...Glaspell, Susan. “Silent Justice in a Different Key: Glaspell's Trifles.” Midwest Quarterly 44.3 (Spring 2003): 282-290. 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2015. Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” is a play that uses deception, yet it seems simple like the title states. Yet it represents conflict between perception and behavior. Exploring the play reveals fundamental between the actions of me and women, the understanding of home space. The county attorney, the sheriff, and a neighbor return to the scene of the crime, attempting to collect evidence. Two of the men's wives accompany them to gather belongings for the jailed woman. In the course of the action, the women accidentally turn up the evidence which the men seek in vain, and the...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...ENGL 2304 Dr. Soto 8 October 2007 Feminism in Trifles In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, a short play about rural life in the early twentieth century, a strong standpoint on feminism is presented to the audience. Throughout the play, much of the plot revolves around contrasting the men in power’s perception of a crime scene with the more subjective, emotional women’s point of view. In the conclusion of the poem, the women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, decline turning in some potential evidence that they have discovered. Their line of reasoning is that they understand the circumstances of the crime: a cruel, oppressive man was killed by his wife because of his wrongdoings. They understand that most likely the man probably deserved his fate, so they do not submit any evidence for the crime to the country attorney and the sheriff. Ethics aside, this action creates a chasm between the perceived implications of the plot of the play versus the actual effect of the play on the audience. In the first sense of the play, there is the literal conclusion. The women outright refuse to give the evidence to the sheriff and the county attorney; instead, they do not even mention that they have “solved” the crime. They end up dismissing it completely. However, attempting to determine the meaning of these actions can be difficult. Looking at the play strictly in a literal sense, the women have apparently done nothing for the cause of feminism. Yes, it is true that the women have silently resisted...
Words: 1361 - Pages: 6
...The title of Susan Glaspell's Trifles is central to the theme of the play in the way that it separates the world of men from the world of women. Mr. Hale's comment about women worrying over trifles is meant to be read almost as an insult. He implies that women are occupied with frivolous things while men are concerned with 'real' things or 'important' things. But women's trifles turn out to be much more significant than the men assume. The county attorney replies "And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies?" (Glaspell, 1413). He says this, but he shows that, in truth, he does not value the women for anything more than their housekeeping abilities, blatantly judging Mrs. Wright for not cleaning her roller towel...
Words: 329 - Pages: 2
...Glenn Klosowski Jr. Professor Barker ENG 102 04 November 2015 An Investigation of "Trifles" Written in 1916, Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” begins as a murder mystery but soon becomes an examination of marriage and domestic life as an institution of repression and suffocation. Minnie is driven to kill her husband; by not providing a specific incident to trigger the murder, the presumption is that it is committed as a result of prolonged and systemic suffering over a period of time, as opposed to a crime of passion. Minnie is not so much murdering John as she is killing her marriage outright. The play rivets attention to Martha and Mrs. Peters, who ultimately solve the murder (although keep this information withheld), by exploring their unique...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...Trifles by Susan Glaspell Trifles, the play demonstrates how different roles were played between men and women and how women were treated. During the period of the late 19th and 20th century women wanted to become more independent and equal as men. In which, Feminist criticism is concerned with "the ways in which literature reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (Tyson). Therefore ladies were just a piece of the social part, being limited to only raise their family and be house spouses. As a result of Glaspell’s experience in the early 20th century, she gives us confining perspectives of women during the time, demonstrating it through her play “Trifles”. Glaspell gives us different points of interest that plays the role of sympathizing and speaking up for the women. In which the title Trifles itself seems to recommend that the play...
Words: 1330 - Pages: 6
...To begin, Trifles by Susan Glaspell was written in the early twentieth century. This was a time in which the sexism against women was at its highest and therefore inclined many to bring the issue into the spotlight. Women were considered to be strictly home workers and most men assumed that a woman could never be their intellectual partners in the workplace. Women in the early twentieth century had a habitual lifestyle of cooking, cleaning, and tending to their spouse’s needs. (SEAPAT) As technological and economic changes become prominent, it became inevitable that women would soon be given the same rights as men. However, the issues and restrictions against women at the time inspired Glaspell to write Trifles and make a difference with her...
