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Battered Women's Movement

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According to the World Health Organization, mental health is defined as a “state of well-being in which every individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community” (“Mental Health”). Mental health is an important aspect of a person’s life from childhood to adulthood. It affects a person’s mood, behavior and a person’s thought process. Biological factors and life experiences are elements that can impact an individual’s mental health. Examples of such elements are trauma and abuse (“What is Mental Health”). In the play, Trifles, Mrs. Minnie Wright was the unseen main character and her actions were the main subject. She was …show more content…
There was a lack of facilities and organizations that could assist victims of abuse try to escape as they would need financial and psychological support. The first battered woman shelter in the United States opened in 1973, about 73 years later than the approximated time period Trifles was concluded to occur in (“History of Battered Women’s Movement”). This proves that leaving the abusive relationship would be impractical as there would be nowhere else to go. John Wright isolated Minnie to the point where she had no social contact with people she used to know fondly. Therefore, if Minnie attempt to leave, she would not have the support of anyone since her relationships would have declined from the lack of contact. Studies have also found that the victims of abuse tend to have a mixture of fear and anger when they respond with violence as an act of rebellion or retribution (Colvin and Mackenzie 19). For Mrs. Wright, it could be defined as both. In a sense of rebellion, Minnie murdered her husband because she was tired of living under his control. The killing of the canary was the last straw for Minnie because she noticed how far his authority extended and how much freedom was taken from her. Minnie would also want to avenge the canary now that it was her only companion in the lonely farmhouse and represented who she once was. Further, victims of abuse are more prone to use weapons when they attack their abusers, even when their abusers are unarmed because they tend to believe that there is an unequal amount of strength in the relationship. This explains why Minnie took action while John was asleep because he wasn’t able to fight back. He was at his most vulnerable state and Mrs. Wright used that to her

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