Trifles By Susan Glaspell Analysis

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In today’s society, many women are powerful, independent, and for the most part treated equal to men, but before the 1920's women were restrained by the men. Imagine what being a woman in this era would be like. In Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles,” she addresses the life of women in the 1900’s by examining the marital relationships among the characters, specifically between Mrs. Wright and Mr. Wright, the Sheriff and Mrs. Peters, and last Mr. Hale and Mrs. Hale. Glaspell accomplishes this by separating the husbands and wives into different rooms in the home of the Wrights, leaving the women all together in the living room and kitchen, which is where they find the crime scene evidence. The point being is that the men did not consider what the …show more content…

The characters Antigone and Ismene differentiate what a woman is told to do to follow the law and what is morally right. Antigone chooses to position her life in danger for the good of the family, while Ismene follows the law, not to upset her uncle even though her brothers are dead. Sophocles’s play could have influenced Glaspell by the themes, motifs, and the conversing between characters that are used in Antigone; specifically how someone else tells the main character’s story. Also the men in her play are the authority figures of the women, which could represent Creon in Antigone. Overall, Glaspell writes based on Sophocles themes, pattern, and main points, she just changes the story. Glaspell and Sophocles's play represent civil disobedience to the laws and social structure of the era because they utilize motifs, symbolism, and thematic …show more content…

He uses civil disobedience and moral righteousness as a motif with Antigone and Ismene; specifically how the two sisters have different opinions towards the dead of their brothers. Antigone is prepared to take full responsibility and be punished for burying Polyneices, for the sake of doing the right thing for the family, on the other hand, Ismene judges her and strongly disagrees because the law says its wrong. The symbolism of the tomb that Creon chooses to bury Antigone alive in is that the tomb was first made for her brother; my understanding is that this represents close ties to the family and the natural order of death since family is nearby. Finally, several themes are present in this play such as natural law, loyalty, freedom, and also civil disobedience. Creon thinks he is the one that makes all the decisions regarding the law, but Antigone does not follow his laws. Instead she does what is morally right, which is what natural law is. However, most people during the era of this play are obedient and willing to follow the laws of the king, but for some like Antigone, family is more important. Family loyalty is a major theme in the play mainly because she chooses family over, the king and commits suicide to display devotion to her beliefs and family. Last, civil disobedience is a main point due to the fact that laws were formed for citizens to obey no matter if the subject was right or wrong

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