Analysis of Dolls house vs. Trifles Research Paper

Analysis of Dolls house vs. Trifles - Research Paper Example The play describes the murder of John Hossack, an event that Glaspell encountered when she was a news journalist at the Des Moines Daily News. Doll’s House’s Theme The rules and regulations that governed the 19th century women have been illuminated greatly by Ibsen in his play. The role of women can, therefore, be described as the dominant theme of the Doll’s House play. It is, however, important to note that a variety of other minor themes are evident in the play. Such include marriage and divorce among others. It is evident from the play that women were highly discriminated and were viewed as lesser beings as compared to men (Berger 45). The author uses a variety of techniques in his effort to show the place of women in the society. For instance, the dialogue in the play shows how men viewed women and how they described them. Sometimes these views were similar and sometimes different to how women viewed themselves. Women were expected to sacrifice a lot for the sake of the men in their lives. Their roles can, therefore, be described as sacrificial. For instance, their marriages were driven as per the desires of their husbands. In addition to this, women had their financial dependence on men. Nora is one of the most symbolic characters in the play portraying the 19th century women. As a result of her social and cultural position, she makes a risky financial agreement with Krogstad in order to spare her father’s life (Bell and Offen 87). ... Mrs Linde, on the other hand, sacrifices marrying the man she loves to marry another man to support her dependent relatives financially. The nurse also portrays this sacrificial role when she gives up her child and look after other people for her financial survival. In addition to this, she views herself lucky to get herself a job though lowly in nature because she sinned when she got a child out of wedlock. During this time in history, women who had born illegitimate babies were viewed as an outcast and stigmatized, with the men responsible often escaping the censure. Marriage as a theme in this play is one of the most important roles of a woman. Once a woman made a good marriage, she would encounter no problems because men were the providers for their families. Since men were the bread earners, women who made a good marriage had no doubt that their families would face less financial problems. The play portrays this when Nora becomes excited and so thankful due to the money she rece ived from her husband to cater for the Christmas shopping (Kotenev 102). Once a woman got married, there were no divorce expectations no matter the nature of the internal relationship between the couples. Doll’s House play illustrates this when Nora decides to leave Torvald and he asks her to consider what people will say about it. This play presents women as men’s possessions. One of the most admirable roles of women in this play is the way they were seen as an object to be admired and not someone to a have a chat. This is illustrated by the numerous pet names Torvald has for Nora (Gainor 45). Nora’s husband often refers to her by the pet names than her actual name. Women were