Hedda Gabler more important than the rational one. Ibsen was interested in the then-embryonic science of mental illness and had a poor understanding by present-day standards. His "Ghosts" is another example of this. Examples of the troubled 19th-century female might include oppressed, but "normal", wilful characters; women in abusive or loveless relationships; and those with some type of organic brain disease. Ibsen is content to leave such explanations unsettled. Bernard Paris interprets Gabler's actions as stemming from her "need for freedom [which is] as compensatory as her craving for power... her desire to shape a man's destiny." The play was performed in
Hedda Gabler the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in autumn 2017 under the direction of Marit Moum Aune. The play has been adapted for the screen a number of times, from the silent film era onwards, in several languages. The BBC screened a television production of the play in 1962, with Ingrid Bergman, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, and Trevor Howard, while the Corporation's "Play of the Month" in 1972 featured Janet Suzman and Ian McKellen in the two main leads. A version shown on Britain's commercial ITV network in 1980 featured Diana Rigg in the title role. Glenda Jackson was nominated for