Gender stereotypes in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen and Trifles by Susan GlaspellIn the plays A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, and Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, the male characters propagate stereotypes and make assumptions regarding the female characters. These assumptions focus on how male characters view female characters, on a purely stereotypical and gendered level. The stereotypes and assumptions made in A Doll's House are evident in the way Torvald Helmer treats his wife, Nora, and in the way Nora acts to please her husband. These include the belief that women are inferior people, childish in their actions and in need of control. Nora knows that as long as she acts according to what is expected of her, she will get what she wants from Torvald. The stereotypes and assumptions made in Bagatelles are that women only care about trivial things, that they are true to the female gender, and that women are submissive to their spouses. Torvald Helmer is the stereotypical 19th century husband, such as he is. a controlling and condescending patriarch. By referring to his wife with diminutive names, Torvald propagates the stereotype that "women are inferior to men" and keeps his wife in a position of servitude. In line 11 of the first act we encounter the first instance of Torvald's bird references to Nora with "Is that my little lark chirping over there?" This reference is the first of many in which Torvald refers to Nora as a lark. Often this reference is preceded by diminutive terms such as “small” and “sweet, small”. Torvald also refers to Nora as a squirrel, a spendthrift, a songbird and a goose, these terms also being preceded by a diminutive. The meaning of...... middle of paper ......literature. 5th edition. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612. Ibsen, Henrik. A doll's house. Living through literature: a thematic anthology. Ed. Helane Levine Keating et al. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. 782-838. Longford, Elizabeth. Prominent Victorian Women. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1981. McFarlane, James, compiler. Henrik Ibsen: A Critical Anthology. 1970. Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart. “The angel on the right shoulder.” Solomon 1:156-64. Sigourney, Lydia. “The Intemperate.” Solomon 1:70-85. Salomon, Barbara H., ed. Rediscoveries: American women's stories, 1832-1916. New York: Penguin Group, 1994. Templeton, Joan. “Is A Doll’s House a feminist text? » (1989). Rep. At Meyer's. 1635-36. Templeton, Jeanne. "The Doll's House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism and Ibsen." PMLA (January 1989): 28-40.