positively sweating, dear." "Oh, you're here already, Judge." "Oh, George, what are all those books?" "Just some new books, which touch on my special subject." " I simply had to have them." " Yes, your special subject." "On his special subject, Mrs. Tesman." "Well, one must keep up with the latest publications." "Yes, I suppose one does." "Look, I've got Ejlert Lovborg's new book." "Would you care to see it, dear?" "Perhaps later." "I've been glancing at it on my way home." "What do you think of it?" "As a specialist, I mean." "Well, do you know, he handles this vast subject with... well, the greatest restraint." "It's quite remarkable," "I've never known him write like that before." "Well, I'll just take all these into the library and cut a few pages." "Then I suppose I'd better change for dinner." "There's no hurry." "Hedda, Aunt Julia's afraid she can't come in this evening." "Is she still annoyed about the hat?" "No, it's not that." "It wouldn't be a bit like her." " But Aunt Rena is very ill." " She always is." "But tonight, she's even worse and Aunt Julia ought to stay with her." "I shall try and bear it." "Oh, those eternal aunts!" " Did you say something, dear?" " Nothing." "What was that about a hat?" "This morning, Miss Tesman had taken her hat off and left it on the chair." "And I pretended to think it was the servant's." "Why, Mrs. Hedda, how could you do such a thing to that nice old lady?" "I don't know, I sometimes get impulses like that and I just can't control them, I..." "Oh, I can't explain it, even to myself." "You're not really happy, are you?" "I don't see why I should be happy." "Well, here you are in the house you've always longed to live in." "Do you believe in that fairytale?" "Wasn't it true, then?" "Last summer, I made use of Tesman to see me home from parties." "One evening, we happened to pass by this house." "Tesman, poor thing, was turning and twisting, he couldn't think of a thing to say." "Oh, I really felt sorry for the poor, wretched scholar." "Sorry?" "You?" "Yes, I did." "So, just to make conversation, to help him out of it," "I was foolish to say what a charming house I thought this was and how I would love to live in it." "And that make-believe, that resulted in my engagement, my wedding, my wedding trip..." "and all the rest of it." "Well, as they say, the way you make your bed, that's the way you lie in it." "Well, since he's made it so attractive and comfortable..." "To me, it smells of lavender and dried rose leaves, what one might call the Aunt Julia atmosphere." "Oh, my dear Judge," "I can't tell you how I shall bore myself here." "I don't think you've ever really been stirred by anything in life." "But I expect it'll come." "Suppose you should suddenly find yourself faced with what one might call a grave responsibility?" "A new responsibility, Mrs. Hedda?" "Be quiet!" "Nothing of the sort will happen to me." "We'll talk of this again, a year from now, at the very latest." "That sort of thing doesn't appeal to me." "No responsibilities for me, I am not fitted for it." "What makes you think you're less fitted..." "Be quiet!" "Sometimes I think there's only one thing in life that I'm really fitted for." "What's that?" "Boring myself to death!" "(Laughs)" "Now you know." "(Rings bell)" "Ejlert Lovborg!" "At last, we meet again." "Come, give me your coat." "Thanks for your letter, George." "Not at all." "May I shake hands with you too, Mrs. Tesman?" "Welcome, Mr. Lovborg." "I don't know if you gentlemen..." "Judge Brack, I believe." "I had the pleasure some years ago." "I've bought your new book, Ejlert." "I haven't had time to read it yet." "I wouldn't bother, if I were you, it's pretty thin stuff." "It's been enormously praised, I hear." "That was exactly what I intended, so I put nothing in it that anyone could take exception to." "But when this one appears, George Tesman, you must read it." " This is a real book." " What's it about?" " It's the sequel." " Sequel?" "Sequel of what?" " The other book." " Of the new one?" "Of course." "Goodness me, that goes down to the present day." "Yes, but this one deals with the future." "The future?" "Well." "Well, none of us knows anything about the future." "There's a thing or two to be said about it, just the same." "How remarkable." "I should never have thought of writing about a thing like that." " No, you