Literature has been evolving for an extended period. Many writers have come up with articles and poems that exemplify many themes and plots which carry various significances in real-life situations as well as fiction. The stories written by the two authors are highly inspiring. With their simplicity, there exist a deep significance and relevance of the plays to today’s life. Both Henrik Ibsen and Susan Glaspell apply specific symbols and literary aspects to guide their readers in understanding the plot of the play and the variety of the themes.
The story entitled ‘A Jury of Her Peers’ written by Glaspell revolves about the murder of John Hossack in which the author encountered while working as a journalist. The main message of the play is to communicate the poor living conditions subjected to women during the 19th century. Ibsen’s theme, on the other hand, describes the rules and regulations governing women during the same period. The roles of the women are the most dominant theme though other subjects are in place too. They are viewed as discriminated against and the author deploys several techniques to describe the position held by women in the 19th-century societies. According to ‘A Doll’s House,’ the females are expected to sacrifice their time and everything to attend to their husband’s and the families’ at large. As sacrificial beings, the marriage lives are determined by the husbands. Further, they are financial dependent and, as such, are not allowed to own any property without permission from their husbands.
As seen earlier, the two stories by Ibsen and Glaspell were composed and published in the nineteenth century. Both the authors deploy symbolism to illustrate the various roles of men and women. According to Ibsen, Nora is a symbolic being, portraying the character and the purposes of the women in the 19th century. Owing to her cultural and societal position, she engages in a financial agreement with Krogstad with the motive of sparing her fathers life. This puts her in a narrow place, endangering her future life. Further, ‘A Doll’s House’ considers women as men’s possessions. An interesting role that emerges is the fact that females are meant to be sexual objects and not beings to socialize with. This is revealed by the several pet names given to Nora by her husband, Torvald. Concerning symbolism, Glaspell uses the caged bird to represent Mrs. Minnie who, eventually, was meant to be charged with murdering her husband despite the absence of concrete evidence to support the case. Similarly, the bird illustrates the role of the females in the society in ‘A Doll’s House.’
According to the two stories, public appearance and the reputation held by any of the genders was considered intrinsic and were very crucial when it comes to marriages. One could find the two as the backbone of a successful marriage. Both of the plays illustrate male dominance where females were viewed to be inferior. In fact, they are an extension of men. Women face a great deal of inequality in the communities because significant decisions are made by their husbands. They have a problem identifying and distinguishing loyalty from fate. Concerning ‘A Jury of Her Peers,’ women were able to realize connections to Mrs. Wright, a female character charged with the murder of his husband owing to their memories and lifestyles. Sympathy drives Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Hales into developing greater loyalty towards women than their husbands and even the supreme law. This was the very first steps in visualizing the degree of inequality that exists between genders.
In the two pieces, the theme of crime is evident all through the storylines. Mrs. Minnie is accused of murdering her husband, Mr. Wright while Nora is charged with forging transaction among other secrets she held with her husband. This does illustrate not only the level of injustice in the laws but also highlights the discriminations between genders. Also, the deaths represent the conflict that exists in the foreground between men and women and their traditionally-assigned roles. Glaspell presents how the attempts to gather evidence from Mrs. Minnie’s house are doomed by the realization of loyalty by the women. From the two stories, the tangible dismissal of the women is of concern. The killing can be viewed as an initiative by women with the aim of bringing peace and harmony into their lives. If females were given the more central role, the crimes would probably be nonexistent.
‘A Jury of Her Peers’ can be visualized as a feminist drama. According to the author, during the collection of evidence pertaining the death of Mr. Wright, the county attorney and Mr. Sheriff bring on board two women, Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Hale. Both of the women sympathize with Minnie, the victim’s wife, and protect her against the male-dominated society. At the same time, men are viewed as impassive and callous towards the investigation of material facts relating to the case. The motive of the crime is clear to the women, and so they started empathizing with the predicament of the accused.
Conversely, Glaspell presents men as ignorant of crucial information and clouded by prejudice. At some point in the story, the sheriff notes that "Nothing here but kitchen things," (Glaspell 76). This indicates the tendency by the male to overlook the areas dominated by the women. Towards the end of the story, they are not able to gather concrete evidence but owing to the power of dominance; they convict Mrs. Minnie for husband's death. However, women are aware of the events that cost Mr. Wright’s life and in a bid to protect the wife, they fabricate a story. They claim that the husband mistreated the wife because of not bearing children and, therefore, was left with no other option of bringing peace to her life.
Turning on to ‘A Doll’s House,’ Ibsen sheds light on the injustices dominant in the law and the possible impact they have on the society. A crime is reported in the very beginning of the story. In a conversation between Nora and Mrs. Linde, Nora says that “Torvald must not hear” (Ibsen 37). From such an early stage, secrets emerged between Nora, and Torvald and this signified the start of their separation. The absence of crime in this play would mean no plot progression. Ibsen presents various instances of crime with the aim of demonstrating how unjust the law is at times. At one point, there was Nora's forgery, and immediately a law was established by Mrs. Linde. According to Linde, “A wife cannot borrow money without her husband’s consent” (Ibsen 56). From the author’s point of view, this is wrong. Furthermore, the reason behind the forgery was to save Torvald’s life. Regardless of that, Nora was blackmailed and downtrodden by the people based on the existing societal standards.
Ibsen also outlines the different roles assigned to different classes of people. Most of the women are denied equal opportunities when compared to others. In this respect, Mrs. Linde is forced into abandoning her lover because he is poor and as a result marry a wealthy man. The move was aimed at catering to the needs of her two brothers and the mother. Similarly, a house help abandoned her child to work for Nora as a caretaker to support herself. The poor nanny considers herself lucky to secure a job but on the other hand, commits an immoral act of abandoning the child. Despite that ‘A Doll's House has more to do with crimes, the play also raises the feminist concern where women are central to these crimes.
In conclusion, it is clear that female discrimination and male dominance are evident in the two novels. The two present women in their patriarchal encounters and dramas associated with such experiences. The sisterhood is dominant in the two plays and works against the oppressed and ‘sacrificial' women. Through sympathy and smart acts, both Mrs. Wright and Nora evades the grasp of the dominant men as well as managing the level of control. Nevertheless, despite the efforts, each of them took their different routes; Nor ran away from the husband who was the sole source of discomfort while Mrs. Wright eventually killed the husband. Owing to the sisterhood and feminist constructions, they managed to find their way out of their problems. It is, therefore, no doubt that, the two books present some similarities and at the same time are different in their way.