Words: 330 - Pages: 2
...In “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, Mr. Wright is found in his bedroom chocked to death. Mr. Hale a neighbor of the Wright’s found Mrs. Wright in her kitchen, sitting in a chair rocking herself nervously. When he asked for Mr. Wright, she responded by telling him that Mr. Wright was dead upstairs from having been choked to death. As a result of Mr. Hale’s information, the sheriff, Henry Peters, as well as George Henderson, the county attorney, are summoned to the Wright’s residence. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have accompanied the men to start the search of the incident that caused the crime. The sheriff however, does not think he needs to search the kitchen “"Nothing here but kitchen things”. (1384) During the progress of the investigation the...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...Susan Glaspell was born in Davenport, Iowa, on July 1, 1876. In 1899, she graduated from Drake University with a Bachelors of Arts degree. Glaspell considered herself as a novelist, she was best known for her plays. One of her greatest plays were Trifles, which is a one-act play. She finished it in ten days (Wiedeman). It has played successfully throughout the United States and Europe, but was not performed as much during the mid-twentieth century. The play had an absent protagonist, Glaspell doesn’t write about Mrs. Wright. The play is focused more on the facts on the incident. Trifles is not just about a murder case, it is a cultural study that examines the status of women. This play was related to Glaspell’s individual career as a dramatist, she has covered a murder trial in which a wife killed her husband. The play opened on August 8. 1916, with her playing as Mrs. Hale, while her husband played Mr. Hale. Trifles introduces a technique Glaspell reuses in her other plays, which is central character never appears on stage. Since Mrs. Wright doesn’t appear in the play, it is very hard to figure out if she is good or bad because...
Words: 959 - Pages: 4
...In the time period this story was written woman did not have the rights they were supposed to have. Men still felt dominant and could get away with things a lot easier. Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a play that not only gives the reader a understanding of deceit but also an understanding of unity. Deceit and unity are both shown by two key characters, both decide to follow a path that as woman could get them into trouble but in the process do things in respect to a woman's unity. In the story Trifles the Wrights home is being searched by the law for evidence to show that Mrs.Wright killed her husband. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters help the search, Mrs. Hale is her neighbor and Mrs. Peters is the sheriffs wife. In the text Mrs. Hale stands up for...
Words: 517 - Pages: 3
...Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, Trifles, is based on actual events that occurred in Iowa at the beginning of the century. For two years Glaspell worked as a reporter for the Des Moines News, where she covered the murder trial of a farmer’s wife, Margaret Hossack, in Indianola, Iowa. Hossack was accused of killing her husband, John, by striking him twice in the head with an ax while he slept (Trifles 216). Trifles, written in the early 1900’s by Susan Glaspell. Glaspell wrote this play during a time of controversial feminist issues. Glaspell wrote "Trifles" to demonstrate the male assumption that women were insignificant members in a male dominated society. Because the men underestimate them, the women are able to prove they are not insignificant. The play opens at the Wright farmhouse where Mr. Wright has been murdered in his sleep. They entered in the house: county attorney, the sheriff, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters. The men and women have come to investigate the case against Minnie Foster, the wife of Mr. Wright. Most of the stuffs which the male characters supposed to be insignificant objects like the broken bird cage door, the quilt, the dead canary, and the entire kitchen consequentially lead to the solution (Trifles 219). The improper assumptions by men toward women can have dire consequences, as demonstrated in Glaspell's world. Combating these narcissistic assumptions displayed by men can result in a unity among women that can overcome any male caused disrespect...
Words: 2194 - Pages: 9
...of “Trifles”, Fidelity, and Women’s honor by Susan Glaspell. In writing “Trifles”, Fidelity, and The Visioning she drew from her past and current experienced events to create such stories. Her writing career had first begun when she was in high school and progressed further into her college years. While attending college, her career spun off as a reporter for Des Moines Daily News. After a short time of being a reporter, she and her husband decided to return back to her hometown Davenport, Iowa to become a full time writer. This was the beginning of her becoming “one of the early-twentieth-century America’s leading playwright”(Rudnick). Fidelity was Glaspell third novel which was published in 1915. It took place in a small town in Iowa about a midwestern woman name Ruth Holland who was a rebellion against the environment she was surrounded by. She was committed in a relatonship with a man name Stuart Williams who was also married. Throughout the story, Ruth wants to amends relationship with her family but they seen her only as a bad woman. She started to grow by filling the voids in her life. When Stuart’s wife granted him the divorce, Ruth at this point decided to leave for New York alone to find her idenity, “rather than marrying a man she no longer loves” (Carpentier). Though it did not received as much fame as her other writings, this novel proves that influences from other people helps a writer creat their story. Though Fidelity may be different from Glaspell’s real...