wouldn't." " I brought it with me because I thought I might read you some of it this evening." "That's awfully kind, Ejlert, but I'm afraid this evening..." "As a matter of fact, Mr. Lovborg," "I'm giving a party this evening to celebrate Tesman's return." "In that case, I'm sorry." "Thank you." "I'd be delighted if you'd join us." "I mustn't keep you." "Thank you." "You can bring your manuscript and read it to Tesman in my house." "I'll give you a room to yourselves." "Think of that, Ejlert." "George dear, if Mr. Lovborg doesn't want to," "I'm sure he would prefer to stay and have supper with me." " With you, Mrs. Tesman?" " Miss Elvsted will be here too." "Yes, I saw her for a moment today.A" "Did you?" "She's spending the evening here, so you're almost obliged to stay, Mr. Lovborg, or Mrs. Elvsted will have no one to see her home." "In that case, I will stay, Mrs. Tesman." "Good." "I'll tell the servant." "Come on in." "They told me at the bookstore that you're preparing a series of lectures..." "I hope you've no objection." "Well, I can't expect you, out of consideration for me..." "Of course, I shall wait until you receive your appointment." "You mean, you're not going to compete with me?" "No, I simply want people to realize that I could've defeated you." "Oh, Hedda, think of that!" "Ejlert isn't going to stand in our way." "In "our" way?" "Please, keep me out of it." "Now, gentlemen, how would you like a glass of cold punch before you go?" " That's not a bad idea." " It's a capital idea." "Especially now that a heavy weight has been taken off my mind." "Won't you join them, Mr. Lovborg?" "No, thank you, nothing for me." "But surely cold punch isn't poison?" "Perhaps not for everyone." "You go in and I will sit here and keep Mr. Lovborg company." "Yes." "Do that, Hedda dear, do that." "Perhaps you'd like to look at some photographs, Mr. Lovborg?" "You see, Tesman and I did a lot of sightseeing in the Alps and I'd love to show you." "Look at that group of mountains, that's the Ortler group." "Oh, yes, Tesman has written here underneath," ""The Ortler group, near Meran."" "Hedda Gabler." " Shh." " Hedda Gabler." "That was my name in the old days when you and I knew each other." "Then I must never say "Hedda Gabler" again?" "No." "Hedda Gabler, married to George Tesman." "How could you throw yourself away like that?" "I won't have you say such things." "Hedda, dear..." "Look at this view from the Ampezzo Valley." "Look at those peaks." "George, dear, what is the name of these curious peaks?" "Oh, those are the Dolomites." "Oh, the Dolomites, Mr. Lovborg." "Hedda dear, are you sure you wouldn't like me to bring you some punch?" "Yes, I'll have some." "And a few biscuits, hm?" "Yes, yes." "A cigarette?" "How could you do it, Hedda?" "Answer me." "If you go on calling me Hedda, I won't talk to you." "Not even if we're alone?" "You may think it but you mustn't say it." "Because you love George Tesman?" " How funny you are." " It's not love then?" "Hedda..." "All the same, no unfaithfulness." "Here we are." "Oh, you brought two glasses." " It's such fun to wait on you." " Mr. Lovborg doesn't want any." "Well, Mrs. Elvsted will be here any minute." " Oh, yes, Mrs. Elvsted." " Had you forgotten about her?" "Yes, we were so engrossed in these photographs." "Do you remember that little village?" "Oh, well, that's the one at the foot of the Brenner Pass." "Don't you remember?" "We stayed the night there." "Yes, an ran into that gay company of tourists." "(Laughs) Yes." "Pity you weren't there with us, Ejlert, eh?" "You didn't love me at all?" "No?" "Not at all?" "I wonder, sometimes I think, to me, it seems we were just two good intimate friends who could tell each other intimate things." "At least, you did." "It was you who teased me into it, Hedda." "You remember all those things?" "All those wild things you made me confess to you." "Every drunken spree, every indecent, defiling act I ever committed, or ever thought of committing, you made me boast of and then deviously, you'd probe deeper, always deeper." "How could you bring yourself to ask the things you did?" "But in a devious way, if you please." " Shamelessly." " How could you answer them?" "I thought they were asked out of love, that you were trying to purge me, help me." " No, it was not love." " Then why?" "Is it not understandable