Throughout Act 1, the setting takes place in Tesman's living room. Ibsen introduces the problems in the play almost immediately. We learn of the marriage between Tesman and Hedda Gabler and the problems that occurred during the honeymoon. Tesmans character is revealed to be nave and clueless. This is concluded because we learn that he spent his whole honeymoon reading books and partaking in intellectual development instead of developing his newly wed relationship. This character trait is also shown once again when Auntie Juju questioned Tesman about whether he was expecting' anything. Tesman in his nativity could only think about his professorship and not the obvious. The question at this point is whether he actually knew about the pregnancy. .
Hedda Gabler from early on in the play shows that she is of a much higher class that Tesman. This is initially shown before she enters the scene when Bertha is afraid that she can not be pleased and had to stay up until late unpacking her things. This shows that Hedda Gabler is of a very aristocratic class and is difficult to please. This is also seen when she enters and complains that the windows are open. Auntie Juju wore a certain hat specifically for Hedda and it is seen that she criticizes it falsely pretending that she thought the hat was Bertha's.
This critical nature of Hedda got Tesmans attention and he commented that Hedda should be nicer to Auntie Juju. However his nave character shows once again because he fails to understand the real problem that is Hedda's spoilt character. These problems although are not confronted in the first act are the basis of the tensions in the rest of the play. There is a strong sense in the first act that Hedda craves control. She seems to be able to easily manipulate Mrs. Elvsted. This is seen when she tricks her to exposing her secrets. She does this because she suspects that Mrs. Elvsted is having an affair with Ejliert.