Analysis of Dolls house vs. Trifles - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Doll’s house vs. Trifles A Doll’s House is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen, which premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879. The play has been acknowledged for its critical attitude toward the 19th century marriage norms. It brings to light cultural practices that were held in high esteem during this period in history. On the other hand, Trifles is a one-act play by Susan Glaspell whose first performance by the Provincetown Players at the Wharf Theatre took place on August 8, 1916. The play describes the murder of John Hossack, an event that Glaspell encountered when she was a news journalist at the Des Moines Daily News. Doll’s House’s Theme The rules and regulations that governed the 19th century women have been illuminated greatly by Ibsen in his play. The role of women can, therefore, be described as the dominant theme of the Doll’s House play. It is, however, important to note that a variety of other minor themes are evident in the play. Such include marriage and divorce among others. It is evident from the play that women were highly discriminated and were viewed as lesser beings as compared to men (Berger 45). The author uses a variety of techniques in his effort to show the place of women in the society. For instance, the dialogue in the play shows how men viewed women and how they described them. Sometimes these views were similar and sometimes different to how women viewed themselves. Women were expected to sacrifice a lot for the sake of the men in their lives. Their roles can, therefore, be described as sacrificial. For instance, their marriages were driven as per the desires of their husbands. In addition to this, women had their financial dependence on men. Nora is one of the most symbolic characters in the play portraying the 19th century women. As a result of her social and cultural position, she makes a risky financial agreement with Krogstad in order to spare her father’s life (Bell and Offen 87). The role of women is evident in all married female characters in the play. Mrs Linde, the Nurse, and Nora all have to sacrifice a lot in their lives to survive, or even to be accepted. Nora not only shows this sacrificial role in borrowing money, but also in losing her children when she makes up her mind to pursue her identity. Mrs Linde, on the other hand, sacrifices marrying the man she loves to marry another man to support her dependent relatives financially. The nurse also portrays this sacrificial role when she gives up her child and look after other people for her financial survival. In addition to this, she views herself lucky to get herself a job though lowly in nature because she sinned when she got a child out of wedlock. During this time in history, women who had born illegitimate babies were viewed as an outcast and stigmatized, with the men responsible often escaping the censure. Marriage as a theme in this play is one of the most important roles of a woman. Once a woman made a good marriage, she would encounter no problems because men were the providers for their families. Since men were the bread earners, women who made a good marriage had no doubt that their families would face less financial problems. The play portrays this when Nora becomes excited and so thankful due to the money she received from her husband to cater for the Christmas shopping (Kotenev 102). Once a woman got married, there were no divorce expectations no matter the nature of the internal relationship between the couples. Doll’s House play illustrates this when Nora decides to leave Torvald and he asks her to consider what people will say about it. This play presents women as men’s possessions. One of the most admirable roles of women in this play is the way they were seen as an object to be admired and not someone to a have a chat. This is illustrated by the numerous pet names Torvald has for Nora (Gainor 45). Nora’s husband often refers to her by the pet names than her actual name. Women were like children since they were to stay at home and they were not supposed to involve themselves with any serious conversation. Nora gets frustrations from her husband’s inability to take her serious; a behavior described when Nora tells her husband that from the beginning of their relationship, which is almost eight years, they had never discussed anything serious on any serious subject. The Doll’s House is a metaphor meaning a place for women in the nineteenth century society (Gainor 98). The society’s expectations from women were to be good mothers and be able to accomplish their household duties. Appearance and reality is a further theme evident in this play. For instance, when the reader first meets Nora, she appears to be a selfish and silly girl. This image however, fades away when we learn the great sacrifice she has made in her attempt to save the life of her husband as well as pay back the secret loan. By the time the play comes to an end, she realizes her real strength and strikes out as an independent woman. The initial image that a reader perceives of Torvald is that he is devoted, generous, and loving husband. However, it later becomes evident that he is a vain, shallow man, who is majorly concerned with his reputation. The Helmer marriage also seems happy, but it later turns out to be based on play-acting, unequal relationship, and lies. Money is another theme that is evident in the play. The 19th century saw great economic and social changes. The society moved from a greatly rural agricultural society and land ownership to a more urban community that was based on manufacturing. A