Comparing Glaspell's Trifles And Sophocles Anti

The Oppression of Women in a Male Dominated Society

The plays Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Sophocles’ Antigone, examine the contrast between the roles of women versus the roles of men in a male dominated society. Women are often viewed as inferior to men. The women in Trifles are second class citizens, who are to follow the beliefs and commands of man, whereas Antigone is a headstrong and defiant woman, who doesn’t mind challenging a man’s authority. In both these plays, the women showed great courage and bravery by going against cultural conventions and defying the rules of man.

Trifles is a play that shows clearly how women were treated and ridiculed by men in the 1900’s. It is a one-act play that took place at the farmhouse of John Wright.

Mr. Wright has been murdered and his wife, Minnie Wright is the prime suspect.

In this play, the women are housewives; responsible for bearing children, and keeping the house. They are often made fun of or made to feel less of themselves when they didn’t perform those duties to the specifications of the men. The city attorney openly criticizes Mrs. Wrights housekeeping skills by stating “here is a mess, dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper would you say, ladies?” (Glaspell 1109-1110). Mrs. Hale describes Minnie Foster as “real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery” (Glaspell 1114). But a lot of changes are evident once she marries Mr. Wright. She spends her days in isolation, focusing on her quilts, preserves, and caring for her canary. She didn’t receive any type of appreciation for her hard work. This defeats her mentally and she doesn’t have any joy left in her life. While looking for evidence in the murder, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find red flags that support her mental decline, such as blocks on the quilt described as “all over the place” (Glaspell 1113), like she didn’t know what she was doing and a “dead bird in a fancy box, wrapped in a piece of silk” (Glaspell 1114). After the death of her beloved canary at the hands of her husband,

she lost complete control of her emotions, but her motive for murder went far beyond the killing of her bird. Years of maltreatment and isolation also has a hand in Mr. Wright’s demise. The women in this play are the only ones who found any evidence in the case. It was only after being mocked by their husbands did they decide to conceal what they found. Without any evidence, the attorney had no case against Mrs. Wright and without any evidence, she would not be convicted. In the end, all the women in this play showed great courage and bravery when it came to standing up to the men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters went against their morals and supported Mrs. Wright during her time of need and Mrs. Wright finally found the courage to stand up to Mr. Wright.
In the play Antigone, Antigone is a heroic and brave woman who stands up for what she feels is right.

She protects her dead brothers’ honor as she disobeys the laws of King Creon. She feels that the gods are the only ones who have a say on the burial of a person as stated, “I did not believe your proclamation had such power to enable one who will someday die to override God’s ordinances” (Sophocles 497-500). She is brave, passionate, and full of fury; she is strong and determined enough to do what she feels despite the laws of the land. Ismene, who is Antigone’s sister is more of the conservative, law-abiding, bow down to men type of woman, as shown by her comments to Antigone “you ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men” (Sophocles 70-71). Ancient Greece is a male dominated society, and Antigone knows all too well the punishment she will receive to breaking this law, when she states, “for whoever breaks the edict death is prescribed, and death by stoning publicly” (Sophocles 40-41). After being caught burying her brother, she showed her true bravery and dedication to this cause by saying to Creon “Yes, I confess; I will not deny my deed” (Sophocles 487). It infuriated Creon that a woman broke his law. Creon tells Haemon, his son and Antigones’ fiancé, “I caught her openly in disobedience alone out of all this city and I shall not make myself a liar in the city’s sight. No, I will kill her” (Sophocles 706-709). Creon wanted to put her to

immediate death, but at the urging of his son, Creon casts her into the wilderness and says "if she lives or dies, that's her affair, not ours: our hands are clean" (Sophocles 1264). Antigone accepted this punishment and it proved to everyone that she is courageous and willing to stand up to a man when she believes what she did was right.
In Trifles, Mrs. Wright commits murder and gets away with it due to a lack of evidence, whereas the character Antigone in the play Antigone admits to her crime and accepts her punishment. These two plays document the oppression of women, but in two different distinct ways. Trifles incorporates the mood of society towards women by men through belittling and making them feel insecure, whereas Antigone is a true tragic hero, for standing up to the king. She is able to defeat Creon by standing on her morals. In the end, due to his stubbornness, he not only lost the respect of the people of Thebes, but also lost his son, Haemon and his wife, Eurydice both to suicide.