 Beautiful and willful Hedda Gabler, a very ambitious and controlling woman, enters into a loveless marriage with the respectable but dull George Tesman to insure herself economic and social security. Upon return from her honeymoon, where George also worked on the manuscript for his new book, she hints to George s aunt, whom she resents because she also has influence over him, that she may or may not be pregnant. When her former lover, the idealistic but alcoholic Eilert Lovborg reappears on the scene, he presents a rivalry to her husband s literary standing in the community. She further resents the inspirational influence that Thea Elvsted, Hedda s former schoolmate, has on Eilert. Driven by jealousy and a need to control the lives of those around her, Hedda seizes the opportunity to act when Lovborg misplaces his latest manuscript.