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
...Trifles by Susan Glaspell Name: Course: Professor: Institution: Trifles by Susan Glaspell Trifles, is a play which was written by Susan Glaspell in 1916. It reveals the writer’s concern with issues related to culture thinking and notions of gender and sexual roles. The title itself depicts that the apprehensions of women are in many times considered as simple trivialities that their issues are insignificant to the society. Susan Glaspell wrote the play to exhibit the male supposition that the views of the female are irrelevant in a male subjugated culture. The play invites the reader to question the relative value of men and women perception in the society, this is achieved by setting up a tension packed play that develops through the advancement of two different and separate narratives, a male and a female (Clarkson, 2003). This research paper seeks to discuss and analyze the play. The setting of the play is back in the early twentieth century during a cold weather in a rural area. This helps the reader to identify with a real life area with real people. The setting establishes a miserable and thoughtful mood. The author describes the condition of the house as an abandoned farmhouse that had a gloomy kitchen and that was untidy. This creates a response of emotional trauma which is as a result of the theme of loneliness in the landscape. The characters of the play are: the county attorney George Henderson who is a young and arrogant individual. He has a good reputation...
Words: 1862 - Pages: 8
...Literary analysis on “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell Gender roles continue to change with time. It has only been a very short time that woman have broken through their defined roles and begin to be equal with men on a total basis. In Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”, the story challenges the gender roles through the events that occur during the course of the play and through their own inner workings. The story is set in the Literary Renaissance –Drama period and leaves plenty of room for female characters to shine in certain roles. The story provides interesting points that challenge the reader to step back and look at gender roles in a new light. “Trifles” is centered on several married couples and is presented around the point of view of female characters. The story takes place at Mrs. Wright’s home a day after her husband has been murdered. Much of the long script takes place around a conversation between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The two women are in the home because one is the Sheriffs wife and the other is the wife of the Attorney. The story is presented as though Mrs. Wright is suspected of killing her husband and there is no doubt that she did kill her husband. During Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters conversation it is established that the two women are lashing out against their gender roles by withholding evidence from their husbands. In the story woman compare themselves to birds. Mrs. Hale openly speaks about Mrs. Wright “was kind of a bird herself” (Glaspell 169). It seems...
Words: 836 - Pages: 4
...One act plays can be some of the most polarizing and engaging acts of art. Yet, after viewing director Jasmine Castello’s version of Trifles, it seems that the excellent source material conceived by Susan Glaspell has been let down by a lackluster production team. Written by Glaspell in 1916, Trifles follows a group men and women as the try and solve why an elderly woman’s husband was found upstairs with a rope around his neck, dead. While the men begin to search the premises for any inkling of the culprit, the wives who remain indoors discovers some dark secrets of their own. One of the strongest factors of the play was simply Glaspell’s material. Not only did it convey a sense of mystery, but it’s underlying message that you discover throughout...
Words: 401 - Pages: 2
...In Brian Sutton’s work “‘A different kind of the same thing’: Marie de France’s LAUSTIC and Glaspell’s Trifles”, he analyzes the similarity regarding the core symbol, a murdered songbird, and the powerful meaning of that symbol. Sutton compares both works to derive with his conclusion; that both works are linked to a piece of literary history connecting listening to a songbird with “a longing for the ideal and far off.” Even more so both works are compared with the will for freedom. Looking strictly at his opinions regarding “Trifles”, Sutton states how the dead canary “evokes a wife’s urge to escape her marital dreariness”, which is expressed in quotes from “Trifles” from Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. However, the dead songbird is used for numerous other symbols throughout the play. Such as how Mr. Wright killing the bird is easily portrayed as an attack on his wife. Sutton interpreted the canary to be Mrs. Wright, more so the cheerful side extinguished by the depressing marriage between herself and Mr. Wright. Quotes withdrawn from “Trifles” can support this idea, again being stated by the lone women in the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Sutton reasons that the killing of the bird (by Mr. Wright presumably), equates to a symbolic attack on Mrs. Wright. This attack only adds onto the guilt of already killing Mrs. Wright’s spirit, hence the presence of the songbird, where the canary is a “stand-in” for Mrs. Wright. This article constructed by Sutton only focuses on one thing:...
Words: 441 - Pages: 2
