Relationships in Trifles Essay - 1291 Words

Susan Glaspells play Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. It also talks about the stereotypes that women faced. The play takes place in Wrights country farmhouse as the men of the play, the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale, search for evidence as to the identity and, most importantly, the motive of the murderer. The attorney, with the intensions of proving that Mrs. Wright choked the husband to death, was interviewing Mr. Hale on what he saw when he came in to the house. The women, on the other hand, were just there to get some clothing for the wife who was in jail for suspected murder of her husband. However, the clues which would lead them to the answer†¦show more content†¦The men, though, laugh at the womens wonderings about the quilt. To them it is of little importance. Likewise, the bird and its cage are easily dismissed. In fact, the men just as easily believe a lie about this bird and c age. When the cage is noticed, its broken door overlooked, the county attorney asks, Has the bird flown? Mrs. Peters replies that the cat got it (360). There is actually no such cat, but the men do not know that and never question the existence of it. The bird, however, is vital to the case. Mr. Wright killed the bird, Minnies bird, which may have provoked her to then kill him. In addition, the strangling of Mr. Wright, a form of murder which perplexes all when a gun was handy, is reminiscent of the strangling of that bird. It is another answer to the mens questions, but an answer they never find. The women, on the other hand, take note of all they see. They notice not only the bird, the cage, and the quilt but other things that the men call trifles, like Minnies frozen preserves and her request for her apron and shawl. These women are united; it seems, not only as country wives or as neighbors but on the basic level of womanhood. This is apparent from the start of the play. Mrs. Ha le and Mrs. Peters stand close together near the door, emotionally bonded throughout the play and, here, physically, in a way, too. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters also have a kinship to Minnie, just as to each other. They respect her work as a homemaker. Mrs.Show MoreRelated Symbolic Illustration of the Power of Relationships in Susan Glaspells Trifles1189 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolic Illustration of the Power of Relationships in Susan Glaspells Trifles A friend can be a remarkable thing. Unfortunately, many lack the powerful bonds that all humans need to survive and lead healthy, happy lives. In Susan Glaspells play Trifles, Mrs. Wright is starved of the human interaction and relationships she so desperately needs. Consequently, she is never rescued from her loneliness, is brought to the point where she cannot handle any more of lifes saddening struggles, andRead More Comparing Relationships in Susan Glaspells Trifles and Cherrie Moragas Giving Up the Ghost1425 Words   |  6 PagesFemale Relationships in Susan Glaspells Trifles and Cherrie Moragas Giving Up the Ghost The plays Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, and Giving Up the Ghost, by Cherrie Moraga, focus on womens interaction in various contexts. Despite the seventy-eight years between their performance dates and the drastic difference in settings and narrative content, the main female characters are comparable, as Mrs. Hale, in Trifles, points out, We all go through the same things -- its just a different kind ofRead MoreTiffles Annotated Bibliography1375 Words   |  6 PagesTrifles Annotated Bibliography Alkalay-Gut, Karen. Jury of Her Peers: The Importance of Trifles. Studies in Short Fiction 21 (Winter 1984): 1-9. In this deeper look into Trifles, Karen goes through the plot and discusses what you should pay more attention too. She describes the symbolism in some of the objects as well as explain the scenes and their little details. Karen finds the difference between male and female perceptions of judgment to be central to the play. She explains that youRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers995 Words   |  4 Pagestreated as second class citizens to men. Susan Glaspell wrote the play â€Å"Trifles,† in 1916, which portrayed how women’s lives were seen as less significant throughout American society. The following year, Glaspell wrote the short story â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers,† which was essentially a longer and more detailed version of â€Å"Trifles.† The stories are alike in many societal implications, since â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† was based off of â€Å"Trifles.† However, they also have some notable differences. The most strikingRead Mo reSusan Glaspell s Trifles And A Jury Of Her Peers984 Words   |  4 Pages Although â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† and â€Å"Trifles† are similar in plot, Mustazza’s article, â€Å"Generic Translation and Thematic Shift in Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ and ‘A Jury of Her Peers’† highlights the differences and similarities between the two. Mustazza’s article may help aid readers to understand the differences between Glaspell’s two works and provide understanding as to why Glaspell may have changed the genre and form of the plot. â€Å"Trifles† is a dramatic play whereas â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† is proseRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell1016 Words   |  5 PagesPerspective: Readers Response Criticism to â€Å"Trifles† by Susan Glaspell The play written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 is based on the murder of John Wright where the prime suspect is his spouse; Minnie Foster. â€Å"Trifles† is fixated on the investigation of the social division realized by the strict gender roles that enable the two men and women to have contending points of view on practically every issue. This is found in the way the men view the kitchen as they consider it as not having anything of significantRead More Trifles by Susan Keating Glaspell Essay1244 Words   |  5 PagesTrifles by Susan Keating Glaspell Mention the word feminist and most people think of the modern womens movement. Long before the bra burning of the 60’s, however, writers were writing about the lives and concerns of women living in a male dominated society. Susan Glaspells play, Trifles, was written in 1916, long before the modern womens movement began. Her story reveals, through Glaspells use of formal literary proprieties, the role that women are expected to play in society, and the harmRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1732 Words   |  7 Pageswork dealt with the relationships between men and women and the negative effects they have on women. In Glaspell s play Trifles, it is revealed that the operations of patriarchy are just an illusion that men have created to make themselves feel superior to women. Even though, at the time of this play, all of these aspects (economic, political, social and psychological) appeared to be male-dominated because they held these roles that women were not allowed to have . Trifles was written in 1916Read MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1577 Words   |  7 Pagesfeminism are published. One of those is ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell as the American feminist movement addressed feminism at that time (Manuel, 57). There are several factors in Trifles representing the disadvantages of absence of feminism and the importance of feminism such as setting and situation. First, the setting, a first factor, implies the importance of feminism. In Trifles, the main setting is an isolated rural farmhouse. From the line 9 in Trifles, Mr.Hale mentioned the husband as a passiveRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Essay956 Words   |  4 Pagesbook The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson and the play, Trifles by Susan Glaspell were written both literary pieces dealt in depravity. The two main genres engage in violent acts with no remorse. Both genres reveal emotional turmoil, that’s the battle within their mind and soul, taken pleasure in immoral behaviors. Although The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Trifles are genres depicting male and female depravity, they are alike and different in social