Alexandre Dumas once wrote: “If… I can exercise a certain influence on society; if, instead of treating the effects, I can treat the causes…” The mind and mental processes can affect and shape human behavior. This is shown in the novel Hedda Gabler. In this novel, author Henrik Ibsen portrays Hedda as a manipulative and unhappy woman stuck in marriage. Like Dumas, Henrik Ibsen was concerned with problems of human behavior and morality in society. Hedda Gabler's symbols and images truly show her naturalistic depiction of a woman constrained by her society. It really shows how much life was being taken from individuals. Additionally, the following articles show how society can actually impact someone and how it can affect them. First, Hedda liked to manipulate others because she felt like she had no independence. She was trying to make the people around her feel helpless and trapped, so that she could release her anger, which would certainly fill the "hole" inside her, since she herself felt trapped in her marriage. She still lives in the past. She always responded very rudely to people because she didn't feel independent. General Gabler's pistols are an important symbol in this novel. They show how she was raised in a militaristic manner and how she had a masculine character. She really wanted to be less feminine. However, she was not able to manage her own emotions and thought her life was worthless at that time. She thinks she would find more peace in death than in life. So the guns literally kill her. All of these examples really show how society can impact someone. The article "Media and societal pressures on body image" is an excellent article that shows...... middle of paper ......, if you think about it, the human mind and emotional center can really affect someone's behavior. However, all of this can easily be linked to society. Society puts so much pressure on us and also influences us far beyond what we think. In the novel Hedda Gabler, Hedda is stuck in a marriage she doesn't want to be in. Worse still, the society of that time always considered women second to men. As we know, this has changed significantly, as today women hold many of the same professions and jobs as men. However, I think there is still room for improvement, as many people can still be sexist even today. The articles also show how society can affect a person. More people need to have the characteristic of being an individual, otherwise they will never be able to be themselves, which is not good for them or for society..