Trifles by Susan Glaspell Essay - 925 Words

Sister Love The play entitled â€Å"Trifles,† by Susan Glaspell, begins as a murder mystery that turns into a drama as the story unfolds. The story is focused on the investigation of a murder that took place in a farm house. The investigators, who are all men, are in the farm house looking for forensic evidence to help them solve the murder. The wives of two of the investigators are there to retrieve personal items for the wife of the victim. Mrs. Wright, who is the wife of the victim, is in jail as the primary suspect of her husband’s murder. When the story begins, all the characters are in the kitchen engaging in small talk. One of the investigators is criticizing the state of the kitchen by complaining that it is dirty and†¦show more content†¦The behavior of men towards women in a patriarchal society is described by Manju when she describes society in India by stating, â€Å"In Indian society stress is given to create female persona for different stages, docile daughters, chase and obedient wives and sacrificing mothers. The only domain ascribed to female is to fit in this good daughter, good wife and good mother criteria. Husband and wife are considered soul mates. But man assumes himself superior to woman, and he never tries to create emotional bonding with his wife, to understand her wishes or act according to her consent† (234). The rest of this paper will analyze the effects that male dominance had on the women. Throughout the story, the constant criticism of the women’s behavior by the men caused the female characters to develop a kinship and bond; they form a sisterhood. In one of the scenes, the attorney is angry that the towels in the kitchen are dirty. He kicks some pans that are under the sink and accuses Mrs. Wright (the victim’s wife) of not being a good house keeper. Mrs. Hale, one of the women, reminds the attorney that towels get dirty because men’s hands aren’t always clean. At first we suspect that the two women are friends but when the attorney asks her if they were friends Mrs. Hale responds by saying â€Å"I’ve not seen much of her of late years. I’ve not been in this house—it’s more than a year.† After the men leave, Mrs. Hale reorganizes the pans thatShow MoreRelatedTrifles, By Susan Glaspell Essay2136 Words   |  9 Pagesprimarily of a domestic nature. Trifles by Susan Glaspell indicates that a man†™s perspective is entirely different from a woman’s. The one-act play, Trifles, is a murder mystery which examines the lives of rural, middle-aged, married, women characters through gender relationships, power between the sexes, and the nature of truth. The play, written in the early 1900s, long before the women’s movement and while men considered women their possessions. In the story of Trifles, it is easy to recognize theRead MoreTrifles by Susan Glaspell1158 Words   |  5 PagesAnalytical Essay on Drama Trifles by Susan Glaspell Heidi Barnard South University Trifles’ By Susan Glaspell I believe had several small defining moments leading to the one larger defining moment, which brings together all of them together. The defining moment is the discovery of the dead bird hidden in the pretty red box, this leads back to smaller points such as her sewing and the bird cage. â€Å" Here’s some red. I expect this has got sewing things in it. (Brings out a fancy box.) What aRead MoreTrifles By Susan Glaspell1000 Words   |  4 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the author presents a predominant  theme of women and femininity. This theme reflects upon the underlying message of the play, that women are not treated fairly and are not seen in the same light as men. Susan Glaspell demonstrates the common assumptions made by men towards women in terms of roles and degrading their value/insight. Throughout the play, Glaspell provides many instances to where a woman’s value or insight is degraded. Hale demonstrates thisRead MoreTrifles by Susan Glaspell604 Words   |  2 Pages Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a one-act play that explores the theme of the gender roles and social positions of men and women in early twentieth-century America. The play is loosely based on the true event of the murder of John Hossack which Glaspell reported on while working as a news journalist in Iowa. Years later, she used her experiences and observations to create the play. Trifles is about solving the murder case of farmer John Wright. While Mr. Wright was asleep in the night, someoneRead MoreTrifles, By Susan Glaspell1034 Words   |  5 Pagessay goes. The 1912 play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, who was inspired to write this play from a story she covered as a reporter. A murder case is being held and authorities are getting down to it suspecting a woman of killing her husband in his sl eep. The character Mrs. Hale who is neighbors and friends with Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife and Mrs. Wright, the woman accused of the murder of her Husband, Mr. Wright. The character Mrs. Hale, in the Susan Glaspell s play Trifles, is displayed as a empoweringRead MoreTrifles, By Susan Glaspell Essay1469 Words   |  6 PagesSusan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles is based on the murder investigation of John Wright. Minnie Wright’s isolation and the death of her canary are the major factors that led to the murder of her husband. Glaspell stresses the perceived supremacy of males when investigating the murder by giving the men lead roles in the investigation and by making fun of the â€Å"trifles† that the women are choosing to observe. It is ironic because the ordinary items observed by the women were thought of as â€Å"trifles†Read MoreTrifles : Susan Glaspell s Trifles940 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is a trifle? A trifle is something that ha s little to no importance (dictionary.com). For instance, the color of your nails would be considered a trifle. In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, women are criticized and made fun of by men because of the little things they worry about, such as the color of their nails or their hair. This exhibits the gender role difference portrayed during the play’s time period. The central conflict is what the plot is centered around. In Trifles, the central conflictRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1507 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Trifles† is a one act play written by Susan Glaspell in 1916, which was first performed on August 8th by the Provincetown Players in Provincetown, Massachusetts at the Wharf Theater. The author, Susan Glaspell, was born on July 1, 1876 in Davenport, Iowa. Over her lifetime she had become proficient in many different professions: Playwright, Actress, Novelist, and Journalist. For her works, she won an American Pulitzer Prize in 1931. The Provincetown Players was founded by Susan Glaspell and herRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1732 Words   |  7 PagesSusan Glaspell (1876-1948) was an American-born Pulitzer Prize winning writer of both plays and fiction. Glaspell came from humble beginnings and went on to study at Drake University and the University of Chicago. Much of Glaspell s work 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 womenRead MoreTrifles by Susan Glaspell Essay1253 Words   |  6 Pages Susan Glaspell’s most memorable one-act play, Trifles (1916) was based on murder trial case that happened in the 1900’s. Glaspell worked as a reporter, where she appointed a report of a murder case. It was about a farmer, John Hossack who was killed while he was asleep in bed one night. His wife claimed that she was asleep next to him when the attack occurred. No one believed in her statement, she was arrested and was charged on first degree murder. In Trifles, the play takes place at an abandon