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Gender inequality in literature
Gender inequality in literature
Gender inequality in literature
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“Trifles” is a play in which Susan Glaspell manages to masterfully incorporate numerous amounts of drama; and at the same time, spin a story of murder, justice, and male superiority all into one. Glaspell writes of a woman who murdered her husband because he was to blame for her cold and lonely life. The women character's in the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, solve the murder, while the men, the county attorney and sheriff, try to solve the murder their own way. From the moment the three male characters, George Henderson, Henry Peters, and Lewis Hale, enter the abandoned farmhouse, the reader can begin to acknowledge the presence of a patriarchal society. The men enter first, followed by the two women. Even in the description of the women, it can be observed that they (the women), tend to keep to the side lines, and allow the men to dominate. It is seen when the men which are “much bundled up and go at once to the stove.” (595). While the women almost creep in after them. In Susan Glaspell's “Trifles" the purpose is to emphasize the importance of gender roles during the early 1900s using symbolism. Examples of symbolism that she that she uses includes, the dead canary bird, the title, and the assertion that Mrs. Wright was going to knot rather than quilt the patchwork quilt. Glaspell used symbolism as clues to the murderer's motive that only the women were able to figure out, and in turn kept the motive of the murderer a secret due to the bond of women. One example of symbolism seen in the play is with the dead canary bird. As the women were in the process of gathering Mrs. Wright’s belongings from the kitchen, they came upon a Mumtaz 2 bird cage with a broken door, and a missing bird. As they continued on with their task, the... ... middle of paper ... ...lt it. She was going to-what is it you call it, ladies?" (603) Mrs. Hale replied, "We call it-knot it, Mr. Henderson," (603). The ladies knew that Mrs. Wright killed her husband by tying a rope around his neck, but they weren't going to indulge the men with that information. The women were not going to tell because; the women had begun to build a bond, and knew that exposing the evidence would in turn prove that Mrs. Wright was guilty. Symbolism was a key part to this short play. Glaspell used it throughout the drama to exemplify the bonds between women. She used certain concepts that only the women of that time could understand and appreciate to show the knowledge women held. The men in the play didn't understand the significance of the flawed patchwork quilt, and the empty birdcage, they just assumed that these things were trifles and could be passed over.
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
In the play, there was a lot of foreshadowing and anaphora. The major symbols in the play that stand out to me was the bird, quilt and apron. The bird symbols as revenge and love. Mrs. Wright loved her pet bird as a child but when John Wright killed the bird, she could not think of a more fitting revenge than killing him. Mrs. Peters ' sense of empathy, as she recalls having had similar feelings many years ago when a boy killed her kitten. For these women, the pain that results from the death of a loved one is the resolute for revenge. The symbol of the quilt represents the easy way out, when Mrs. Hale said “we call it –Knot it, Mr. Henderson”. When someone is making a quilt, the “quilt” style is the longer hand detailed way of making a quilt whereas the “Knot” style is the easy, short and fast way of making a quilt. The quilt is foreshadowing the murder of John Wright and how Mrs. Wright took the easy way out from the loneliness and suffering of the emotional abuse, by tying a rope around John Wright neck into a knot. The apron is a symbol for the domestic housewives to stay in the kitchen the role that women had to play during that
In the play “Trifles,” Susan Glaspell deconstructs the marginalization of women in a world dominated by male ideology. Glaspell evokes the reader to question the value of men and women’s perspectives by creating a suspense-filled drama that unfolds through the development of their two distinct narratives. As the investigation takes place, Mrs. Wright is not present or able to speak for herself. In this way, she is marginalized, as we rely on Mr. Hale’s testimony of their conversation as well as any evidence that remains in the home where the murder took place. In the first scene, the reader is introduced to Mrs. Wright’s kitchen.
The play begins with Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale entering the farmhouse behind the men and keeping close to the door (1384). Their actions are symbolic of the culture that men are deemed superior to women -- men first, and women follow. Before “Ms.” or the hyphenated surname, women are pleasured to be known as “Mrs.” and the surnames of their husbands. Once married, the woman loses her identity. However, Glaspell refers to Mrs. Wright as “Minnie;” the other women are identified as extensions of their husbands, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. By killing her husband Minnie has liberated herself of that bond and has earned her own identity. Minnie’s apron is also symbolic. In Hale’s rendition of the facts, he speaks of Minnie’s “pleating her apron” as she tells him of her husband’s demise (1385). This nervous action is indicative of her state of mind, but more importantly, it symbolizes the “pleating” or “folding” of the life she has known. She asks for her apron as she sits in her jail cell, attempting to cling to her identity as a woman and wife (1388). Hale further describes discovering Minnie rocking back and forth in her rocker (1384). She later moves “off her rocker” to the chair, symbolizing her state of mind after the incident (1385). The women uncover Minnie’s sewing basket and find patches of quilt she is stitching. They
The evidence regarding to Mrs. Wright criminal misconduct was concealed in secrecy by the alliance of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, for they were not realizing that hiding evidence would do more harm than good for Minnie wright’s behalf, because of their attitude of achieving an exclusive quality than there husband’s, to prove that they can do just as much as the men or more and neglecting in actually saving Mrs. Wright from custody Mael has proclaimed “Minnie’s trifles raise the consciousness of both women especially Mrs. Peters moving them from awareness to anger to action” (Mael 282). Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters overlooked on how to correctly handle the investigation, instead the men senselessly point out the inferiority of women, and insulting their capabilities to become as equal as the men. The outcome of the Investigation revealed to be a catastrophe, because the male officials presumed that Minnie Wright was the victim that committed the crime I n murdering her husband Mr. wright as they didn’t obtain any leads or information to know if she did it or not. The women immediately began collecting all of Mrs. Wrights belongs including the evidence that will get Mrs. Wright accused for the Murder. As the men’s insults on Mrs. Wright famine housekeeping capabilities made the unease causing them to devastate the crime
Glaspell exposed how this dominance can be physically and mentally damaging to the women by displaying the sexist interactions between males and females. According to the article “Representations of Rural Women in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles”, Raja Al-Khalili states “Susan Glaspell used domestic violence as a motif to arouse questions concerning motives that lead women, who are relegated to the house, to become physical aggressors.” (132) Glaspell uses hidden clues such as the men having important professions, and how these professions play a huge role in the hierarchy of male dominance. These specific professions were being the town’s sheriff and the court appointed attorney. Another example, in the beginning of the play, Glaspell uses great imagery to show us the men stand by the stove and the women by the door during a cold time. This essays demonstrates the changes the characters underwent and displays the physical and mental damage that Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Wright, and Mrs. Peters endured during this male central
In the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, the symbols of the unfinished quilt and the canary are used to polarize the perspective between the relationship of John Wright and Minnie Foster. The canary being the last resemblance of Minne’s freedom and identity which is stripped away by Mr. Wright due to his inability to recognize the relationship is one of oppression and displeasure ultimately leading to his death. The symbols illustrate blindness of the patriarchal society that suppressed females from aspirations and contentment can only be viewed through the perspective of another woman.
