Oscar Wilde vigorously attacks the institution of heterosexual marriage in his play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by employing light comedy to portray characters that they are superficial, immature and unaware of the commitment they are about to make. Marriage is also harshly criticized in Susan Glaspell's play “Trifles,” a play that explores the difficulties women face within the institution of marriage. and the tragedy that befalls her. A woman past her breaking point. Both works are harshly critical of the institution of marriage, one through light satirical comedy and the other through a tragic story of a failed marriage , the dark impact of the more realistic story within “Trifles” provides a harsher understanding of the institution of marriage than the comedy, which audiences can easily laugh at. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. In Wilde's “The Importance of Being Earnest” the characters treat marriage as something frivolous. What they consider important are esoteric social norms, the connotations of names, and mundane details. Cecily and Gwendolyn only want to marry Algernon and Jack because they believe their names are Ernest. As Gwendolyn tells Jack early in the play, “…My ideal has always been to love someone called Ernest. There's something about that name that inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first told me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you” (10). Elsewhere in the show, Cecily meets Algernon for the first time and believes him to be Jack's brother Ernest. She confesses her love for him and tells him all about how they got engaged; she bought a ring in his name and wrote love letters to herself pretending they were from him (32). The women base their love entirely on the belief that the men are called Ernest, which reveals their naivety about marriage. The frivolity with which these women fall in love suggests that relationships are frivolous too. Jack and Algernon undermine the institution of marriage in another way. During one of the first conversations about marriage proposals, Algernon says, “I don't really see anything romantic about the proposal. It's very romantic to be in love. But there's nothing romantic about a permanent proposal. Because, one can be accepted. One usually is, I think. Then the excitement is over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I will certainly try to forget the fact” (3). This dialogue indicates that Algernon believes that commitment is something that ruins romance and perhaps, by extension, love – hardly a ringing endorsement of marriage. Lady Bracknell's idea of ​​marriage is equally cynical. When Gwendolyn and Jack tell her that they are engaged, Lady Bracknell tells Gwendolyn that “An engagement should come to a girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant as the case may be. It is certainly not a question of her being allowed to fend for herself..." (12). He then questions Jack about his education, property and family to know if he is suitable for his daughter and society. Lady Bracknell sees no love in marriage; rather, marriage is an institution that must support wealth and social class. Although Wilde's work offers a very negative view of the institution of marriage, it does so in a lighthearted manner. The characters are ridiculously extreme in their behaviors, and so Wilde's criticism of marriage can be laughed at. Susan Glaspell's play “Trifles” takes the opposite approach. Although notis primarily about marriage, addresses the negative effects of marriage on women. The play is a tragic story about how Mrs. Wright may have killed her husband. The emotional impact of the show forces the audience to take the topic seriously, unlike "The Importance of Being Earnest", "Trifles" is not directly about marriage: the theme of marriage is subtly hinted at by gimmicks in the dialogue and in the setting rather than overtly flaunted by the characters' mannerisms. The audience learns about Mrs. Wright as they see Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale walking around her house, recognize the symbolism of Mrs. Wright's things, and hear the comments men make to the women in the show. When the group first arrives home, the pots under the sink are unwashed, there is a loaf of bread outside, and the things in the house are unfinished. The disorder in Mrs. Wright's housework seems to indicate the disorder in her life. When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters look at her quilt, Mrs. Hale remarks, “There, this is the one she was working on, and look at how you sew! Everything else was so nice and seamless. And look at this! It's everywhere! Why, it seems he didn't know what he was doing!” (1679). Mrs. Hale begins to take it out and sew it up and then asks, "What do you think she was so nervous about?" The implication is that something was going on at that time that her seams were wobbling – perhaps her husband was being verbally abusive or aggressive at the time. Additionally, the women find a broken bird cage and Mrs. Wright's dead bird in her sewing basket. The bird's neck had been stretched and Mrs Hale believes it was Mr Wright. The bird was loved by Mrs. Wright: Mrs. Hale infers that she would bury it in the "beautiful box" in which they found it (1681). If Mr Wright had actually touched the bird's neck, this could be an indication of abuse. The bird can be considered a symbol of Mrs. Wright herself; in fact, Mrs. Hale refers to her as a "songbird" early in the play. Mr. Wright's killing of the bird therefore suggests the suffocation of Mrs. Wright socially and mentally as well. The bird's murder motivates Mrs. Wright to kill her husband and confirms that their marriage was a failure. The dialogue between the women also helps us paint a portrait of the type of marriage that Mr. and Mrs. Wright had, and also their understanding of the difficulties of marriage for women in that place and time. Mrs. Hale describes Mr. Wright as a "hard man" (1680) - she tells the court attorney that she has not visited Mrs. Wright's house for a year because it "never seemed a very cheerful place" and that “…I don't think that a place would be happier if John Wright were there” (1676). She also expresses guilt for not coming to see Mrs. Wright because the house was so uncheerful. She expresses her empathy for the way Mrs. Wright must have felt: “I could have known she needed help! I know how things can be – for women. I tell you that's strange, Mrs. Peters. We live close and we live far. We all go through the same things – it's just a different kind of the same thing” (1682). Mrs. Peters expresses similar feelings when they discover Mrs. Wright's dead bird. She talks about when her first child died and how she "knows what quiet is" (1682). Through this dialogue, we learn about the serious trials of marriage that women have had to endure: the problems are realistic and completely believable, and the dialogue has a strong emotional impact. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customization.