Comparison essay -- Trifles and A Doll's House

At first glance, Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, and Henrik Isben’s A Doll House seem to have nothing in common. However, the short story and plays have many similarities. Particularly, five women from these tales— Louise Mallard, Minnie Wright, Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Hale, and Nora Helmer—make drastic decisions that appear to be motiveless. Without context, any reader could be confused by Louise’s death, Nora’s departure, and Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale’s unanimous effort to cover up the murder that Minnie Wright committed, which also seems to lack serious motive. However, all of these women’s settings, situations, and lives have connections that make their motives similar. Emotion motivates all five women—not just

Many wifes throughout the years have endured countless amounts of persecution from their husbands, but some men take it to a whole new level. Two male authors, Henrik Ibsen and Robert Browning, brought female hardships to light in the nineteenth century. Ibsen’s 1879 play, A Doll’s House, was so controversial at the time that he was forced to write a more pleasant ending in which Nora returned after having left Torvald. Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess”, written in 1842, showed the immoral perspective of a Duke who had his wife murdered merely because she did not preserve her pleasant personality singularly for him. It was influential writers such as these who eventually gave feminism a kick start. The two husbands in these stories share a vast amount of similar characteristics. Despite the fact that Torvald loved his wife, and Duke had murdered his, both of them exhibit extreme authoritative and egoistic behaviors.

After Glaspell’s, Mr. Wright had strangled his wife’s bird she could take no more. The bird was her only comfort and the malicious strangulation of the bird not only killed it but it killed her spirit

The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 reflects the gender differences between men and women in this time period through the investigation of Mr. Wright’s death. Men in the early 1900’s go to work, leaving the women at home to typically clean, cook and wait for the arrival of their husbands back home. This is the leading cause behind the men in Trifles being incapable of seeing the full motifs and actions behind Mrs. Wright. Leading for the women to understand more about the murder than the men from the small clues Mrs. Wright has all over the house. The insignificance of the “trifles” in the play are passed by the men due to what they thought the objects insignificance actually held dealing with the crime, which the women

In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, the theme of contrasting roles between men and women is magnified by the setting of a lonely, Midwestern farm isolated from the public. This play demonstrates how different the roles between men and women were, and how women were treated. Trifles, also illustrates the changing times in the late 19th century to early 20th century. During this time period, women become more independent and wanted to be equal to men instead of inferior to them.

The play examines the relationships between husbands and wives and reflects stereotypes of gender, particularly a marriage that ended in murder. The setting, a messy kitchen, reflects to me that the women stand together, emphasizing both the way they have been pushed together by their male-dominated society but also, possibly, their loyalty to each other over their husbands, a topic explored in the play. The men repeatedly dismiss things as beneath their notice if they are things such as the canning jars of fruit that are, in their opinions, women’s concerns. The men never recognize that they have forced the women to be concerned about these things, by not allowing them to be concerned about anything else. The men’s dismissal reflects a larger mindset of devaluing women and their opinions and interests in general.

While the male characters in Susan Glaspell’s on-act play Trifles are oblivious to the distress of Mrs. Wright, it is clear to the female characters and any modern reader that Mr. Wright and Mrs. Wright’s marriage was unhappy at best. There is also cause to believe that Mrs. Wright is responsible for her husband’s death, especially in light of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discovering the dead bird in Mrs. Wright’s sewing bag. An unhappy marriage does not excuse murder, but there is evidence to support the claim that John Wright was mentally and/or physically abusive. Such behavior on the part of Mr. Wright over an extended period of time could result in a mental state known as Battered Woman Syndrome, a precursor to post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). According to the Encyclopedia of Trauma and Traumatic Stress Disorders, “Battered woman syndrome has been used as a defense in trials in which a woman has injured or killed an abusive

I believe Susan Glaspell’s title Trifles refers to the scant attention or importance placed on the thoughts of the female characters, by the male characters, as well as to the inadequate deliberation with which the men attend to the trifles that are actually of import. Not only does Mr. Hale plainly state, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (1283) as the men belittle the thoughtfulness and consideration of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in regards to Mrs. Wright worrying about her stored jars, but Sheriff Peters clearly sees just “kitchen things” (1283), while the women begin to see missing pieces of the murder motive in the everyday items. Similarly, Mr. Henderson sees “a nice mess” (1283) in the kitchen, while the women begin to recognize

Trifles shows well how women were/still are treated. Women were known for their “Feminine Role” in the 1900s, so Trifles shows us that men always have looked at women as inferior to them. Women in the early 20th were expected to cook, clean, and raise children. They were expected to be housewives

‘Trifles’ contrasts to the ‘A jury of her peers’ firstly, the title is an ironic reference to the domestic objects and activities that constitute women’s lives at that time and what could be used against Mrs. Wright. The play illustrates how men notice different things than women. The play

Throughout American history, stereotypes about gender socialization and gender roles have existed in society. During the late 19th to the early 20th century, genders roles began to shift. This is mainly due to the shift as more women took on more professional affairs. Because of this shift, women became less reliant on male dependency, allowing them to be socially equal in the eyes of men. In Susan Glaspell’s play, "Trifles" makes a moving statement how the gender roles were in the early 20th century and how women were treated. The play takes place on a midwestern farm inside a farmer 's house during this period. After law enforcement was called to investigate a crime scene, one the men belittle his wife. At this point, the women 's

Wright’s liveliness and passion towards music. Birds are always singing, and they are just happy animals in general. Mrs. Wright had that same attitude before she was married. According to Mrs. Peters, “Somebody-wrung-its-neck,” (Glaspell 1288). They think that Mr. Wright might have killed the bird and snapped its neck. It was obvious Mrs. Wright loved the bird since she had it in a red box and was about to bury it. The abuse that Mrs. Wright dealt with is evident with the murder of her bird, who is the representation of herself. It shows that women were treated as tools in this age and how some were abused by the

The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell is set in the 19th century during the women suffrage era. Trifle means something that is small or not very important. It's a story about a woman Mrs. Wright who killed her husband. It's also a story about the relationship about men and women. There are many strong symbols used in the play. When the attorney, sheriff and the two women were at the house they noticed that though all of the preserves in the kitchen were broken as the result of the cold condition of the house. They preserve symbolizes fruitfulness, youth and sweetness. When fruit is preserves it is meant to be kept in a sweet condition indefinitely. The coldness of the kitchen busted the glass and preserves were ruined. Miss Wright was

The play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is about the major differences between women and men. This story was written in a time period when women were treated much differently than they are today, and the women and this story are not taken seriously. This story exposes the sexism that women dealt with then, and still to some extent deal with today. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find incriminating evidence against Minnie, but the men never think to ask them their opinion; they are too busy looking for solid tangible, evidence. The “trifles” the women are worried about do not matter to the men. Although the women find evidence to believe Minnie is the killer, they

The setting of the play which takes place in the early twentieth century has established the theme that women have been looking down by men. ‘Trifles’ that is used as the title of the play has further foreshadowed the theme of the play in which discrimination of women will happen in the play. During the investigation of Mr Wright’s death, the men that involved in finding out the murderer have despised