Henrik Ibsen was a nineteenth-century playwright who pioneered realism in drama. She wrote during a time when very specific gender roles dominated life, especially for women, who found themselves tied to their home and their husbands, without a voice of their own. The influence of that society is evident in Ibsen's works, many of which sought to analyze and criticize various aspects of it. Ibsen did not shy away from challenging even the most widely accepted social norms; this has led to many of his works becoming extremely controversial. Chief among these plays are A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler. However, Ibsen himself said: "A Doll's House is a play with social problems, while Hedda Gabler is simply a problem play." Although these comedies and their protagonists are quite similar, they are ultimately completely different. One focuses on social norms, while the other focuses on the actions of the protagonist. The social climate of the late 19th century was still strongly governed by Victorian values, clearly represented in both works. An example of this is the great disgust felt towards expressions of sexuality. People, especially women, were supposed to be almost completely covered when they were outside their bedroom. Furthermore, it was not acceptable to mention anything remotely sexual in conversation, or to write about it. Whenever such a thing was mentioned, it had to be in the form of subtle euphemisms; a clear example of this in Hedda Gabler is the numerous references to Hedda that she had “made on the way” (p. 162) during her honeymoon with George, to refer to her suspected pregnancy. The most prevalent aspect of the social constraints of the time, however, is the weight of the gender role... at the center of the card... that she faces, and the subtle way in which she deals with it. Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House are two plays strongly linked by similar protagonists. Both also took place in what was then modern society, amidst binding Victorian values; values ​​such as the suppression of sexuality and the relegation of the sexes to traditional roles. The difference is that one of the protagonists, Nora Helmer, is simply a vehicle for providing a blunt critique of society. This, when considered with the realistic nature of the play, is what makes the play so powerful and what makes it difficult for nineteenth-century audiences to accept. The other, Hedda Tesman, is herself the subject of the play in which she appears; the society she lives in only adds to the effect of realism to draw the audience into the show and acts as a complement to her, emphasizing the characteristics that make her so unique.