Question

Compare the characters of Hedda Gabler and Daisy Miller: A Study. Both are the inventions of realist writers, but which is more morally ambiguous? Explain your answer. Your answer should be at least 150 words.

Answer 1

In my view Hedda Gabbler is the most morally ambiguous between the two. Allow me to compare the two characters in order to clarify my views. Hedda Gabbler is an older Norwegian housewife of upper-*Middle class who chose to marry because she was starting to grow older. Her motivations are not always clear and sometimes it seems as though she suffers some kind of mental illness. Also, the etymology of her name is quite revelatory, her name comes from " the Germanic name Hadewig, derived from the Germanic elements hadu "battle, combat" and wig "war" (https://www.behindthename.com/name/hedwig). Hedda is obviously in conflict with the patriarchal society of her time and she aims to not only be in command of her own destiny but also to control her husband. She kills herself in order to deny the power of a man over her. Even in her death she is defiant. Daisy Miller on the other hand is a very young adult and rich American who loves Europe and its ways. She is naive and innocent and her behavior is not as vindictive as the behavior of Hedda Gabbler. Daisy is in opposition to the conservative and patriarchal views of society more because of her exposition ot European cultures and less due to a conscious realization of her condition. Her name is the name of a flower and her death is also symbolic as she dies from malaria. Flowers die during winter and Daisy's winter is the disease that kills her. She is more a victim than a proto-feminist.