For centuries, various societies have always defined the role of women and men. These roles continue to change and evolve as time pass. However, it is only in recent times that women began to break away from the roles that defined them. Nowadays, there is more of a demand throughout many societies for women to be seen and treated as equal to a man. In Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" and Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House", both writers' uses female protagonists in situations that many would think of as being male dominate.
Glaspell and Ibsen use the female characters point of view which is important since in many patriarchal societies most stories are, usually, written from the male characters point of view. Furthermore, both stories focus on married couples. In "Trifles", the reader enters the story a day after the murder of Mrs. Wright's husband. While the play takes place after such a major event, the play centers around Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters' conversation rather than a murder. The ladies discuss the possibility of Mrs. Wright being her husband's killer or not. There are clues to the fact that Mrs. Wright did indeed kill her husband, however, the reason for the murder isn't clear at the beginning of the story. "A Doll's House" is similar to "Trifles" in that the reader is introduced to the story after an important event has occurred.
As the reader starts to read "A Doll's House," it is understood that Nora has done something that goes against what many perceived to be a woman's role. While publically, Nora seems to be a model woman who confirmed to her gender role, secretly she is paying off the debt that not even her husband knows about. Nora forged her father's signature on a loan in order to pay their trip to Italy. While this secret is perceived as being outside the norm of what is expected of a woman and a wife, one could argue that by forging the signature on the loan, Nora was able to do her duty as a wife aiding her husband's recovery. Torvald became sick, and the trip to Italy helped him get better.
However, by not telling her husband about the loan, it is clear the Nora didn't want to upset her husband or disrupt their marriage. Nora is trying to portray herself as being a responsible and good wife by appearing to be cautious about spending money. Her lie reveals to the reader that Nora isn't an ordinary housewife. She is someone who refuses to fit the female gender role of being a perfect, obedient, and honest wife.
Another similarity between the stories is that birds are used in comparison with the two female protagonists. Mrs. Hale says described Mrs. Wright as being "kind of a bird herself." (Glaspell 1054) Nora's husband, Torvald, uses "skylark" in a tender manner. (Ibsen 1259) While these comparisons may seem innocent and even lovely, the use of birds comes to symbolize the women's gender role. The birds metaphor represent how the women are seen not as individuals but delicate, innocent beings incapable of representing themselves. Instead, the women are trapped in their gender role and are defined by their husband. However, both women fight to be free of their gendered roles by lashing out in different ways.
In "Trifles," Mr. Wright had strangled Mrs. Wright's pet canary, and the dead pet's body is placed aside. Mrs. Wright's life relates to the canary, a caged bird in this story, in that she is being strangled by her role as a female by her husband. She must cast aside her free and strong spirited nature in order to comply with her duties as a female and as a wife. Through the conversation, Mrs. Hale reveals that Mrs. Wright was willing to do her duty as a wife and that she wanted children. Moreover, Mrs. Hale used the word “they” when she talks about how the rope was slipped over Mr. Wright’s neck. Judith Russell believes that this “can be attributed to improper subject and verb agreement.” (Russell 88) However, it was Mr. Wright, cold and dominating, that prevented Mrs. Wright from completing her duties that society assigned to her gender.
Married life was dreary and miserable for Mrs. Wright. It is revealed throughout the story that Mrs. Wright was an active person within society and that she was once a happy and cheerful person. Mrs. Hale reveals to Mr. Henderson, the County Attorney that no "place'd be any cheerfuller for John Wright's being in it" (Glaspell 1051). It was revealed that Mrs. Wright, who was known as Minnie Foster before marriage, used to sing in the choir and participate in the Ladies' Aid. All this was taken away from her after marriage.
