Themes Of Justice And Justice In Trifles By Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell uses theme to develop “Trifles.” Themes of justice, male superiority, and female identity uncover truths within characters and establish the playwright’s own thoughts. By the time we reach the end of the play, the themes are all interwoven and impossible to separate. “Trifles,” at first glance, is a story about a murder. However, most murder stories usually end with a murderer behind bars. “Trifles,” shows that justice itself is complicated, not so black and white. Through their discovery of the dead pet bird, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find evidence that serves as motive for Minnie’s killing of her husband. The also realize, that it also somewhat justifies her act. They understand that Minnie’s act was not murder, but her escape. Her husband’s killing of her bird became the culmination of her social oppression. Mrs. Hale blames herself for not supporting her neighbor, while the men continue to fail to take responsibility for their crimes against women. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters hide the evidence of Minnie’s act because the legal system cannot begin to understand or appropriately punish the crimes that have

In the beginning, whenever Mrs. Hale criticizes the men for their heavy-handed investigation, Mrs. Peters apologizes for them. However, Mrs. Hale convinces her that real justice would be the punishment of anyone who had neglected and isolated Minnie. In a world where women had no say in the creation of the laws, this questions whether women should be expected to follow laws that they were never given a say in. The unfolding evidence unites the women and their need to support each other. It highlights the division between "woman 's concept of justice,” which entails "social" and "individual influences, together with the details that shaped the specific act," and "[t]he prevailing law [which] is general, and therefore . . . inapplicable to the specific case (Alkalay-Gut;