Portrayal of Women as a Plaything in the Hands of Their Male Counterparts - Essay Example

Portrayal of Women as a Plaything in the Hands of their Male Counterparts in the play “A Doll’s House”, “Trifles” and “Othello” Introduction A comprehensive feminist interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” and Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” will reveal that all these texts portray women as the playthings in the hands of their male counterparts. Though “Othello” and “A Doll’s House” shows clear evidences in support of this thesis, it is a bit difficult to find out the traces of male lust in “Trifles” because the theme “women as the objects of male desire” has been used as one of the silent backdrops of the play. Indeed in the “Trifles” portrayal of women’s inferiority to men is deceptive and disguised in the cloak of implicit feminist challenge to the male authority. Susan Glaspell has portrayed women, both physically and mentally, capable of challenging the patriarchy-induced stereotypical male notion of women’s inferiority, frailty and frivolity. When Susan’s women’s challenge to the male superiority-complex is found in action from the very beginning of the play, Ibsen’s protagonist Nora poses this challenge near the end of the drama “A Doll’s House”. Nora’s ultimate choice to search for an independent female self is to be perceived as a challenge to her own inferior ‘toy or showpiece’ status in her husband’s household and also to the patriarchal notion that women are capable of walking through the path of life on their own. But Shakespeare’s protagonist Desdemona appears to be the purely inferior production, of the male dominated society, that instead of challenging the male superiority, sacrifices herself to the male desire and lust. Nora’s Traditional Subservient Role in Torvald’s Family In the beginning of Ibsen’s play, Nora seems to live in a fancy world. She is traditionally loyal and devoted to her husband. She accepts her subservience as a satisfier of her husband’s carnal hunger. She dresses up herself beautifully to attract Torvald more and more. At this stage, Nora is found to endeavor to form her feminine gender identity according to the male notion of femininity. She imagines herself as Torvald’s plaything, as it is evident in her speech, "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice, and do as she wants" (Ibsen, Act II). She continually endeavors to uphold herself more appealing and sexually attractive in Torvald’s eye. Indeed she fears his husband’s disinterestedness the most. She is aware of the fact that along the passage of time, Torvald’s physical obsession will decay, because she will also lose her physical charm, as Nora says, "Yes…after many years, when I am no longer as pretty as I am now…Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now; when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him then it may be a good thing to have something in reserve" (Ibsen, Act I). But she is disillusioned for the first time, when the “wonderful thing” or “the miracle” does not come true. She realizes that Torvald is only for his own self, and he was never Nora’s. She also realizes that, on the other hand, she never exists because she has run her life according to Torvald’s wish; she has tried to do what Torvald want her to do. Male Oppression and Women’s Inferior Status Revealed in “Trifles” By focusing on minor details that are ultimately fraught with major significances Susan’s “Trifles” upholds the women’s intellectual capability to perceive the male oppression as well as their inferior status in their husbands’ households. The plot of the play is endowed with twofold twists: first, the women discover the traces of Minnie’s inferior status in John Wright’s house by investigating into the trifles. Second, they could develop a moral ground to support Minnie the murderer. Indeed, in Susan’s play, the male characters have been manipulated to represent patriarchal superiority complex as well as male chauvinism. Meanwhile they also represent male dominated society’s expectation and notion about women’s inferiority. The patriarchy-induced image of a woman in a male dominated society is profoundly permeated with female psychophysical inferiority to masculinity. The 20th century male chauvinism has been portrayed dramatically in the following conversation: SHERIFF: Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves. HALE: Well, women are used to worrying over trifles. COUNTY ATTORNEY: And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies?...Dirty towels!...Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? (Glaspell, “Trifles”) This conversation portrays how patriarchy perceives women in the households of their husbands. The County Attorney intrinsically assumes that it is the duty of a good housewife to keep the house neat and clean. But since Minnie has not fulfilled her duty, she –as the male characters think- does not have good relationship with her murder husband. As the female investigators continue thinking over the trifles in Minnie's house, they gradually begin to comprehend Minnie’s condition in the house and the tangible oppression in Minnie Wright's everyday life. This perception of male oppression (John Wright as the greater criminal) in Minnie’s life in her husband’s house ultimately induces them to reach the moral decision to help her. Desdemona’s Status as a Plaything in the Hands of the Male Characters in “Othello” Desdemona’s Status as a Plaything in the Hands of the Male Characters in “Othello” is clearly perceivable. This woman’s fate is manipulated by the male characters more than she herself manipulates her own fate. Her love for the Moore General is at a time a subject of offense to her father’s high social status, a subject to her lover suspicion and doubt, and an apparatus of conspiracy for the male villain Iago. She appears to be more a decided than a decider. Her father runs into quarrel with Othello to his daughter-like property back to his house, because he wants to get her daughter married to another man so that he can keep his social status untainted. Othello doubts her chastity because he is afraid that he is going to lose his possession over Desdemona. Iago wants to manipulate her in order to reach his own target. But no one pays heed to what she wants. She helplessly becomes victimized by both her husband Othello and Iago. Deep down in the heart, he suffers from a type of inferiority complex which, on one hand, blindfolds him from Desdemona’s virtue and purity, and on the other hand, keeps him obsessed with the fear of being deserted by his love, Desdemona, a symbolic platform of passion and status in the society. Just like his suspicion for the society, his fear of being deserted by his love pushes to the verge of insanity. His bluster and pride rather fuel his obsession and fear. In spite of his love for Desdemona, he cannot believe that his wife, that paragon of virtue and purity, could have settled for him. Such a man’s love for his wife is necessarily entailed with his continual fear of being rejected and deceived by his society as well as his wife. Conclusion In all these three texts, women appear as a toy in the hands of their male counterparts. They possess inferior to the male characters. In generally they are manipulated by the male characters. Along the progress of the play, “A Doll’s House” Nora heads towards individual existence and freedom. Also at some point of the play, Nora discovers her doll-like situation in her husband’s household. Eventually she comes into conflict with her subservient position in Torvald’s households and, defying the patriarchy-assigned womanly actions within the four walls of a husband’s house, she decides to leave his husband’s house with a view to exploring her own self and boosting her individual identity. Like Nora, the female assistants in the investigation perceive their inferior plaything status through the discovery of the suspect’s inhuman condition in her husband’s household. But in the “Othello” Desdemona remains the silent victim of male oppression. Works Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. New York: Twayne, 1966. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Trans. Emma Goldman, New York: Penguin, 2006. Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Della Classics, 1993 Read More