that a young girl might be tempted to investigate a world she's supposed to know nothing about?" "A man's world?" "Especially if she can do it in secret." "And with no risk." "You were my guide, my teacher, burning and unashamed." "Like a young god with vine leaves in your hair." " It was beautiful." " Then why did it end?" " You were to blame for that." " You broke with me." "You wanted to spoil our intimacy, you wanted to drag it down to reality." "You talk of my boldness, my shamelessness." "Why did you try to abuse them?" "So, you threatened to shoot me." "I was frightened, I realized the danger." "But why didn't you go through with it?" "Because I'm that afraid of scandal." "Yes, Hedda." "You're a coward at heart." "Lucky for you, isn't it?" "You got ample consolation up at the Elvsteds'." "I know that Thea has confided in you." " Had you told Thea about us?" " Not a word." "She's too stupid to understand." " Stupid?" " (Bell rings)" "In certain things, she's naive." "And I?" "A coward." "Now I'll confess something to you." "Well?" " My not daring to shoot you..." " Yes?" "..was not my greatest cowardice that night." "Oh, Hedda." "Hedda Gabler, you and I, that was your craving for life, not just unhealthy curiosity - you needed to be fulfilled." "You wanted someone that was loving." "Be careful, I didn't say that." "Mrs. Elvsted." "Oh, there, dearest, I thought you'd never come." "Shouldn't I go and say good evening to your husband?" "No, you needn't bother about them, they'll soon be off." " Are they going out?" " Yes, to a wild party and a jolly time." "You're not going, are you?" "No, Mr. Lovborg will stay with us." "Oh, how nice it is to be here." "Thea..." "No, no, no, Thea." "Now, you be a good girl and sit over there, next to me, and I will sit between you." "Just as you like." " Isn't she lovely to look at?" " Only to look at?" "And then we have such absolute faith in each other, we can speak with perfect frankness." "But not in a devious way, Mr. Lovborg." "You know, he actually says I've inspired him in his work." " Does he really?" " And then she has such courage." "Oh, good heavens, courage!" " If one only had that..." " Then?" "Then life might perhaps be endurable after all." "Oh, Thea, my dear, you must have a glass of cold punch." "Oh, no, thank you, I never take anything like that." " How about you, Mr. Lovborg?" " No, not for me..." "No, he doesn't either." " But if I want you to?" " Makes no difference." "Oh, poor me." "Have I no power over you at all?" "Not in that respect." "(Laughs) But seriously," "I think you ought to take it for your own sake." "Why, Hedda?" "People might suspect that you're not confident in yourself." "Don't, Hedda." "People may suspect what they like." "Yes, let them." "You should've seen Judge Brack's contemptuous smile when you didn't dare to join them." "Didn't dare?" "That's what Judge Brack thought." "Didn't dare?" "I simply prefer to stay here with you." " You are not going then?" " No, I'm going to stay here" " and talk with you and Thea." " Yes, Hedda, of course he is." "There, you see?" "Firm as a rock, faithful to all good principles, now and forever." "That's how a man should be, especially a converted sinner." "You see that?" "What did I tell you, Thea, when you came running here?" "Didn't I tell you not to be so upset?" "Oh, Hedda, please, Hedda." "You have not the slightest reason to be so anxious and worried." "What's all this about?" "Now we can all three enjoy ourselves." "You see how unfair you've been to doubt him?" "God, Hedda, what are you doing?" "You were worried and anxious on my account?" " Listen..." " That's all the faith you have?" "Listen, Ejlert, it was just that you were alone in the city..." "Your health, Thea." " Hedda, how could you do this?" " I do..." "And yours too, Mrs. Tesman." "Thank you for your frankness." "No more for the moment." "You're going to the party, remember?" "Does your husband know you came after me?" "Hm?" "It was arranged between you, wasn't it, that you should come to town and keep an eye on me?" "Most likely, the old man suggested it himself." "But suppose he need my help at the office or missed my presence at the card table." "Let's drink to the old sheriff too." "No more now." "You're going to read your manuscript to George." "I'm behaving like a fool, Thea, I'm sorry." "It's all right