1. The play unravels in a dreary setting of a ramshackle farmhouse. The “unwashed pans under the sink… loaf of bread outside the breadbox… dish towel on the table” (1386) elevate its mysterious theme. The dark atmosphere extends throughout the entire play. It is consistent with the obscurity of the plot, as the story finishes without a denouement.
2. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not stand by the fire, where the men discuss the case. They try to shun their curiosity, and instead, busy their minds with trifles. This resembles the social norms, which constrain women to lower standards than those of the opposite gender. While the men surround the flames, heated by the importance of their work, the women “stand close together near the door” (1386).
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The men take themselves really seriously, but disparage the women’s actions. Mr. Henderson laughs a few times at the women’s worrying over trifles. He labels them only as housewives, making fun of their worries yet stating “what would we do without the ladies,” (1389) almost sarcastically. This is a mere reflection of how society perceives women at the time. The attitude towards them is highly condescending. Glaspell shows how women are affected by these judgments, even though they uncovered the most significant clue of the murder case.
9. Trifles is a feminist drama, after all. If the men’s pursuit of the case took more stage time, the slight yet subtle notions of the women would not have been seen, thus the play would have lost its purpose. The lack of appearance of the men, allows the audience to take an unconventional look at an otherwise worn-out detective story. The audience is able to join the women in focusing over trifles, which later prove major to the
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As Mr. Hale describes what he observed to the county attorney, he slips critical information about how he “didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” (1387). Mr. Henderson ignores this seeming “trifle,” which in fact is another clue as to why Mrs. Wright killed her husband. This irony of rather crucial trifles, extends throughout the play. “Nothing here but kitchen things” (1388), claims the sheriff, failing to realize the importance of the neglected kitchen. Similar to the kitchen and the rest of the “trifles,” in the society where the play takes place, and based on its norms, women are thought of as nothing more than housewives. They must be treated well, but are never taken seriously, as they “are used to worrying over trifles” (1389). This extended irony serves as a reminder that just like the dead bird and untidy house, women, needless to state, can be just as significant and deft as men, if given the same opportunity, and held to the same
A lack of cultural awareness or the assumption by one cultural group that another is inferior often results in painful and personal and social encounters. Consider the characters in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles. During a short visit to the Wrights, Mr. Hale found Mrs. Wright behaving strangely, after purportedly finding her husband with a rope around the neck. The incident ultimately became the talk of the town. Some were accusing Mrs. Wright of murdering her husband. Mrs. Wright of course denied the allegation, arguing that she was asleep when someone broke into her home and murdered her husband. While the men were blinded by their relentless and often emotionless inquiry of the murder case, the women sympathized with Minnie, the wife of the
What was the predominant image of women and women’s place in medieval society? Actual historical events, such as the scandal and subsequent litigation revolving around Anna Buschler which Steven Ozment detail’s in the Burgermeisters Daughter, suggests something off a compromise between these two literary extremes. It is easy to say that life in the sixteenth century was surely no utopia for women but at least they had some rights.
Susan Glaspell's Trifles explores the classical male stereotype of women by declaring that women frequently worry about matters of little, or no importance. This stereotype makes the assumption that only males are concerned with important issues, issues that females would never discuss or confront. The characters spend the entirety of the play searching for clues to solve a murder case. Ironically, the female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, uncover crucial evidence and solve the murder case, not the male characters. The men in the play, the Sheriff, County Attorney, and Hale, search the scene of the crime for evidence on their own, and mock the women's discussions. The women's interest in the quilt, broken bird cage door, and dead canary, all of which are assumed to be unimportant or trifling objects, is what consequentially leads to their solving of the crime. The women are able to discover who the killer is by paying attention to detail, and prove that the items which the men consider insignificant are important after all.
During this time period women were not respected at all and were belittled by all med in their lives. Even though men don’t appreciate what women they still did as they were told. In particular, “Women have an astoundingly long list of responsibilities and duties – th...
Social gender separations are displayed in the manner that men the view Wright house, where Mr. Wright has been found strangled, as a crime scene, while the women who accompany them clearly view the house as Mrs. Wright’s home. From the beginning the men and the women have are there for two separate reasons —the men, to fulfill their duties as law officials, the women, to prepare some personal items to take to the imprisoned Mrs. Wright. Glaspell exposes the men’s superior attitudes, in that they cannot fathom women to making a contribution to the investigation. They leave them unattended in a crime scene. One must question if this would be the same action if they were men. The county attorney dismisses Mrs. Hale’s defenses of Minnie as “l...
Women were expected to fulfill a purely domestic role and act merely as the property of their husbands – for instance, the women are known by their married titles ‘Mrs. Peters’, ‘Mrs. Hale’, thus are given very little personal individuality to reflect their restricted status. The Sherriff dismisses looking through the kitchen as it was typically seen as a women’s workplace and unimportant to men: “Nothing here but kitchen things”. This is ironic as it is where the women find the clues that lead to finding a motive for Mrs. Wright’s crime, which immediately shows that although Glaspell is writing to undermine women, she is belittling the male’s intelligence rather than the women and criticising male’s place within society and their
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.