person’s place in the society was defined by a person’s ability to make, manage, and control money. Such people could also control other people’s lives and were almost customarily male. The best example we have of such a person is Torvald. Because of his position in the bank, he can morally judge on Mrs Linde and Krogstad and decide who of them should be given a job (Kotenev 75). The first interaction seen between Torvald and Nora is about money. She knows in what manner to behave so that Torvald can give her more money. Nora’s attempt to control financial matters ends in disaster. Torvald portrays a feeling of shame out of her act. Trifles themes The themes in Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles include social differentiation of men and women, chauvinism vs. female self-sufficiency, and spouse abuse. Perhaps the most important theme of the Trifles play is the Social and psychological difference between men and women in the society. This difference is brought by the role they play in the society, their physicality, their methods of communications and vital to play, their powers of observation. This play portrays men as aggressive, rough, brash, analytical, and self-centered while on the other hand, women tend to be respectful, understanding, and sensitive towards the needs of others. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find the clues required to solve a crime due to these differences while their husbands miss the same clues (Glaspell 25). Trifles portrays these differences when the male and the female characters enter the Wright Farmhouse at the beginning of the play. Unlike women, the men enter the room first and head purposefully towards the stove for warmth because they are the leaders of the community. The male characters have a chauvinism attitude towards women while women are more understanding and perspective when it comes to making critical decisions and when trying to solve a crime. It is due to the men’s character that they fail in determining the truth behind Mr. Wrights Murder. It is due to their negative attitude and discrimination towards the opposite sex that they accuse Mrs. Wright as being her husband’s killer with no regard for her emotions during the murder (Kotenev 65). The men were more concerned in criticizing Mrs. Wright as a poor homemaking skills woman than trying to find who really was concerned with the murder. Trifles also portrays themes of female integrity, revenge, and protection. Many of the play’s characters are women, but they do not use their first names. Women use their husband’s name because men believe that women are less minded, and they can assume the identities of their husbands (Gainor, 42). After Minnie who was a young outgoing woman married John Wright, her self-worth diminished leading to a total change from the past. Her self-worth was in control of her husband making life with him miserable and unbearable. This is the reason why she decided to strangle him with the rope leading to his death. Law, duty, and justice are other themes of the Trifles. The play is a murder obscurity where the investigators decide to hide the truth of the crimes. George Henderson and Henry Peters see the Concept of Law as linked with duty and justice. At first, Mrs. Peters also ascribes to the same description but Mrs. Hale convinces her that true justice will end up punishing everyone who had neglected Minnie Wright case. Other themes depicted are domesticity, loneliness, empathy, and protection. Life lessons learnt from the two plays. Modern readers can attain valuable life lessons from these two plays. The plays show the way women were discriminated in early days. Women had no chance to give contributions to the family and society. This discriminations and gender inequalities should be abandoned since women can do what men can or even better. The two plays also give some good lessons on marriage. Those married should love, understand, and trust each other in order for their marriage to be successful. The two couples should equally contribute to matters arising from their family and not like the tradition case where men were the ones to give out rules concerning matters of family. Although laws are there to maintain gender equality in the eyes of the public, the exploitation of women has never come into an end. Women’s rights movement is another life lesson learned in both plays. A modern woman should have the same rights as man. These rights should be expressed in both our homes and playing an equal role in the country’s government as well. In addition, the two plays shows that it is only through the married peoples’ behaviors, which leads to domestic abuse. At the heart of Mrs. Wrights Loneliness lay abusive Mr. Wright, whose tyrannical behavior causes his wife to murder him. Each couple’s views should be expressed if misunderstandings arise. Work Cited A Doll's House: [notes]. Spark Pub, 2002. Print. Bell, Susan G, and Karen M. Offen. Women, the Family, and Freedom: the Debate in Documents. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press, 1997. Print. Berger, Harry. Making Trifles of Terrors: Redistributing Complicities in Shakespeare. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press, 1997. Print. Gainor, J E. Susan Glaspell in Context: American Theater, Culture, and Politics, 1915 - 48. Ann Arbor, Mich: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2004. Print. Glaspell, Susan. Four Plays: Trifles/The Outside/The Verge/Inheritors. Echo: Echo Libr. 2007. Print. Kotenev, Anatol M. Big Trifles and Little People: Memoirs of a Russian Nobleman. Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse.com, 2000. Print. Read More