now, all right." "I'll prove it to you." "I'll prove it to everyone that I'm all right again." "I'm back on my feet." "Well, it's time to go, Mrs. Tesman, Mrs. Elvsted." "I suppose it is." "Since you kindly invited me, Judge Brack," " I have decided to join you." " Lovborg, don't." "No, no." "I'll call for you, Thea, around ten o'clock?" "Is that all right, Mrs. Tesman?" "Splendid." "I'll wait for you here, Mr. Lovborg." "Well, gentlemen, shall we start?" "I hope we're going to have a jolly good time, as a certain lovely lady puts it." "If only the lovely lady could be there unseen." "Why unseen?" "So as to share a little in your unbridled time." "I shouldn't advise the lovely lady to try it." "You're a nice one, Hedda, think of that." "Goodbye, ladies!" "Yes, Mr. Lovborg." "You won't expect me back so early." "You can stay as long as you wish, George." "Hedda, where is all this going to end?" "# It's all right playing cards and gambling" "# It's all right drinking beer and rum" "# Oh, it's all right playing cards and gambling" "# And it's all right drinking beer and rum... #" ""I won't waste any words on that little rearguard" ""of puny, narrow-chested, self-important men." ""The stream of life has already left them far behind." ""I'm thinking of the few," ""those rare spirits who have had the vision" ""to recognize the truth in new ideas, new ways of thought" ""and have made those ways their own."" "Oh, thank you." "Where was I to?" "With those rare spirits that have the vision to face newborn truths." "It's magnificent, Ejlert, simply magnificent." ""..newborn truths, too new and too daring to be accepted" ""by the so-called sacred majority."" "Soon, he'll be here with vine leaves in his hair, flushed and fearless." "He'll believe in himself again and he'll be a free man for ever and ever." " Pray God you may be right." " I am right!" "Doubt him as much as you want, I believe in him." "Why have you done this, Hedda?" "For once in my life, I want the power to shape human destiny." "You have your husband." "Do you think he's worth bothering about?" "If only he knew how cheated I have become." "Never to have tasted life, really taste, and then see it wasted on a silly schoolgirl." "I think I shall have to burn your hair!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "I'm afraid of you, I want to go home alone now at once." "You'll do nothing of the sort, you silly little thing." "You'll have a nice cup of coffee and then..." "Ejlert Lovborg will be here." "With vines in his hair." "(Laughter)" "No, wait!" "I haven't finished." "Question - if this book is the great work that my friend Tesman says it is, and I say it is, how could I have written it?" "(Laughter)" "Question - how can you stand up?" "Answer - because I was inspired." "Inspired by the most beautiful, delicate, understanding, beautiful, delicate creature in the universe." "It was she alone." "And don't ask me her name." " What was her name?" " Even in the vaulted halls of this ancient college, gracious chancellor..." "Hear, hear!" "To the mysterious muse of Ejlert Lovborg." "(All) Ejlert Lovborg!" "I really think we ought to get him home, he's quite drunk." "I'll go and get my coat." "(All laugh)" "I know what he needs, breakfast." "And I know just the place for it." "Chez Mademoiselle Diane's." "Send him à la française!" "(All laugh and chatter)" "Allez-up, Tesman!" "(Laughter)" "Wait for me!" "Why didn't you give it back to him at once?" "I don't trust him with it in the state he was in." "Did you tell any of the others that you found it?" "No, I didn't want them to know." "Why not?" "For Ejlert's sake, of course..." "Shh!" "You'll wake Mrs. Elvsted." "Tell me, George, did he have vine leaves in his hair?" "Vine leaves?" "No, well, I didn't see any vine leaves." "Oh, Hedda, you can't conceive what a book this is going to be." "I think it's going to be one of the most important books ever written." "Think of that, Hedda." "And you know, I must confess something - when he'd finished reading it," "I had the most awful feeling, terrible feeling." " Terrible feeling?" " Yes." "I felt quite jealous of Ejlert for being able to write such a book." " Think of that." " I am thinking." "I am absolutely frozen." "It really is appalling that with all his great gifts, he should be so irresponsible." "Just think what he'll feel like when