Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" are two dramas that focus on women, specifically as wives, and the roles that they are expected to take in their homes and society. The wife, Nora, from "A Doll's House" and the wives, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, from "Trifles" have many similarities in the two plays. All four of the wives go through a similar journey where they discover and evaluate the role that they have been taking, as a wife, for so long.
The first thing that sparks this journey for all of these women is the realization that they have about their lives. These women begin to understand how their husbands view them, how society views them and more importantly how they view themselves. Nora has this realization when she sees Torvald's reaction to finding out about her committing fraud in order to help him. She even tells him "I am beginning to understand everything now", as she begins to make up her mind about her husband and his intentions for their lives (1642; Act III). Before this, Nora thought that he would want to take on any burden or consequence that was placed on her as a result of her fraud. .
She begins to think about how she has been treated, not only in her relationship with her husband, but her relationship with her father as well. She claims that she "was just passed from [her father's] hands to [her husband]" as a doll rather than an individual (1646;Act III). Furthermore, she realizes how naive she has become by living such a sheltered life. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale come to a similar realization when Mr. Hale patronizes them, by considering what women focus the majority of their attention on as nothing more than "trifles" (1156). All of the men seem to have a similar attitude towards women as a reflection of their society. The wives, however, realizes how significant their "Trifles" are.
