Comparing A Doll's House And Trifles Essay

It seems as though throughout history, women have been seen as inferior to men. They were considered the subordinate others. Men saw it as if women werent capable of the things men do. They felt that women werent capable of bringing home money, deceiving others, holding positions in high ranks, and much more. Although this may be the case because women werent socially allowed to do these things, its not a path that women were forced to follow. Its just became the status quo. Society was built like this and no one dares to question it. Except for these two women, one named Mrs. Wright from Trifles and the other named Nora from A Dolls House. These plays take place in a time were women havent gained equality in all aspects of life. Both women are underestimated and show their smarts, but go about it in completely different ways that turn out to be illegal in both cases. Through reading these plays and personal experiences, I do believe that the women in the plays are underestimated, they both give up their own happiness for the sake of others, and they are both feminist works.

In A Dolls House Nora is the wife of a well off banker Torvald Helmer. Their family and life style seem picturesque. But what were really beneath that disguise were a husband and wife who dont talk at all. By talking I mean they dont have intellectual conversations. They have little chitter chatter here and there, but nothing of real importance. Nora got to the point she didnt even know who her own husband was anymore and that she wasnt sure she was truly in love with Torvald. She felt that they both were in love with the idea of being in love, but honestly she didnt love him. Nora committed the crime of fraud. When he husband was sick, she signed a loan pretending it was her fathers signature, just so they can go across seas so that Torvald would become better. Nora hid this from Torvald all along and she was very proud of it. She was so used to being his little skylark or his little featherhead that when she accomplished the act of fraud, she felt as if she had done something on her own and it had benefited them all. In the end Torvald found out what had been done and Nora thought that he would take the blame like a good husband do, not to go along with whatever the blackmail was. Because of this she decides to leave him. She realizes that hes not the husband she thought he was and leaving him and the children would do her good. She says, There is another task I must undertake first. I must try and educate myself- you are not the man to help me with that. She sacrifices her happiness to better herself and make her children live better lives. This play is a feminist work because it shows women empowerment, trying to be just as the men are. It shows women gaining a little bit more equality by Nora being able to stand up to Torvald, speak her mind, and leave him.

In the play Trifles there is a murder in the Wright household and the County Attorney, Sherriff, and Hale all have a pretty good idea of who did it. For some reasons all fingers point to Mrs. Wright. When Hale came over to see if he could persuade Mr. Wright if not his wife to join him on the party telephone, Mrs. Wright wouldnt allow him to seen John. She said that he couldnt see him Cause hes dead. To Hale, Mrs. Wright seemed awful nonchalant about her husbands death, which lead the County Attorney, Sherriff, and Hale to believe she murdered him. We as the reader and the two women at the crime scene are the only ones who know what truly happened. Before being married, Mrs. Wright, known as Minnie Foster, used to sing all the time in a choir. Once married she continued to sing and she had a canary to sing with. Mr. Wright wrung the neck of the bird. It was like crushing Mrs. Wrights spirit. Mrs. Hale said she used to sing. He killed that, too. Mrs. Wright gave up all her happiness once she married and lived out a very dull, routine filled life. So for killing her bird and crushing her spirit, Mrs. Wright wrung his neck. Feminism is real important part of this play. The women at the crime scene find little clues or trifles that piece together the crime. They find the bird, the cage, and the nervously knotted quilt. The women collect these trifles and decide to give it to Mrs. Wright while she stays in jail. The men over look these items because they see them as trifles, little insignificant things, when they really are the most important clues. By giving these trifles to Mrs. Wright, there is no way the men can convict her of murder because there is no evidence that the men can see. The women stand up for her because the see what shes been through and the feel bad. Even though she committed a crime, the women feel that there is some sort of comradeship that they should protect because they werent there for her before.

In both plays, symbolism plays a huge role. In A Dolls House Nora is called these birds like names. She is supposed to be free and graceful like a bird. This is where irony comes into play. Nora is trapped in her home as Torvalds puppet. She may be a bird, but she isnt free, in the least bit. She cant think for herself, she depends on Torvald for everything, and above all she is pampered. The pampering to me is a way to keep her from noticing that he is putting down on her in his own intricate ways. In Trifles the bird symbolizes Mrs. Wrights spirit. Its longing to be free but its caged in. And when Mr. Wright wrings the birds neck, its like crushing her spirit. So in turn, Mrs. Wright wrings his neck. It is ironic that the play is called Trifles because all these non-important things are what really matter in the end. Without these so-called trifles, the County Attorney and the Sherriff cant prove that Mrs. Wright is guilty. In both the plays the women wanted revenge. They got this in their own ways.

Women are underestimated all the time. Without feminist plays like Trifles and A Dolls House people wouldnt know that. These kinds of plays are real eye-openers for some people. It shows them a whole knew world that they never seem to notice is in their life every single day. Women shouldnt feel inferior to men. After all one did leave her husband and the other killed her husband. If a man can do this so can women. Looking down upon them wont hide the simple truth that women can do anything a man can, maybe even better.