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Drama Essay Trifles and A Dolls House both illustrate to the general audience the struggle of a woman against man dominance in a time when patriarchal values ruled society at large. The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 can be considered a revolutionary writing in it its advocacy of the feminist movement. The plays short form proves outstanding for entertainment and dramatic purposes and while still being able to convey the higher ideals of the feminist movement in a palpable witty fashion. The play illustrates a major change in the ideology of America in that it shows the need for the mind sets of the peoples of the times to change from an old fashioned patriarchal chauvinistic one to a more modern mind set of equality across genders. Glaspell goes about this in her showing of how the old way of thinking of men being in charge backfires on their ability to come to the truth. If the men held the women in the same regard as themselves and did not consider womens' lives to be Trifles' then the real truth would have been exposed (as the problem would have never occurred in the first place. ) The play, although composed as a murder mystery, is clearly meant to express the needs for social change away from male dominated ways of thinking.
The play is about the personal independence and freedom of a woman being taken away by an overbearing husband who disregards her existence and breaks her spirit. Isolationism is an important clue in the murder case. Mrs. Wright's farmhouse is located in a hollow, down in the woods, which puts her in a secluded place. Mr. Hale, a friend, came to talk to Mr.
Wright about a party telephone, but he said, "He put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway... " (Glaspell, p. 28) This is an example of how Mr. Wright did not want himself and his wife to have contact with anyone in town It is obvious that Mrs. Wright murdered her husband, and the author does a really good job showing how a fragile woman can become so frustrated because of constant moral torments from her husband that she is actually able to kill him. Overall, the play is a rather interesting example of feminist ideas and concepts incorporated into drama, and the general audience finds it quite fascinating and attracting, especially given the fact that it was written long ago.
At the time Ibsen's Dolls House was produced, Norwegian society was undergoing social and political reform. Throughout the 1860 s there had been growing agitation for legal rights for women. However, it was a patriarchal society. Men still had authority over their wives. Ibsen was subject to narrow-mindedness and selfishness from his culture and this prompted him to reconsider 'old certainties'. In A Doll's House, Nora realizes that over the eight years of marriage to her husband, Torvald Helmer, she had never talked with him frankly and equally about anything serious.
Throughout Nora's life she has needed a man to protect her and discipline her as if she were a child. Throughout her life, Nora has had no chance to develop into her own self. She gains insight into her unequal marriage to Helmer and consequently leaves to discover herself. (Ibsen, p. 117) Ibsen is highlighting that men and women are interdependent and that everyone is indebted to each other in a myriad of ways. For example, Nora plays that she is totally dependent on Torvald, yet he is indebted to her for borrowing the money to save his life.
He also criticizes the conventional roles for women and what are considered to be their duties. Helmer can't understand that Nora's duties to herself are just as important as the duties to her husband and children. Ibsen's exposure of the need for equality of women to men is part of a much deeper necessity, self-liberation. That is to take control of your life, whether you are male or female, and strive to be the person you wish to be. This is exactly what Nora is doing when she leaves her family. Another example is when Nora considers suicide instead of telling her husband of the borrowed money to save him the embarrassment.
Considering that Ibsen wrote in a style that audiences were not aware of or appreciative of, reconciliation was never a possibility. However this play, not intended to be a plea for woman's rights, but a call for all humans to be free, has made a significant contribution in constructing the society in which we live in today. Words Count: 768. Bibliography: Ibsen, H. A Dolls House.
New York: Harper Collins, 1986. Glaspell, S. Trifles. London: Pluto Press, 1992.
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Research essay sample on Feminist Movement Dolls House