The only consolation Mrs. Wright had in her dreadful marriage was a pet canary which she had bought. Brian Sutton stated that “in Trifles, the correlation between songbird and wife is even clearer: Glaspell painstakingly establishes that the canary symbolizes Mrs. Wright, particularly the cheerful side of Mrs. Wright destroyed by the oppressive marriage.” ( Sutton 170) Mr. Wright seemed to do everything in his powers to make Mrs. Wright's life miserable. It is Mr. Wright's strangulation of the canary that brought a bit of happiness into Mrs. Wright's life that moved her to murder. In the past, it was believed by many that violence was a man's way of killing. However, in "Trifles", Mrs. Wright strangles her husband with a rope similar to how he killed her canary. The murder can also be a metaphor for how her husband killed Mrs. Wright's spirit. Furthermore, by violently killing her husband, Mrs. Wright is going against her gendered role.
On the other hand, Nora in "A Doll's House" doesn't lash out at her gender role like Mrs. Wright. Instead, she simply wants her freedom. As W.E. Simonds stated, “Nora has always been a child; her father, a man of easy conscience, has brought her up entirely unsophisticated. She knows nothing of the serious side of life” (Simonds 301) At the beginning of the story, Nora can be seen performing her duties as a wife. She even goes so far as to forge her father's signature on a loan in order to take her ill husband to Italy so he could get better. In contrast, by the end of the story, Nora is no longer the loving and attentive wife. She decides that her duty is no longer to her husband and her children and starts to take care of her needs.
It is clear to Nora and to the readers that Torvald never seen his wife as an equal and rarely engaged his wife in a serious conversation before the revelation of the money issue. Unlike Mrs. Wright, who led a dreary life, Nora as Marvin Rosenberg points out has "humanizing faults that make her so exciting." (Rosenberg 895) An example Rosenberg uses is how Nora "munches on macaroons forbidden by Torvald," and "when he discovers the sweets, she lies: her friend brought them." (Rosenberg 895) Furthermore, Rosenberg points out that, when questioned by her husband about the scratches on the mailbox, Nora "absolves herself by blaming the scratches on her children!" (895) Rosenberg was able to point out many traits that Nora had which conflicted with what was expect of females.
While Mrs. Wright's and Nora's crimes did challenge the perceived notion of gender roles, there were other situations that didn't involve the main protagonists. One such example can be seen in "A Doll's House" where Kristine Linde was hired to replace Mr. Krogstad. This action is seen as a reversal of the gender roles within society. It shows that a woman who had a problem was able to solve it without the help of any man. Oftentimes, women would marry in order to solve their money issue. However, Linde was able to get a job instead.
In addition to getting a job, Kristine renews an old relationship with Mr. Krogstad. Instead of offering to give up her job to stay home, she offers to be the provider while Mr. Krogstad stays home since it would not benefit them if he goes back to work again. Moreover, the readers are given more information on Kristine and Mr. Krogstad's relationship. It is revealed it was Kristine and not Mr. Krogstad that broke off the original engagement in order to marry a man who was richer. Another gender role reversal can be seen in Mr. Krogstad's acceptance of his circumstances. He accepts that Kristine will be the provider in their relationship because he only cares about being reunited with the woman he loves.
The gender roles in "Trifles" and in "A Doll's House" were challenged by women who murdered, lied, and became the sole provider in their relationship. The plays would not be so highly regarded for their feministic themes if it were not for characters such as Mrs. Wright, Nora, and Kristine who decided they would break away from roles that society placed on their gender. These characters give the readers a more realistic view on life. Moreover, the reader understands that the characters are not only fighting for freedom from their gendered role but also they are fighting against a patriarchal society.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles: A Play in One Act. Los Angeles, CA: Baker's Plays, 2010. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Print.
Rosenberg, Marvin, and Joan Templeton. "Ibsen’s Nora." JSTOR. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2014
Russell, Judith Kay. "Glaspell's “Trifles”." Explicator 55.2 (1997): 88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2014
Simonds, W.E., "Henrik Ibsen," in the Dial, Vol. X, No. 119, March, 1890, pp. 301-03.
Sutton, Brian. "A Different Kind of the Same Thing": Marie de France's Laüstic and Glaspell's “Trifles”." Explicator 66.3 (2008): 170-174. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2014.
