The Conflicts between Men and Women
The Conflicts Between Women and Men In the early 1900s and late 1800s, women were treated not as equal as men, and were considered as the attachment of men and helpless in society. Their low positions in both a relationship with their husbands and society were revealed in many realism dramas. In play Trifles (Glaspell) and A Doll House (Ibsen), men’s attitude to women causes conflicts. In both plays ,Trifles and A Doll House, the women are considered mere trifles without their own feelings or opinions by the men. They are thought to have nothing to do with the society and have mere little attributions to the men’s very important work.In Trifles, the women are considered to be shallow, unimportant housekeepers who only care about trifles such as fruit in the jars, dirty towels, and bread. Hale’s words show their thoughts obviously: “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.”(598) In the play, A Doll House, Torvald considers Nora as a helpless doll that he can control and play with. He called her “My frightened little singing bird”(794) He treats Nora as a child more than a wife. Torvald never thought Nora could take any duties or manage the money and all he cares is his own reputation, business and future. It was the men’s attitude toward the women that caused conflict in the play Trifles. There are two separate stories going on in the play. Both of them reveal that men do not care about women’s feelings and they do not treat them as independent human beings with their own thoughts and opinions. The major story is the country attorney's investigation of the murder. Because of the differences between men and women’s ways of thinking and behavior, men cannot realize the significance of paying attention to life details and they failed to find out the reason leading to the murder. It was Mrs.Peters and Mrs. Hale who discover the conclusive evidence, a dead bird, and puzzle up what happened at that night of murder.