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"TRIFLES."
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Gender issues in Susan Glaspell's one-act play.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Gender issues in Susan Glaspell's one-act play. How women and men look differently at the world, at one another, and at circumstances. Plot involving women cover-up of a murder to protect an abused wife. Women as more aware of the nuances of their environment then men.
Paper Introduction:
What Women Know
In Susan Glaspell’s one act play, Trifles, the reader or
audience is challenged to recognize that men and women “know” and learn in different ways. In the play, a crime has been committed in which John Wright, who has been known to be “a hard man…. Like a raw wind that gets to the bone" (Glaspell, p. 463) has been found dead in his own bed with a rope around his neck. His wife, the former Minnie Foster, has been arrested for the murder. The sheriff, county attorney, and a man named Hale have come to the Wright farm to investigate the circumstances of what is clearly a murder. They are accompanied by the sheriff’s wife and Mrs. Hale who learn why the murder has occurred simply because as women they are more aware of the nuances of their
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Work CitedGlaspell, Susan. Peters and Mrs. Hale learned that Mrs. Wright once owned a bird,probably a canary, that made her somewhat bleak life more bearable. She was going to bury it in that pretty box"(Glaspell, p. In Judith A. Mrs. Hale realizes that the motive for the crime is simple: "sheused to sing. What Glaspell is suggesting in this play is that men and women lookdifferently at the world, at one another, and at circumstances. Stanford, Editor. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters see in the farm house, the story of alonely woman whose life has been dedicated to joyless tasks and whose onlycompanion is a man who cares so little for her feelings that he kills herpet canary. They understand, as the men do not, that the murder of the bird wasthe final straw that drove a downtrodden woman to extreme action. Becausethe men have denigrated Mrs. Wright and her housekeeping and alsopatronized Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, these two women conspire to hideevidence and literally "take the side" of a sister despite knowing that shehas committed murder. 461). Trifles. They realize that John Wright has probably killed the bird and that hiswife "liked the bird. 463) has been found dead in his own bed with arope around his neck. 461), there wasvery much a cause for anger and even possibly for murder. A woman has been driven to murder after 3 years of living with a manwho can at best be called unfeeling and at worst understood to be cruel.The males - the sheriff, the county attorney, and a neighboring farmer - donot see the same things that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters see. Because theyare men and do not understand the lives and feelings of women, they fail torecognize that even a quiet and somewhat repressed woman can reach a pointat which violence is the only possible response. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, having found the broken bird cage and thebody of the dead bird, understand at once what has taken place. The women remain in the kitchen as the men, puffed up with selfimportance, examine the scene of the crime while patronizing both of thewomen whom they have brought to assist in their investigation. Responding to Literature. The mensearch the bedroom and casually look at the mess that has been left in thekitchen but fail to find any clues that will tell them why a seeminglynormal farmer's wife would suddenly take a rope and strangle her husband intheir own bed. Becausethis is the case, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters come to understand far moreabout the crime that has been committed and the motive for that crime.Mrs. Not only do they find the bird cage with a broken door, they alsofind a pretty box with the body of a small bird whose neck has been broken. While the men are attempting to find evidence, thewomen find an explanation of what may have driven a submissive woman tocommit murder. 466), she also elects to ensure that the evidencethat might convict Mrs. Wright is hidden from the eyes of the men. 455-466. The sheriff, county attorney, and a man namedHale have come to the Wright farm to investigate the circumstances of whatis clearly a murder. Havingcriticized the housekeeping of the dead man's wife and denigrated both Mrs.Peters and Mrs. Hale for their comments about the state of the kitchen andthe fact that the accused woman's jam has frozen, the men fail to recognizethat the explanation for the crime is literally right under their noses. Theyfind a bird cage that looks "as if someone must have been rough with it"(Glaspell, p. What this says about men and women is that they look at things in adifferent way and therefore gain different knowledge. While Mrs. Hale, herself a farm wife and a childhood friend of Mrs.Wright, has little hesitancy in hiding the evidence, Mrs. Peters, as thewife of the sheriff is not quite so easy in her mind about doing this.However, when Mrs. Peters is described by the county attorney as "marriedto the law" (Gaspell, p. 464). What Women Know In Susan Glaspell's one act play, Trifles, the reader oraudience is challenged to recognize that men and women "know" and learn indifferent ways. Mrs. Peters begins to understand that Minnie Wright,whose husband undoubtedly killed a bird that provided her with a spot ofcheer in an otherwise solitary and lonely life, simply took revenge on herhusband. He killed that, too" (Glaspell, p. 462). In the play, a crime has been committed in which JohnWright, who has been known to be "a hard man.... Like a raw wind that getsto the bone" (Glaspell, p. New York: McGraw Hill, 2 3, pp. They are accompanied by the sheriff's wife and Mrs.Hale who learn why the murder has occurred simply because as women they aremore aware of the nuances of their environment than are the men. Perhapsmore significantly, they choose to hide this evidence and to thereby ensurethat there will be insufficient motive presented at the trial Mrs. Wrightwill undergo. 464). Though the men inthis play believe and are correct in their belief that Mrs. Wright musthave murdered her husband, they are not able to grasp why she would havedone this. His wife, the former Minnie Foster, has beenarrested for the murder. Peters recognizes that "what was needed for the case was a motive;something to show anger, or - sudden feeling" (Glaspell, p. The women, on the other hand, quickly become conscious that althoughthere are no "signs of anger around here" (Glaspell, p. By simplyexamining the state of the kitchen and looking into cabinets and closets,Mrs.
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