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Similarities Between A Doll House And Trifles

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In the late ninetieth and early twentieth centuries women were thought of as dolls, puppets, or property. In many cases, they weren’t allowed to make decisions for themselves. Women were only good at worrying about frivolous housework and lighthearted pleasantries. In the two plays “A Doll House” by Heinrich Ibsen, and “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, there are several exploitations of this way of thinking.
In the play, “A Doll House,” written in 1879, the main character is a doll for her husband and for her father. She realizes that when living with her father, she would develop the same opinions as him, and stifle her own opinion if it differed from his. Her father even called her his doll child. She, Nora, also becomes aware that he played with …show more content…

The two women are collecting items to bring to Mrs. Wright. It is Mrs. Wright’s house that is being probed through. She is the suspected murderer. There are also three men investigating in the house at the same time. To give credit to the men, one did say, “What would we do without the ladies?” However, he did it in the same breath as accusing Mrs. Wright of being a bad housekeeper. The men leave the women in the kitchen and stop though a couple of times. During one of the passing’s the men laugh at the women. The women were wondering if Mrs. Wright was going to knot or quilt a quilt she was piecing. The men mock this query. Shortly after that, the women piece together the events that likely caused the murder. Incidentally, the women do not reveal the probable narrative to the men. Did they keep it a secret to protect Mrs. Wright? Did they keep quiet because they didn’t think that the men would believe them? Or did the women keep it to themselves for fear of being …show more content…

Also, each play has women making decision for other women. This is human nature at its finest. People want to make decisions for other people. It is a basic desire to want to sway another person’s opinion. Even when teaching another person, opinions are passed along through most lessons. Control can be explicit or subliminal. Telling your wife, she can’t behave a certain way would be explicit. Saying “Women are used to worrying over trifles” has a more subliminal tone. Both plays are about control of women and their actions. In one play the woman are expected to give into men’s judgment, while in the other the women are generally ignored. Both plays have women portrayed as play things that are not meant to have

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