Notion of Marriage in The Stronger and Trifles - Essay Example

?Marriage in "The Stronger" by Johan August Strindberg, and "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell: A Comparative Analysis Both one-act plays, Trifles and The Stronger depict the baneful effect of broken marriage in two homes: reputed ‘good husbands,’ the patriarchal oppression, characteristic coldness, the underappreciated woman’s work, forgiveness/unforgiveness, establishment of discord and disorder, and the testing of strength of character. Set in society which held marriage in high regard, one obtains an in-depth look at the spouses who conflict with one another. The irony is that although underestimated and devalued, women’s trifles weigh very significantly. Both husbands exert male dominance in their homes while both wives balance accounts by retaliating. In The Stronger and Trifles, both husbands are characterized as “good.” Although one man was unfaithful and uncaring while the other was hard and cheerless, they are both married men who do not manifest loving care toward their wives, nor do they invest the time necessary to foster a stronger bond. The irony of this characteristic goodness of the men ushers in the theme of appearance and reality. The men are well-respected in society and pay their dues. They are industrious, work and have homes. These outward appearances belie what is actually occurring. Mr. Wright would keep his word and pay all his bills. Likewise, Mrs. X esteems Bob as “a good little man.” Another irony is that although Bob is untrue to her in marriage, by entertaining the advances of other younger women, Bob and Mrs. X both concur that he is still true because he tells her the truth about his extramarital encounters. The good man then in the play is not innately good but is allegedly good, because he maintains a certain apparent status in the public eye. Nevertheless, the women alone know the truth of the patriarchal oppression their good husbands inflict on them. As seen in The Stronger, oppressive patriarchal control in the home is evidenced by Bob’s romantic affairs with younger women and his persistence in his vice. Marriage is the cornerstone of the family structure with a home’s security built on the union of man and wife. Infidelity not only undermines and destroys a couple’s relationship; the entire family suffers. Healthy families are founded on a couple who love, respect, and remain committed to one another’s welfare – till death parts them. In the case with Mrs. X and Bob, the illicit relationship intrudes and subsists. Supplanting the wife, Ms. Y’s effect on the home is clearly seen in Mrs. X and Bob’s son’s name and in Bob’s preferences. Like an oppressor, Bob masks his own deceit and inculpates the women who chase him. Bob is a man with power who occupies an elevated position in government as well as in the theatre industry. His familiarity with commanding positions fosters a domineering character within him which filters into the home. In the private and public sphere, he wields authority without respect to others. Mrs. X takes the observer backstage, imitating a typical scene at home where Bob acts imperiously toward his servants when he feels cold. In Trifles, one witnesses the effect of male dominance in the Wright’s home by Mr. Wright’s willful ignorance of his wife’s emotional needs. He does not play the role of an affectionate husband and as a result of the withering effect of Mr. Wright’s rule, her soul languishes and becomes emaciated. Mrs. Hanes and Mrs. Peters recall that Mrs. Wright was never the lonesome, dispirited, careless woman that she ends up becoming. Owing to Mr. Wright’s hard demeanor and emotional abuse, Mrs. Wright suffers alone in her marriage. The effect of the hard dictatorship is reflected allegorically by the bird in a cage and also the strangled bird. The bird represents Mrs. Wright who used to love singing according to the women but abruptly discontinued choir participation and lapsed into careless dressing. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters make valid connections, comparing Mrs. Wright to a sort of “bird herself -- real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and -- fluttery.” In the face of male dominance, the female bends under the stress and defers to her husband’s whims. Emotionally, Mr. Wright asphyxiated Mrs. Wright by his restrictions on her and because she was not one to fight back, she endured the stifling coldness in the home until the breaking point arrived. In Stronger, the ambience of the home is a key to unlocking the prevailing temper and inner condition of the residents. The marriage between Bob and Mrs. X has lost its passion and in need of revival. In Mrs. X’s monologue in which she describes and analyzes her marriage, she relates that her husband complains that the lamp wick in the home is not trimmed properly neither is the hearth warming the home. The bitter, chronic cold in the home of the X’s terribly frustrates Bob., provoking him to exclaim, “How cold it is!” This revealed account in the home also is a metaphoric allusion to the state of the home deprived of sexual passion, ardent love, and affection. Mrs. X. does not hide the fact that Bob betrays her in his extramarital affairs, going outside to seek warmth. Likewise, in Trifles, the stove in the kitchen which should maintain a warm atmosphere is extinguished when Hale arrives so that the house is chilly. The kitchen, which should be bright and alive because of the fire and light, was “gloomy.” According to Hale’s discerning when he discovers Mr. Wright’s murder, the home is devoid of warmth. The home of the Wrights is cold, not only because the stove fire is out but also because the spark in marriage is non-existent. The temperature within the home mirrors the stiff and frigid relationship between the spouses. Mrs. Hale describes Mr. Wright was “a hard man…like raw wind that gets to the bone.” Mr. Wright’s alleged coldness is equaled by Mrs. Wrights’ cold indifference to her husband’s own death. Very perceptive, Mrs. Hale points out that the home “never seemed a very cheerful place.” The glacial air in the home corresponds to the temper of the unhappy spouses and releases disorder. Disorder