Tragedy Journal #3

There are three primary characters who take blame for what happened to Hedvig: Gregers, Hjalmar and Gina. Each of their actions contributed in some way to the tragic loss of Hedvig. To start at the root of the problems would be to analyze Gina. One could argue that if she had not kept secrets than this never would have happend. People can go into what if's all day, but that doesn't really help with anything. I believe that she had very good reasons not to tell Hjalmar about the interactions that occurred between herself and old Werle. If she was up front with Hjalmar, they may never have gotten married, and he could have left her. However, by doing this, their relationship was established on falsehood. That is why although she had good reasons for her actions of holding things in, I personally would not have, and told the truth early on. It would have been the harder thing to do, but I believe the correct one. The second person at fault for Hedvig's act of suicide is her father, Hjalmar. Hjalmar's actions, specifically saying that he would leave his family, and treating Hedvig like a mangy dog, hurt Hedvig more than any other character. The harm that Hjalmar caused Hedvig was emotional. She loved her father more than anything, and only wanted to see him happy. The falsehood that Gina established the relationship in association with Gregers' need to let the truth be told caused Hjalmar to do those actions. Gregers is the catalyst that caused this inevitable reaction to take place at that time. Gregers intention of revealing the truth was to help the family, not hurt it. This obviously did not happen, as the family was broken. Just because someone has good intentions, does not justify their action. Gregers deserves more blame than the other two because his actions were unnecessary and it was not his place to have the truth be revealed. Hedvig is the victim obviously, but it would be incorrect to say that she does not carry any blame. Ultimately, she did not have to kill herself. Therefore, she is the one responsible for her own death. In the end, Gregers, who is the one responsible for Hedvig's death, does not take responsibility.