he wakes and can't find his manuscript." "There's no other copy - he told me so himself." "Tell me, would it be impossible to write such a book again?" "Oh, I should think so." "You see, there's the inspiration." "Yes, inspiration." "I suppose it depends on that." "By the way, here's a letter for you, it came by messenger from Aunt Julia." "Really?" "Oh, Hedda..." "She says that Aunt Rena is dying." "I really have to hurry if I'm going to see her again." "Hedda, dear, if only you could bring yourself to come with me." "I'll have nothing to do with sickness and death." "I loathe anything ugly." "Very well, then." "I'll get my hat and my overcoat." " Oh, the manuscript..." " I'll take care of it until you come back." "Pray heaven I won't be too late." "(Chuckles)" "Forgive my entering this way." "I'm hardly dressed for a formal call." "I've been up all night, haven't even changed my clothes." "So, it was more than usually jolly last night?" "What has Tesman told you of last night's adventures?" "Nothing much." "He just went off to see his aunt." "Did he say nothing about Ejlert Lovborg?" "Only that he'd been escorted home." "Oh, George Tesman really is a naive creature." "And what happened last night?" "If it's not too unmentionable." "It's by no means unmentionable." "To make a long story short, he turned up at Mademoiselle Diane's." "Mademoiselle Diane?" "That red-haired woman who's sort of a...singer?" "Yes, in her leisure." "In the days of his glory," "Lovborg was one of her most ardent visitors." "What happened, Judge?" "It seems Mademoiselle Diane proceeded to tear out his hair." "He'd accused her of robbing him, a valuable notebook or something." "He raised a terrific row which ended in a general free-for-all, in which the women as well as the men took part." " How do you know all this?" " From the police." "They were called in to the fray." "Then he had no vine leaves in his hair?" "Vine leaves, Mrs. Hedda?" "Tell me, why are you so interested in spying on Lovborg?" "I've held it my duty as a friend of the family to give you and Tesman a full account of his nocturnal exploits." "For what reason?" "From now on, every respectable house will be closed to Lovborg." "You mean, mine ought to be too?" "I admit, it would be painful for me if he should be welcome here." "If this superfluous person should force his way into the..." " Triangle?" " Precisely." "It would simply mean that I should find myself homeless." "I see." "You want to be cock of the walk, Judge, that is your aim." "And I'll fight with every weapon at my command." "I wonder if you are not a rather dangerous person." "Do you think so, Mrs. Hedda?" "Yes, I am beginning to think so and I'm very glad you have no hold over me." "Well, perhaps you're right, but if I had, who knows what I might think up?" "Oh, come on!" "Now, come, Judge, it almost sounds like a threat." "By no means." "But the triangle should be based on mutual understanding." "If possible." "There, I entirely agree with you." "Well, having said what I have to say, goodbye..." "Mrs. Hedda." "You are going through the garden?" "Yes, it's a short cut for me." "And then it's the back door, isn't it?" "Very true." "I've no exception to back doors - they can be intriguing at times." "When there is shooting going on, you mean?" "(Laughs) People don't shoot their pet rooster." "And certainly not the cock of the walk, Judge." "Goodbye." "You can't come in at this time." "I have to see her right away." "Berte." "It's rather late to call for Thea, Mr. Lovborg." "Rather early to call on you, forgive me." "How do you know that she's here?" "She hadn't gone to her lodgings." "Oh, Ejlert , at last." " Yes." "And too late." " What's too late?" "Everything's too late." " It's all up with me." " Oh, you mustn't say that." "You'll say the same when you hear." "I don't want to hear anything." "You'd rather talk to her alone..." "No, please, stay." "But I don't want to hear anything, I tell you." "I have no intention of discussing what went on last night." "But I want you to know that we must not see each other again." "But..." "But why?" "I no longer have any need for you, Thea." " How can you say that?" " I shall never work again." "Then what have I to live for?" "Thea, you've got to try and live as if you'd never known me." " I can't..." " You have to try, Thea." " You don't mean