and discord are prevailing themes in both Trifles and The Stronger. The kitchen is primarily the domain of the woman which under the care of a homemaker has to be kept clean, organized and hospitable to guests. However, the Wright’s kitchen is dirty filled with dirty kitchen towels and the chaotic arrangement of items. In Trifles the kitchen is pictured as “without having been put in order.” Also, the visitors report that the home is filled with dirty towels, messy tables and incomplete sewing work that is “all over the place.” These tokens testify to a disturbed mind within a disordered home. As mistress of the home, Mrs. Wright does not take care of the domestic space; she does not finish her home duties nor does she have the life and buoyancy she once had. Hale attests to Mrs. Wright appearing “queer” and the women know of her “shabby” look. Disorder and discord make both homes miserable and embitters the marriage. Discord imprints its mark in the home of the Xs in The Stronger. Looking in hindsight, Mrs. X notices that when Ms. Y would enter her home, “there was always discord…” A goddess named Discord was venerated in Greco-Roman mythology as a woman who sews strife wherever she goes. Known more commonly as Eris, Discord customarily would seduce by giving apples which would produce antagonism and rivalry. In this situation, Ms. Y is Discord personified, for in her presence, chaos is unleashed. In Mrs. X’s eyes, Ms. Y is the other woman who upsets her marriage and breaks down the former structure of her home, since she is Bob’s paramour. Consequently, Ms. Y lodges a wedge in the relationship. Whenever, Ms. Y is present, Mrs. X realizes that “the whole thing seemed as awry as an ill-fitting dress.” Ironically, Mrs. X poignantly typifies the apples of Discord, humanized as Ms. Y, as worm-infested. Discord’s actions engender both contention and instigate decay. Ms. Y functions “like a worm into an apple, ate and ate, bored and bored until nothing was left.” Indeed, the marriage is marred by the poisonous infiltration of a woman vying for the affections of a married man. The Stronger discloses a contest of strength between two women, seeking to have the affections of the same man. Like an arm-wrestling competition, the women sit diametrically opposed to one another in a face-off. In the closing lines, Mrs. X asserts herself as the one has more strength and fortitude because she harnesses the power of speech, while Ms. Y remains silent. The monologue relays only the body movements and facial expressions of Ms. Y, while Mrs. X is the one who proactively seeks the interview with Ms. Y and attempts to make the marriage work. She shows herself committed to the home and the family welfare. Mute and passive, Ms. Y has “nothing to say because (she) never thinks about anything.” Mrs. X exhibits her mettle in confronting Ms. Y and even befriending her who was a threat to her marriage. Mrs. X develops inner strength by active conversation, perseverance and spirit of forgiveness. In The Stronger, the stronger woman proves to be the one who forgives, since it is human to err. From Mrs. X’s perspective, the fruit of unforgiveness is resentment, loneliness and the lost opportunity to have a home. Since marriage is an institution in which two imperfect people are involved, marriage is about forgiving one’s spouse and moving on. Without that key ingredient, marriage would not survive. Ms. Y’s unforgiving heart denies her of a prospective marriage, whereas Mrs. X’s forgiveness facilitates the continuation of hers. Mrs. X’s own acts of forgiveness preserve to a measure the stability of the home, which she prioritizes as number one among her concerns. The irony is that the unforgiving woman overturns someone else’s marriage and the faithful wife is the one who forgives. The emotional resilience required to forgive an adulterous spouse and withstand the shame is phenomenal. To keep the marriage relationship alive and going for the children, Mrs. X sympathizes with her husband and chooses to pardon him. It is one feat that Mrs. X achieves and tries to pass on to younger women. Both women, Mrs. Wright and Mrs. X want good homes for themselves and their families. Domestic activities such as sewing, knitting and embroidering are referenced in both Trifles and The Stronger and represent the woman’s work in the home. Upon seeing Mrs. Wright’s knitted log-cabin pattern on a quilt, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters recognize that Mrs. Wright dearly wished for a happy family, living together in a home. Unfortunately, the stresses of the home de-motivate and destroy her lucid thinking. Due to the strong evidences they see in the abandoned house, the women firmly believe that Mrs. Wright was going to terminates the log-cabin quilt, knotting it. Her cherished hopes for a happy home go unfulfilled. Also, Mrs. X prides herself on her embroidered slippers which she made for her husband. She spends time decorating her husband’s slippers because she still loves him and plans to present it to him as a Christmas gift. The embroidered slippers stand as a symbol for Mrs. X’s domestic accomplishments beautifying her husband’s feet and her valiant effort to bring heat to them. In sum, the plays Trifles and The Stronger plainly shows the challenges inherent in marriage. The power struggle, the male oppression, the cold-conditioned home, the disordered home, the low esteem of women’s domestic work, and women’s tested strength. The abuse which the wives tolerate compounds the crime against their husbands and further widens the gap between the spouses. The masculine control over the homes put the women under pressure, starving for the love of their husbands, until they burst at the seams. The utter disregard for the woman’s feelings alienates the companions, until the marriage spirals downward. Works Cited: Stringberg, J.A. The Stronger: The Project Gutenberg EBook of Plays Accessed 03 December, 2011. Glaspell, S. Trifles: A Play in One Act, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library Accessed 03 December, 2011. Scholes, R. N.R. Comley, G.L. Ulmer. Text Book: Writing Through Literature, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001 Read More