Death of a Bird: Trifles by Susan Glaspell Essay

Susan Glaspell’s one-act play “Trifles” was written in 1916. It was written based on real events. When Glaspell was a reporter, she covered a murder case in a small town in Iowa. Later, she wrote this short play which was inspired by her investigation and what she observed. Glaspell used irony, symbolism, and setting in her creation of the authentic American drama, “Trifles”, to express life for women in a male-dominated society in the early nineteen hundreds.

There are many literary elements that contribute and help to further explain the theme of Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, “Trifles”. The theme of isolation in “Trifles” can be backed up by multiple dramatic literary elements that are very evident in the story. Characters can help support the theme in many ways by difference in gender, how isolation affects the theme, and how they work together. Another literary element that is crucial to the theme of isolation is the setting of a lonely farm house back in the woods unseen by the public from the road. Lastly, the literary element of conflict relates to the theme of isolation in the many ways that conflict brings out isolation between the characters in the play. The theme of isolation in “Trifles”

Symbols are important, especially in literature. They have been known to inspire hope and life, in turn inspiring some of the most profound actions in the history of the world. Yet, humanity’s statement to symbols goes beyond us finding meaning in innominate or non-human objects. People assign humanity into objects, almost a part of themselves. This concept is clearly demonstrated in Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles. The work contains many element of symbolism that make important and relieving comments on the characters of the play and the themes of the story.

Many animals, especially birds, seem to communicate in a language that only they can really understand. The novella starts by setting a scene with the description of two birds who do exactly that. Chopin began by stating, “A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right!’ He could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the mocking-bird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence” (Chopin 1). The green and yellow parrot represented Edna Pontellier. With only one other being who understands her, she felt as if she was stuck in a golden cage. She had always had food on her plate and a man who provides a stable income and life for her. The mocking-bird represented Mademoiselle Reisz, because she is the only other being who understood what Edna, or the parrot,

"Trifles" Have you ever loved something so much that ends up bad? The play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell is a tragic tale of love and suffering. Mrs. Wright lived thirty years in loneliness; just to end up "trapped" again as she was taken to jail. In the cold, gloomy farm house kitchen Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hales quickly started an investigation of their own.

In the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell the ruined birdcage suggest that Mr. Wright broke the cage and killed the bird. Mrs. Peters stated, “Why, look at this door. It’s broke. One hinge is pulled apart.” and as a reply Mrs. Hale stated, “Looks as if someone must have been rough with it” (page 667). The fact that Mrs. Wright wrapped the dead canary in silk suggest that she really loved and cared for it. The cage and the bird actually has a lot to do with Minnie Foster Wright in a personal manner. Those objects are a symbol of who she once was and what Mr. Wright had done to her. According to Mrs. Hale, “She-come to think of it, she was kind of like that bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery” (page 667). Mrs. Wright

“Trifles” a play by Susan Glaspell, emphasizes the thought that women were kept in their homes and their contributions to the home and family went unappreciated and unnoticed. The play gives readers a view of how women were view and treated during the 1900’s. As a female analyzing the play, Mrs. Wright’s motive for killing Mr. Wright was quite clear. Susan Glaspell gives her readers a feminist approach, to demonstrate how Mrs. Wright’s murdering of her husband is justified.

Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which we have very limited control (Guerin 127). One of Freud’s most important contributions to the study of the psyche is his theory of repression: the unconscious mind is a repository of repressed desires,

A trifle is something that has little value or importance, and there are many seeming "trifles" in Susan Glaspell's one-act play "Trifles." The irony is that these "trifles" carry more weight and significance than first seems to be the case. Just as Glaspell's play ultimately reveals a sympathetic nature in Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, the evidence that the men investigators fail to observe, because they are blind to the things that have importance to a woman, reveals the identity of the murderer and are, therefore, not really "trifles," after all. Thus, the title of the play has a double-meaning: it refers, satirically, to the way "trifling" way some men perceive women, and it also acts as an ironic gesture to the fact that women are not as "trifling" as these men make them out to be. This paper will analyze setting, characters, plot, stage directions, symbolism, themes and genre to show how Glaspell's "Trifles" is an ironic indictment not of a murderess but rather of the men who push women to such acts.

In the 1880’s Sigmund Freud developed a theory about the unconscious mind and went on to create psychoanalysis.

      While reading Susan Glaspell's play Trifles, the use of characters, descriptive language, and symbolism teaches the audience that one person's home and one person's way of living can also be an introduction to one person's private hell.  Throughout the play, discoveries are made to teach the audience that maybe things are not what they seem and that sometimes people must take a deeper look into what is around them.

The psychoanalytic perspective, is the outlook that behavior and personality are effected by the conflict between one’s inner dreams n and expectation of society. Most of this conflict occurs in unconscious, which is outside the knowledge of an individual. Renowned psychologist, Freud established the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation for perplexed phenomena such as the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and behavioral reflex reactions to stressful situations. The unconscious is a primary focus in psychoanalytic theory due to its typical development in childhood and the ways in which it influences nearly every detail of an individual’s life. The unconscious mind also holds unvented memories and unexpressed urges that make their process into the conscious mind through a variety of different means. However, topographical theory of the mind states that conscious, preconscious, and unconscious serve as motivating forces in human behavior. Corsin & Wedding (2011) define the conscious as mental activity which individuals are fully aware of, preconscious as thoughts and feelings that could be easily brought to mind and unconscious as thoughts, feelings, and desires of which one is unaware of.

Hurston’s “Sweat” uses the snake as symbolism, and to justify Delia’s actions after Sykes is bitten. In the story, Delia is a faithful Christian woman who is married to a devil-like man named Sykes. Hurston associates the snake to Sykes. The snake symbolizes Sykes representation of the Devil. Sykes knows that Delia is scared of snakes. Delia tells Sykes, “‘You know how skeered Ah is of snakes. Course Ah Knowed it’” (1). Sykes not only torments Delia, he also cheats on her openly. Sykes does

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is responsible for developing the Psychoanalytic Theoretical Perspective; Freud argued that our early life experiences are essentially the base to our subconscious mind and in turn heavily influence our current behavior. Freud believed that people could be treated and healed by articulating their dreams and childhood memories allowing an individual to gain insight into these unconscious thoughts and ultimately motivate them to resolve the repressed conflicts within. This technique was developed into a therapy used today known as Psychoanalysis, similar to hypnosis, it was founded in 1896 (“Freud's Psychoanalytic Theories.”). Just like any other psychological theory, there are many interesting concepts to Freud's Psychoanalytic Theoretical Perspective. The theory says that your personality is determined by the manner in which your behaviors have been depicted to the unconscious mind, this theory tells us that our behavior is completely

"Trifles" is a play with a unified plot. Although there are verbal flashbacks to the events of the day of the murder of John Wright, the play's entire plot begins and ends in a span of one day. The author also extends the unified plot to create a single setting (the farmhouse kitchen). The plot centers on John Wright's murder. Mrs. Wright is the main suspect; an investigation is taking place as to the motive or reason for the crime.