it?" " Go home, Thea!" "Forget me." "I won't let you drive me away," "I want to be with you when the book is published!" "The book will not be published." "Oh...what have you done with the manuscript?" "Where is it?" "I've torn it into a thousand pieces." " But that's not..." " Not true, you think?" "Of course, it must be if you say so." "I've torn my life to pieces!" "Why shouldn't I tear up my work as well?" "(Sobs) It's as though you killed a little child." "It's as if I'd murdered my own child." "It was my child too." "Oh..." "I'll go now, Hedda." " What are you going to do?" " I don't know." "Now, Lovborg, tell me the truth." "First, give me your word that Thea will never know." "I give you my word." "One can do worse things to a child than kill it." "I couldn't tell Thea that I dragged it around with me all night to all sorts of obscene and loathsome places and I..." "I lost our child, I lost it!" "Stop calling it a child, it was only a book!" "Thea's soul was in that book." "Yes." "Yes, so I understand." "What are you going to do with your life now?" "Nothing, it's over." " Will you make an end of it?" " The sooner the better." "If you do, let it be beautiful." "Beautiful?" "Shall I put vine leaves in my hair as you wanted me to in the old days?" "No, I don't believe in vine leaves anymore, but for once, let it be beautiful." "Wait, I'll give you something of mine to take with you, as a token." "Do you remember this?" "You should have done it then." "Take it." "Use it now." "Thanks." "Let it be beautiful." "Ejlert Lovborg, promise me that." "Goodbye..." "Hedda Gabler." "I'm burning your child." "Yours and Ejlert Lovborg's child." "And you with your curly hair." "I'm burning it." "I'm burning your child!" "Burning it." "I'm burning it!" "How strange life is." "At home, we shall be sewing a funeral shroud, and soon I expect there will be sewing here too." "But of a different nature, thank heavens." "I'm just going, my dear boy." "I'll come and see you in the morning, Auntie." "My brain's in such a whirl, I don't know what I'm doing." "You mustn't take it so much to heart, George." "We must be grateful that dear Rena has found rest at last." "I'm afraid you'll be very lonely now, Miss Tesman." "I shall be at first, but I shan't let Rena's room stay empty for long." "There's always some poor invalid that has to be looked after." "Would you take such a burden on yourself again?" "Burden?" "Oh, bless you, it's no burden." "But it's different with a stranger." "I must have someone to live for." "And it's easier to make friends with someone who is sick." "And who knows?" "Someday, there may be something in this house for an old aunt to take care of." "Please, don't trouble about us." "Everything will be for the best." " I must get back now." " Yes." "No, don't see me out, dear, I'm perfectly all right." "Oh." "Aunt Rena's death seems to affect you more than it does Aunt Julia." "It's not only that, I'm upset about Ejlert too." " Have you heard anything new?" " No." "I called on him this afternoon to tell him the manuscript was safe, but he wasn't at home." "Later, I met Mrs. Elvsted" " and she said he'd been here." " Yes." "He told her he'd torn his manuscript to pieces." "Yes, that's what he said." "Good heavens, he must have gone mad." "Of course, in that case, you didn't dare give it to him, eh?" "No, he didn't get it." "But you told him that we had it, eh?" "No." "You didn't tell Mrs. Elvsted?" "No." "Give me the manuscript and I'll run over with it at once." "Where is it, Hedda?" " I haven't got it any longer." " You haven't got it?" "What do you mean?" "I've burnt it, every word." "Burnt it?" "You've burnt Ejlert's manuscript?" "!" " Don't shout." " But it's impossible!" "Oh, how could you do such a thing?" "Hedda, this is unlawful appropriation of lost property." "You ask Judge Brack..." "You had better not speak to anyone." " But why..." " Judge Brack or anyone else." "Why did you do it?" "What possessed you?" "Answer me!" "I did it for your sake, George." "For my sake?" "You admitted that you were jealous of his work." "And I couldn't bear the thought of anyone putting you in the shade." "But you've never shown your love like that before, Hedda." "Perhaps I should better tell you that now..." "At this time, I..." "You said yourself that I was filling out." "No!" "Ask Aunt Julia, she'll