"A Dolls House" And "Trifles" A Comparison Of The Two Plays.
As I read "A Dolls House" and "Trifles" it became all to clear the one connection that both of these plays hold. It is very hard for me as a women to sit and read about women that are being mistreated or even treated as property in one form or another. In this paper I will examine "A Dolls House" and "Trifles" on the basis of what these plays are saying about marriage. The method I will use is first to see what Henrik Ibsen is saying about marriage and then compare that to what Susan Glaspell is saying. In addition, I will compare marriages of to that particular time to marriages in today's times.
In the play "A Doll's House" you can see very clearly the small role that women play in a marriage. You are able to tell very easily that Torvald has the dominant roll in the relationship and doesn't think much of his wife except as maybe a mere doll in a lot of ways. Through out the play you are given an insight into why Nora must keep a secret from him. You're given the impression that if he was to find out that she had taken a loan to save his life he wouldn't have been able to accept this fact. Further more, you are then told that she must work in secret to pay off her loan because it was illegal for a woman to obtain a loan without her husband's permission. You are able to see that she is left very vulnerable to Krogstad's letter because if her husband was to find out he wouldn't be able to accept this and in fact it would cause great pain to the family. As he reads the letter he becomes very outraged and tells Nora that she is a hypocrite and a liar and complains that she has ruined his happiness and further more will not be allowed to raise their children. As he does so the maid brings in another letter from Krogstad returning her contract with the forged signature and all. You are able to see how quickly he forgives and takes back what he has just said but Nora is not able to accept that. She says that despite the eight years of their marriage, they...
View Full Essay