# Hedda Gabler: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> Henrik Ibsen, translated by Edmund Gosse and William Archer. 7 speaking roles, 20,200 words, about 144 minutes of speech.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/hedda-gabler
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**Hedda** has the most to say in Hedda Gabler: about 910 lines and 6,272 words, 31% of the play. Hedda Gabler follows General Gabler’s daughter, just home from a six-month wedding tour with the scholar George Tesman and already bored to the bone. Hedda holds about 31% of the words and speaks in all four acts, almost entirely in short, sharp exchanges: her longest single speech is about 60 words, so the part is built from reactions, not set pieces. Tesman has nearly a quarter, Judge Brack about 15%, and Lövborg, the rival who changes everything, appears only in Acts 2 and 3.

- Speaking roles: 7
- Scenes: 4
- Words: 20,200
- Speech time: 144 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hedda | 910 | 6,272 | 31% | 44.8 | 4 |
| Tesman | 611 | 4,671 | 23.1% | 33.4 | 4 |
| Brack | 416 | 3,020 | 15% | 21.6 | 4 |
| Mrs. Elvsted | 332 | 2,402 | 11.9% | 17.2 | 4 |
| Miss Tesman | 213 | 1,698 | 8.4% | 12.1 | 2 |
| Lövborg | 236 | 1,668 | 8.3% | 11.9 | 2 |
| Berta | 61 | 469 | 2.3% | 3.4 | 3 |

## Who speaks in which scene

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: Act 1 = Act 1; Act 2 = Act 2; Act 3 = Act 3; Act 4 = Act 4.

- **Hedda**: Act 1 (1,497), Act 2 (2,484), Act 3 (1,305), Act 4 (986)
- **Tesman**: Act 1 (2,043), Act 2 (795), Act 3 (738), Act 4 (1,095)
- **Brack**: Act 1 (389), Act 2 (1,154), Act 3 (718), Act 4 (759)
- **Mrs. Elvsted**: Act 1 (1,314), Act 2 (229), Act 3 (471), Act 4 (388)
- **Miss Tesman**: Act 1 (1,312), Act 4 (386)
- **Lövborg**: Act 2 (1,055), Act 3 (613)
- **Berta**: Act 1 (307), Act 2 (18), Act 3 (144)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brack: “Yes, the scandal—of which you are so mortally afraid. You will, of course, be brought before the court—both you and Mademoiselle Diana. She will have to explain how the thing happened—whether it was an accidental shot or murder. Did the pistol go off as he was trying to take it out of his pocket, to threaten her with? Or did she tear the pistol out of his hand, shoot him, and push it back into his pocket? That would be quite like her; for she is an able-bodied young person, this same Mademoiselle Diana.” | Act 4 | 97 | 10 |
| Lövborg: “Suppose now, Hedda, that a man—in the small hours of the morning—came home to his child’s mother after a night of riot and debauchery, and said: “Listen—I have been here and there—in this place and in that. And I have taken our child with—to this place and to that. And I have lost the child—utterly lost it. The devil knows into what hands it may have fallen—who may have had their clutches on it.”” | Act 3 | 81 | 9 |
| Miss Tesman: “Oh, no—we can scarcely look for any improvement in her case, poor thing. There she lies, helpless, as she has lain for all these years. But heaven grant I may not lose her yet awhile! For if I did, I don’t know what I should make of my life, George—especially now that I haven’t you to look after any more.” | Act 1 | 62 | 7 |
| Tesman: “Well, I and some of the others went home with one of the party, a jolly fellow, and took our morning coffee with him; or perhaps I should rather call it our night coffee—eh? But now, when I have rested a little, and given Eilert, poor fellow, time to have his sleep out, I must take this back to him.” | Act 3 | 61 | 7 |
| Hedda: “Thanks! So you see it was this enthusiasm for Secretary Falk’s villa that first constituted a bond of sympathy between George Tesman and me. From that came our engagement and our marriage, and our wedding journey, and all the rest of it. Well, well, my dear Judge—as you make your bed so you must lie, I could almost say.” | Act 2 | 60 | 6 |
| Tesman: “Yes, if you only knew how I had been looking forward to it! Fancy—to see you as hostess—in a select circle! Eh? Well, well, well—for the present we shall have to get on without society, Hedda—only to invite Aunt Julia now and then.—Oh, I intended you to lead such an utterly different life, dear—!” | Act 1 | 59 | 6 |
| Tesman: “Well but, Judge Brack—it would show the most incredible lack of consideration for me. For—just think—I’m a married man! We have married on the strength of these prospects, Hedda and I; and run deep into debt; and borrowed money from Aunt Julia too. Good heavens, they had as good as promised me the appointment. Eh?” | Act 1 | 58 | 6 |
| Mrs. Elvsted: “And now I beg and implore you, Mr. Tesman—receive Eilert Lövborg kindly if he comes to you! And that he is sure to do. You see you were such great friends in the old days. And then you are interested in the same studies—the same branch of science—so far as I can understand.” | Act 1 | 57 | 6 |
| Miss Tesman: “Have I any other happiness in this world except to smooth your way for you, my dear boy. You, who have had neither father nor mother to depend on. And now we have reached the goal, George! Things have looked black enough for us, sometimes; but, thank heaven, now you have nothing to fear.” | Act 1 | 54 | 6 |
| Lövborg: “Yes, Hedda, and when I made my confessions to you—told you about myself, things that at that time no one else knew! There I would sit and tell you of my escapades—my days and nights of devilment. Oh, Hedda—what was the power in you that forced me to confess these things?” | Act 2 | 54 | 6 |

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in Hedda Gabler?

Hedda, with about 910 lines and 6,272 words, 31% of everything spoken in the play. Tesman is next, with about 611 lines (23.1%).

### How long is Hedda Gabler?

The full text has 20,200 spoken words, about 144 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

### How many speaking roles are in Hedda Gabler?

7 named roles speak in this edition, across 4 scenes. 0 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/henrik-ibsen/hedda-gabler/edmund-gosse_william-archer) (public domain; retrieved 2026-11-11). Words are every spoken word, with stage directions removed. Lines are verse lines as printed, plus prose at 10 words a line, because prose has no fixed line breaks; editions differ, so other sources give slightly different line counts. Time is words at 140 words a minute, before pauses and stage business. A role is counted in a scene when it speaks there. To count a script that is not in the library, paste it into the [script line counter](https://www.offbook.com/tools/script-line-counter).