tell you all about it!" "Good heavens, is it true?" "Don't shout, the servant will hear." "The servant?" "It's only my dear, old Berte." "I can't wait to tell her myself." "I can't stand it." "I'll die from it." "What is it?" "Hedda?" "Oh, George, it's all so ludicrous." "(Laughs) Ludicrous?" "I should be overjoyed at such news." "I can't wait to tell Aunt Julia, she'll be so happy." "(Laughs) So happy." "When she hears that I have burned Ejlert Lovborg's manuscript for your sake?" "Yes, the manuscript, I..." "I'd forgotten about that." "(Bell rings)" "Nobody must know about the manuscript." "Poor Ejlert." "It makes me feel terrible." "(Bell rings)" " Mr. Tesman?" "Oh, Hedda!" " What's happened?" "What is it?" "I'm terribly afraid something's happened to Ejlert." "Do you think so?" "I heard them talking about him, they stopped the moment I came in," "I didn't dare question them..." " Oh, it's you, my dear Judge." " Yes." "It's imperative that I see you." "Why?" "Has something happened?" " Yes." " It's about Ejlert Lovborg." "I'm sorry to say, he's been taken to the hospital." "They say he's dying." " Oh, no!" " The hospital?" "Dying?" "There." "Mrs. Elvsted..." "Thea..." "So soon then." "I parted from him in anger, Hedda." "I must go to him, I must see him." "I'm afraid it's useless." "No one is allowed to see him." "Why?" "What is it?" "He didn't try to kill himself, did he?" " I'm sure he did." " Hedda, how can you?" "Unfortunately, you've guessed quite correctly, Mrs. Tesman." " Oh, how horrible!" " Killed himself?" " Think of that..." " Shot himself." "You're right again, Mrs. Tesman." "(Thea) When did it happen?" "This afternoon, between three and four." " Yes, but where did it happen?" " Where?" "Well..." " I suppose, at his lodgings." " It couldn't have been there." "I was there between six and seven." "Well, somewhere else, I don't know." "I only know that he was found, that he'd shot himself... through the heart." "How horrible to die like that." " Through the heart?" " Yes." "Through the heart!" "Most likely, it is already over." "(Thea) Over?" "All over?" "At last, something courageous." "Heavens, Hedda, how can you say such a thing?" "I say there is great beauty in this." "Ejlert Lovborg had the courage to do the one right thing." "No, no, you mustn't believe that." "He did it delirium." " In despair." " No, I'm sure he didn't." " I'm sure of that." " He must've been delirious, as he was when he tore up our manuscript." " He tore up the manuscript?" " Yes, last night." "How...very extraordinary." "We shall never get over this, Hedda." "Fancy, Ejlert killed and his book destroyed too." "If only there was some way of saving it." "If only there were." "There's nothing I wouldn't give to..." "Perhaps there is a way, Mr. Tesman." "What do you mean?" "Look..." "I've kept all Ejlert's own notes for you to dictate to me from." " You have?" " They're dreadfully mixed up." "Well, perhaps together we might be able to sort them out." "Well, we could try, at any rate." "We will try, at once." "I owe it to Ejlert." "My own work will have to wait." "I'm going to devote my life to this." "You, George, your life?" "Yes." "Now, we're going to start sorting out the notes at once." "Come on." "Where shall we sit, Mrs. Elvsted?" "No, perhaps we'd better go in there." "Ejlert Lovborg meant more to you than you're willing to admit, even to yourself." "Or am I mistaken?" "I don't answer questions like that." "I only know that Ejlert Lovborg had the courage to live his life as he saw it." "And end it in beauty." "He had the strength and the will to break with life whilst still so vital." "It pains me, but I fear I must rob you of your beautiful illusion." "Illusion?" "It didn't happen as I told it." "For poor Mrs. Elvsted's sake, I changed the facts slightly." "What are the facts then?" "Well, first, he's already dead, without regaining consciousness." "What else have you concealed?" "Then the tragedy did not happen at his lodgings." " That makes no difference." " Not even when I tell you that he was found shot in Mademoiselle Diane's boudoir?" "He couldn't have gone there again?" "He went there to claim something he said they'd taken from him, talking wildly about a lost child." "I thought he meant the manuscript but now I hear he's destroyed that himself." " Oh, so he died there." " Yes." "They found