Comparison essay -- Trifles and A Doll's House
Desperate Times Call For Desperate Change
People are capable of doing crazy things! Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, loved her husband so much that she committed forgery just for the sake of his wellbeing. Susan Glaspell’s character in Trifles, Mrs. Wright, murders her husband after she discovers that he killed the one most precious thing to her, her pet bird. It was out of love that these women committed illegal crimes. Nora wanted her husband to be healthy because she loved him and knew that without his salary coming in, their home would fall apart. In contrast, Mrs. Wright wanted her husband dead. He was responsible for taking the life of the only company she had for many years. Mrs. Wright loved her pet bird more than she loved her own husband. The bird was more than just a pet to this lonely woman, it was her single companion. Through their failed marriages, conviction of crime and judgment from their peers, these character’s personalities change completely and begin to show the reader the evolution of women’s place in society.
Nora Helmer was raised to be a traditional woman of the nineteenth century. During those times, “the law treated women only a little better than it treated children” (“Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing” 1323). The fact that women were treated so poorly is an example of how defined gender roles were during this century. The men felt as though they controlled everything including the lives of women. Nora is a prime example of how women were degraded during this time. Her overbearing husband, Torvald, controlled every aspect of her life that he could get his hands on. Torvald exudes a criteria example that was established by the Task Force on Nomenclature and Statistics of the American Psychiatric Association. He, “takes advantage of others to indulge own desires for self-aggrandizement, with disregard for the personal integrity and rights of others” (Tufts 142) Torvald’s disregard for Nora’s integrity and rights affects
People are capable of doing crazy things! Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, loved her husband so much that she committed forgery just for the sake of his wellbeing. Susan Glaspell’s character in Trifles, Mrs. Wright, murders her husband after she discovers that he killed the one most precious thing to her, her pet bird. It was out of love that these women committed illegal crimes. Nora wanted her husband to be healthy because she loved him and knew that without his salary coming in, their home would fall apart. In contrast, Mrs. Wright wanted her husband dead. He was responsible for taking the life of the only company she had for many years. Mrs. Wright loved her pet bird more than she loved her own husband. The bird was more than just a pet to this lonely woman, it was her single companion. Through their failed marriages, conviction of crime and judgment from their peers, these character’s personalities change completely and begin to show the reader the evolution of women’s place in society.
Nora Helmer was raised to be a traditional woman of the nineteenth century. During those times, “the law treated women only a little better than it treated children” (“Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing” 1323). The fact that women were treated so poorly is an example of how defined gender roles were during this century. The men felt as though they controlled everything including the lives of women. Nora is a prime example of how women were degraded during this time. Her overbearing husband, Torvald, controlled every aspect of her life that he could get his hands on. Torvald exudes a criteria example that was established by the Task Force on Nomenclature and Statistics of the American Psychiatric Association. He, “takes advantage of others to indulge own desires for self-aggrandizement, with disregard for the personal integrity and rights of others” (Tufts 142) Torvald’s disregard for Nora’s integrity and rights affects
Cited: Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1242-53. Print. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1323-75. Print. Phyllis, Mael. "Trifles: The Path to Sisterhood." Literature/Film Quarterly.17.4 (1989): www.questia.com. Web. 8 Dec. 2013 Tufts, Carol. “Recasting “A Doll House”: Narcissism As Character Motivation in Ibsen’s Play”. Comparative Drama. 20.2 (1986). 140-59. Web. 8 Dec. 2013