Comparison between Plays and Dramas A Dolls House and Trifles - Book Report/Review Example

In this paper we shall discuss a comparison between two famous fiction stories later made plays and dramas; “A Doll’s House” and “Trifles”. “A Doll’s House” is written by Henrik Ibsen. The story of play is about a woman Nora, who has taken a loan illegally by forging her father’s signature and has kept it a secret from her husband. Torvald works at a bank while Norma is a House wife, but she secretly does a part time job to return the loan she had taken. Norma tries her best to keep that secret to herself but a person who works under Torvald knows Nora’s secret and he starts blackmailing her when he wanted something in return from Torvald. At the end of the play, Nora’s secrets get reveled to Torvald and she discovered that despite of her eight years marriage with Torvald, she must find courage to leave him. “Trifles” written by Susen Glaspel is based on a true story. It revolves around investigation of the murder of a farmer John Wright. The prime suspect of the murder is John Wright’s wife, Mrs. Wright; who claims she was sleeping when someone strangled her husband. The investigation is carried out by the sheriff, his wife, the attorney and two neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Hale. In this play, it has been shown that men discourage women and their capabilities. The investigation carried out by the men is entirely based on forensic evidence where women critically analyzed the case accordingly. Therefore by comparison, we will be able to observe that both dramas discus about what it means to be a woman; how men are found to be holding power over women; role of two genders have always seen to evolve and change especially in the case of women that they have always struggled for their rights. Also we shall see how women can take an action and stand up for themselves. However we shall also put light on the difference of both women’s character. In comparison of both dramas, gender identity has found to be the main aspect in which a evaluation can be made. In “Trifles”, it has been seen that the sheriff, the attorney and Mr. Hale ignore the point of view of Mrs. Wright and neglect the critical evidences of the dreary marriage life that Mr. and Mrs. Wright had. Basically the argument of this drama is ‘how woman worry over trifles’ and one can analyze that the play successfully depicts the qualities of women as they tend to worry over minor things. In the same way the play “A Doll’s House” depicts the characters of woman living a troublesome married life. Nora’s husband Torvald in the play never appreciates her and never acknowledges that she can be capable of handling things and complex thoughts. He never shows respect towards her and always controls her in one way or the other. The basic argument is about the social construction in which men refuse to acknowledge women and consider their capabilities inferior to in comparison to themselves. This further leads to a chauvinist society in which women are frowned upon (Hinz 55-60). In both dramas, it is seen that the women take an action and stand up for themselves. In the social setting shown in the play, women are forced to be kept silent and are not given enough importance. In “Trifles” Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter recognize the hidden evidence of the dreary marriage life that Mr and Mrs Wright were going through. As they knew the facts they believed that the sheriff, attorney or the legal system of the society will not give consideration to this fact in the entire investigation and therefore they hide the dead canary. As a result, their events hit at the requirement to declare power in a form that rejects them. In “A Doll’s House”, Nora in the end makes a strong decision for her life and leaves her husband. The last words to Torvold in the play before she leaves him give an insight to the concepts revolving around the play: I dont believe that any longer, I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being just as you are — or, at all events, that I must try and become one. I know quite well, Torvald, that most people would think you right and that views of that kind are to be found in books; but I can no longer content myself with what most people say or with what is found in books. I must think over things for myself and get to understand them. (Ibsen 109) From above discussion, it can be said that despite of the dominating character of man in the society, a woman has to stand up for her rights sooner or later. The basic similarity in both dramas is how gender differences are portrayed. A woman is expected to be obedient and respectful towards her husband regardless of the circumstances that she is put into. The role of a man towards his wife is not considered in the chauvinist society and he is considered to have all the power with regard to superiority. In “Trifles”, it has been observed that Mr. Wright was never fair to his wife and this led her to lead an incomplete life that made her mentally sick. This mental situation led her to even murder her husband. But the investigators who were men mostly did not take this factor into account and neither considered the reason behind the murder. They rather considered Mrs. Wright as the sole predator in the whole situation. Similarly in “A Doll’s House”, Torvald kept on imposing his rules and decisions on Nora and did not give her the respect that she deserved which led towards the end of their married life. There are many differences in women characters of both plays. Nora lives in a tastefully furnished home and is always pleasant. She has guests at times and apparently living a normal life or it would not be wrong to say comparatively a lavish life. On the other hand the home of Mrs Wright looks incomplete from the very beginning. The furniture and Households tells the story of the married life themselves for example every Household activity is incomplete which indicates ignorance and emptiness in the relationship, also the dead canary shows that it must have been killed by Mr. Wright in anger. Both the characters on the inside know as to how their men undermine them when it comes to the sense of superiority that each possess. This discussion leads towards a conclusion that the role of two genders have always seen to evolve and change especially in the case of women. They have always struggled for their rights which have been found to be suppressed by men, in one way or the other. Works Cited: Top of Form Henrik, Ibsen. Doll’s House. Trajectory, Inc, 2014. Internet resource. Susan Glaspell. Trifles. Darts Publishing, 2009. Internet resource.Bottom of Form Top of Form Hinz-Bode, Kristina. Susan Glaspell and the Anxiety of Expression: Language and Isolation in the Plays. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 2006. Print. Bottom of Form Read More