a pistol in his pocket, it had gone off probably accidentally, wounding him fatally." "Accidentally, through the heart!" "No, in the bowels." "How hideous!" "Everything I touch becomes ludicrous and despicable." "There's something else, Mrs. Hedda, something rather disturbing." " What's that?" " The pistol he carried..." " What of it?" " He must have stolen it." " That's not true." " Because any other explanation ought to be out of the question, Mrs. Hedda." " He did?" " Of course Lovborg was here this morning?" " Yes." " Were you alone with him?" " Yes, for a while." " Did you leave the room at any time" " while he was here?" " No." "Try to remember - are you sure you didn't leave the room, even for a moment?" "I might have gone out into the hall." "And where was your pistol case?" " It was on my..." " Well, Mrs. Hedda?" "It was on my writing desk." "Have you looked since to see if both pistols were there?" " No." " Well, you needn't." "I saw the pistol he had, I recognized it as the one I'd seen yesterday and before that too." " (Sobs)" " My dear Mrs. Elvsted, we must pull ourselves together." "Have you got it by any chance?" "No." "The police had it." "What will the police do with it?" "Search until they find the owner." "And...do you think they will succeed?" "No, Hedda Gabler, not so long as I keep silent." "And if you do not keep silent, what then?" "One could always say the pistol was stolen." " Oh, I'd rather die!" " People say such things, but they don't do them." "And if the pistol were found?" "Were not stolen and the owner were found?" "Then what?" "Why, Hedda, Hedda." "Think of the scandal." " Scandal." " The scandal, yes, of which you are so terrified." "Naturally, you'd have to appear in court with Mademoiselle Diane." "She'll have to explain how the thing happened, whether it was an accident or not." "What have I got to do with this repulsive business?" "You still have to answer the question why did you give Lovborg the pistol?" "And what conclusion would people draw from the fact you had given it to him?" "I never thought of that." "Fortunately, there's no danger." "So long as I keep silent." "And you'll keep silent as long as I do what you wish, that's what you mean, isn't it?" "Dearest Hedda, believe me, I shall not abuse my advantage." "But I shall be in your hands all the same." "Subject to your will, your desires." "No longer free, not free." "I can't bear that thought, never!" "People manage to get used to the inevitable." "Yes, perhaps they do." "Thea dear, how are you getting along with Ejlert Lovborg's memorial?" "I'm afraid it's all very difficult." "Do you think you'll manage, George?" "Oh, yes, we'll manage." "After all, sorting out other people's papers - something I'm particularly good at." "But I'm afraid it's going to take months to do." "Think of that!" "Oh, Thea, doesn't it seem strange?" "Here you are working with Tesman, just like you used to work with Ejlert Lovborg." "If only I could inspire your husband in the same way." "No doubt that will come..." "in time." "Is there nothing at all that I can do for the two of you?" "No, thank you, dear." "No, not a thing." "I think you'll have to keep company for Hedda for the rest of the evening, my dear Judge." "With the greatest of pleasure!" "Thanks, but I'm a little tired this evening and if you don't mind, I'll lie down for a while." "(Plays jaunty tune)" "Hedda, please, please, I implore you, not that music." "Think of poor Rena and of Ejlert." "And of Aunt Julia and all the rest of them!" "Well, never mind." "I'll be quiet from now on, I promise you." "I think she's upset at seeing us doing such distressing work." "Look, why don't you move over to Aunt Julia's and I can come and work with you there in the evenings?" "Oh, I think that would be a good idea." "Tesman, I can hear you." "And what am I to do all those long evenings here by myself?" "I'm quite sure Judge Brack will be glad to come in now and then." "Every single evening, with the greatest of pleasure, Mrs. Tesman." "We'll have a jolly good time together, you and I." "Yes, that's what you hope, isn't it?" "Now that you are cock of the walk." "(Gunshot)" "Great heavens!" "She's taken those pistols again." "Hedda dear, I asked you, do you..." "She's shot herself." "She's shot herself!" "Think of that!" "Good God." "But people don't do such things."