“Susan Glaspell, however; sought to represent the lives and hardships of the simple rural women residing in various regions in America and forgotten by society (Al-Khalil, 132). The first major theme of ‘Trifles” is female identity. During the play, the men make agreements in which females get their identity from their husbands, which is the dominating gender. To give an illustration, the County Attorney states, “No, Mrs. Peters doesn’t need supervising. For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way Mrs. Peters?” (Booth, 758). Meanwhile, Mrs. Peters says, “Not---just that way” (Booth, 758). Her statement suggests that as the play continues, she finds an alternate view of her individuality that relates more to her womanhood, than her marriage to her husband Henry Peters. Furthermore, Mrs. Hale concludes that the murder of Mr. Wright was a way for Mrs. Wright to leave her husband’s shadow and have an identity of her own, since women only received one from their husbands. The point of the matter is women want to have their own identity instead of receiving one through another person.
The play was filled with symbols, especially the broken cage and the dead bird, which could have
“Without plotting any collaboration, the women instinctively conceal the dead bird in the sewing basket and make excuses to divert the men’s attention” (Zaidman). Both women react, and hide the canary from the men. This action was a small rebellion from their husbands, which at the time, was extremely rare. “‘No, Peters,’ said the county attorney incisively; ‘it’s all perfectly clear, except the reason for doing it… If there was some definite thing- something to show./In a covert way Mrs. Hale looked at Mrs. Peters. Mrs. Peters was looking at her. Quickly they looked away from each other” (Glaspell) The women realize here that they were holding evidence that would give Mrs. Wright motive, and make the case against her. Instead of handing over the canary to the men, they hide it, and that small action represents women fighting back from the oppressive and misogyny of that
Trifles by Susan Glaspell tackles the problems of the patriarchal systems that women have lived in. The focus of Trifles is bringing the oppression of women to the public. However, I believe that understanding the different roles men played in Trifles and will give a new perspective of the trials women went through in this proto-feminist play. As such, this essay will explore the roles men played in the lives of women. Specifically, what aspects of the writing illustrate the implied authority of men and the active oppression over Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. In addition, interesting aspects of the subtexts are found in metaphors and motifs of the text. These metaphors are indicative of the behaviors women had to attain in response to male dominance. Finally, by analyzing the relationship of the antagonist against protagonist and where the chracters sit on the axis of conflict
In the early half of the twentieth century, the ever changing environment and culture allow men to have greater economic and social independence from nineteenth-century customs. But in this era of change, many women were still bound by the inequities of the nineteenth century.In contrast to this stark reality, Susan Glaspell in her single act play, Trifles; seeks to shed a light on the inequalities in the lives of women. Glaspell uses the overlying theme of social injustice, as a critic against the system of patriarchy in this era. Trifles is set in a rural farm town during a murder investigation. Minnie Wright neé Foster is the prime suspect in the murder of her husband John Wright. The local county attorney, sheriff and a neighbour to the Wrights; come to the house to
The theme of the play,”Trifles,”by Susan Glaspell, is demonstrated through the situation of a woman revolting in a society dominated by males.
One woman’s Trifles is another man’s clues. The play Trifles, was written by Susan Glaspell based on the murder of John Hossack, which Susan reported on while working as a news journalist for Des Moines Daily News. Susan Glaspell was an American Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, actress, novelist, journalist, and founder of the Provincetown Players. She has written nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories, and one biography. At 21 she enrolled at Drake University even after the prevailing belief that college make women unfit for marriage. But many don’t know that her work was only published after the death of her husband George Cram Cook. Trifles is an example of a feminist drama. The play shows how male dominance was
Entrenched in irony, the title holds immense significance. It is based on the arrogant, condescending line by Hale, “ well, women are used to worrying about trifles” (1.132). All the things women are reduced to doing—cleaning, cooking, quilting—are deemed insignificant trivialities. Moreover, the men pay little attention to the activities of women, which is a quintessential asset in the play. While the men go off to look in the bedroom where the murder happened, the women stay in the kitchen and other “useless” areas, and end up solving the crime. They look in the kitchen and in bag of quilt pieces and uncover the dark secret that enveloped the Wright home. Putting together clues, they decipher Mr. and Mrs. Wright’s deleterious marriage and the cruelty that possessed Mr. Wright. By worrying about so-called trifles, they ended up solving the crime that the egotistical men could not.