Two Domestic Tragedy Plays

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in both William Shakespeare's "Othello" and Henrik Ibsen's "The Doll House", a major source of conflict is some serious misunderstanding between a man and a woman. The author points out that, while the plays differ in significant ways, they also have some traits in common such as a third person who wants to improve his position and attempts to manipulate the man's wife in an effort to reach his goal. The paper compares the three characters in each play to explore the similarities and differences related to this third-party plotting: the third persons Krogstad ("Doll House") and Iago ("Othello"), the husbands Torvald and Othello and the wives Nora and Desdemona.

From the Paper:

"While there are differences between Torvald and Othello as well as between Iago and Krogstad, the most important differences may be the ones between Desdemona and Nora. Desdemona is faced with the most terrible of dilemmas: the husband she loves is about to kill her, and she does not know why. He tells her to "think on thy sins," and she repeatedly tells him she has done nothing against him. Even as she dies she protects Othello, calling out to a companion that she has killed herself."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Project Gutenberg. Accessed via the Internet 2/5/06. <http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2542>
• Shakespeare, William. Othello. Bibliomania. Accessed via the Internet 2/5/06. <http://www.bibliomania.com/0/6/3/1081/frameset.html>

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