Hedda Gabler and other plays

The three plays in this volume all explore the problems of personal and social morality. "The Pillars of the Community" (1877) depicts a corrupt shipowner's struggle to hide the sins of his past at the expense of another man's reputation, while in "The Wild Duck" (1884) an idealist, believing he must tell the truth at any cost, destroys a family by exposing the lie behind his friend's marriage. And "Hedda Gabler" (1890) portrays an unhappily married woman who is unable to break free from the conventional life she has created for herself, with tragic results for the entire family.