Compare and Contrast

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COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Introduction
In literature, the concept of tragedy describes a series of unfortunate events where one or more characters experience several misfortunes, which result in a disaster. Both Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House are based on the concept of tragedy but in different settings. Trifles is a one-act play written in 1916 and based on a true story (Ibsen, 200). The writer, Susan Glaspell, covered a murder case as a young reporter and years later used her experiences and observations from the case to write a short play. In the play, a murder is committed to a farmer and his wife is the prime suspect. The murder investigation is conducted by the town’s sheriff, the county attorney, and the neighbors. The men lack evidence to solve the crime because they are looking for forensic evidence. The women notice vital details that reveal the bleakness of Mrs. Wright, wife to the deceased, emotional life that led to her committing the murder. The women resolve not to tell the men of their discovery and protect Mrs. Wright because they understood her reasons for killing her husband (Glaspell, 210).
A Doll House written by Henrik Ibsen is a play in which the protagonist is overcome by social and psychological circumstances. The three -act play was written in 1879 and features a homemaker who becomes disillusioned and dissatisfied with her condescending husband. In the beginning, Nora and her husband appear happy together especially because Torvald has gotten a new job therefore no worrying about money anymore. However, Nora is not happy because she has a secret that might break her marriage. She confides in her friend, Christine, who offers to help. After a series of events, Christine manages to convince Krogstad to stop threatening Nora but Nora opens up to her husband and tells him the truth. Torvald is angry with Nora and calls her a terrible person. He denies her the right to get close to the children stating that she might corrupt them. In the end, Nora confronts Torvald and decides to leave because they have never had a real marriage. To her, she has never been more than a doll in her husband’s eyes.
Similarities
Both plays have a common theme of women suffering tragedy caused by their husbands. They have been repressed and controlled by their husbands and societal expectations. Both women take steps to address the control exerted on them. These actions are taken very differently by each woman but result in tragedy. In Trifles Mrs. Wright has been living in an unhappy marriage. Her husband, Mr. Wright, has been abusing her emotionally to the point of killing her pet canary. These events push Mrs. Wright into revenge to help her resolve her emotional issues. The killing of her husband is considered as a tragedy that was caused by series of unfortunate events; Mr. Wright unfair treatment towards his wife.
In the play A Doll House, the tragedy is seen from Nora leaving her husband and children. Her husband, Torvald, does not acknowledge that she is capable of complex thoughts and she should be seen as a full human being. He controls her behavior and establishes rules over her that remove her dignity as an individual. These predicaments are the reason she leaves her husba...