This is proven through the lines, "Oh, well," said Mrs. Hale's husband, with good-natured superiority, "women are used to worrying over trifles."The two women moved a little closer together. Neither of them spoke. The county attorney seemed suddenly to remember his manners--and think of his future."And yet," said he, with the gallantry of a young politician. "for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies?" The lines stated above reveal that Mr. Henderson and Mr. Hale have a really general view of women. By Mr. Hale mentioning the trifles, one can see that they see women as something that belongs in the kitchen and believe that they worry about small things that prove to be of no utter importance. By the part of the quote stating, “ The women moved a little closer. Neither of them spoke”, it is clear to see the amount of intimidation and fear these women feel for their husbands. In addition, the oppressive tone can also be identified through the quote, “Do you suppose she was going to quilt it or just knot it?" The sheriff threw up his hands."They wonder whether she was going to quilt it or just knot it!"There was a laugh for the ways of women.” Once again, the men are being ignorant towards the important role of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. As it may seem that the two women are speaking of subjects that were
In today’s society, we generally view upon everyone as equal; however this view did not exist for decades. Throughout history, there were many instances showing that men dominated women and women were often seen as left with less important or treated as an inferior being. Women were often expected to be good mothers to their children as well as caretakers to their husband. After reading the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, I was able to grasp the important facts about social views of women and their domestic roles. Glaspell’s play depicts the gender inequality which exists in the society, drawing significant attention to the societal values of women at that time. Although women’s roles are treated as unimportant, she depicts women’s devotion that lies with each other and emphasizes how they survive the patriarchal society.
...spect differently and side with their respective sexes. Glaspell intends these men and women to be representatives of their sexes. She shows the differences between men and women and their pros and cons. Most importantly, Glaspell shows the reader that the differences between men and women are definitely not "trifles".
"Trifles," a one-act play written by Susan Glaspell, is a cleverly written story about a murder and more importantly, it effectively describes the treatment of women during the early 1900s. In the opening scene, we learn a great deal of information about the people of the play and of their opinions. We know that there are five main characters, three men and two women. The weather outside is frighteningly cold, and yet the men enter the warm farmhouse first. The women stand together away from the men, which immediately puts the men against the women. Mrs. Hale?s and Mrs. Peters?s treatment from the men in the play is reflective of the beliefs of that time. These women, aware of the powerless slot that has been made for them, manage to use their power in a way that gives them an edge. This power enables them to succeed in protecting Minnie, the accused. "Trifles" not only tells a story, it shows the demeaning view the men have for the women, the women?s reaction to man?s prejudice, and the women?s defiance of their powerless position.
"The boundaries which divide Life and Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where one ends, and where the other begins?" Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial (Bartlett, 642). To venture into the world of Edgar Allan Poe is to embark on a journey to a land filled with perversities of the mind, soul, and body. The joyless existence carved out by his writings is one of lost love, mental anguish, and the premature withering of his subjects. Poe wrote in a style that characterized the sufferings he endured throughout in his pitiful life. From the death of his parents while he was still a child, to the repeated frailty of his love life, to the neuroses of his later years, his life was a ceaseless continuum of one mind-warping tragedy after another.
The first source, Christine de Pizan’s book ‘The Treasure of The City of Ladies’ contains a handful of sections on how differing demographics of women, elderly, young, property owning, should behave in order to cultivate a virtuous character and play the role of mediator between conflicting parties. It should be mentioned that this is definitely a prescriptive source, not an accurate portrayal of what was actually happening at the time, simply an ideal of what the author wanted to be happening and potentially observed. The document addresses women of middle and lower class in how they should be forging relations with both other women and men as a demographic. It has been contended that medieval shared “striking” similarities in experiences with class despite other cultural differences. Christine herself was a famous intellectual in the 13th c...
As soon as the county attorney, the sheriff, his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Hale walk into the Wrights house there is a clear division of power between the men and the women. The men walked in with harsh faces ready to get the job done, while the women plan on just sitting in the kitchen by the fire so that they can stay warm. The men surpass the kitchen on the way to the bedroom which is where Mr. Hale found Mr. Wrights dead body. The sheriff even made a comment saying: “Nothing here but kitchen things” (1414). While he was disrespectfully kicking around pots and pans and making comments criticizing Mrs. Wrights housekeeping sills. These remarks set the stage for the rest of the story and introduce to the readers the roles that women in society at this time were supposed to live by.
Susan Glaspell’s Trifles explores the unequal relationship between men and women in the early 20th century. How do you think the power relationship between the two genders was reversed at the end of the play? In the 20th century females were just meant to be at home, taking care of the house, making sure everything ran smooth. Women weren’t allowed to vote. They couldn’t go out alone. A women’s place was behind her husband and making sure he looked good, in every aspect. Weather it was political or not. The way they weren’t supposed to dress was extremely different, they weren’t allowed to go out showing skin. At the start of the play we see how the detective states that the house isn’t as clean as it should be. The jars in the kitchen