Feminism : Women 's Rights On The Grounds Of Political, Social, And Economic Equality

Trifles, Susan Glaspell’s play written in 1916, reveal concerns of women living in a male dominated society. Glaspell communicates the role that women were expected to play in late 19th century society and the harm that can come of it to women, as well as men. The feminist agenda of Trifles was made obvious, in order to portray the lives of all women who live oppressed under male domination. John and Minnie Wright are two main characters who are never seen; however provide the incident for the play. In this play women are against men, Minnie against her husband, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters against their husband’s, as well as men in general.

In today’s society, we generally view upon everyone as equal; however this view did not exist for decades. Throughout history, there were many instances showing that men dominated women and women were often seen as left with less important or treated as an inferior being. Women were often expected to be good mothers to their children as well as caretakers to their husband. After reading the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, I was able to grasp the important facts about social views of women and their domestic roles. Glaspell’s play depicts the gender inequality which exists in the society, drawing significant attention to the societal values of women at that time. Although women’s roles are treated as unimportant, she depicts women’s

Oppressive gender roles are expressed first through the title Trifles itself. By definition, a trifle is a thing of little value or importance. Whenever the women were talking about Mrs. Wright’s preserves, Hale laughs, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell 598). Using the word trifles as the title indicates that the play contains a shallow, meaningless theme or concept, but the truths found in the theme of the title are actually very far from insignificant. The trifles, although perceived by the men as trivial,

From the beginning of the play it is obvious that our characters are vastly different levels of importance. The men gain their importance from the type of people they are. The women, on the other hand are defined by the men that they have married. The critic Beauvoir mentions in chapter five of The Second Sex that “Marriage is the reference by which the single woman is defined” (Beauvoir, 502). In society a woman only hold value based on the man that she has married. In “Trifles” all the men are addressed by their birth given first or last names. However all the women within the play are addressed by their last name given to them by marrying their husbands.

Feminism means the belief that women should be treated as equals to men. In the early 20th century, women faced adversity in the sense that it was a struggle living at that time because they had a specific role to live up to, and that role was being housewives to the men. The early 20th Century was a male dominated society. Glaspell uses character names, Irony in the title, and symbolism in the play, “Trifles” to reveal the roles in which women play, and the harm it brings to women and also men in the early 20th Century.

Trifles, takes place in the late 1880s to early 1900s on a Midwestern farm in a small town. The play is about a woman named Minnie Wright who is a suspect in her husband’s murder. The police begin to search through the Wright home looking for evidence to

The title, Trifles, suggests that the story is mainly focused on insignificant events or conversations. As the play proceeds, one can be amused by the satirical unfolding of events. Trifles a short story about the murder of Minnie Wright’s husband,

Throughout American history, stereotypes about gender socialization and gender roles have existed in society. During the late 19th to the early 20th century, genders roles began to shift. This is mainly due to the shift as more women took on more professional affairs. Because of this shift, women became less reliant on male dependency, allowing them to be socially equal in the eyes of men. In Susan Glaspell’s play, "Trifles" makes a moving statement how the gender roles were in the early 20th century and how women were treated. The play takes place on a midwestern farm inside a farmer 's house during this period. After law enforcement was called to investigate a crime scene, one the men belittle his wife. At this point, the women 's

The title “Trifles”, means is little importance. The overall plot of the story is that woman lack of attention and aren’t taken serious. In the article “Trifles and Overtones” articulates, “it presents women as a transcending the constraints of their positions through acts of courage and refusal to collaborate in maintaining each other oppression.” Woman aren’t trifles, they are more than that, they are smart as man. A piece of quilt ended up solving the mystery that only the woman could’ve understood. The quilt saved Mrs. Wright from being hold in prison. The women stand for Mrs. Wright rights and females.

While demeaning women and belittling their concerns are seen by most as sexist today not very many decades ago people accepted sexism and inequality as common and normal way of living. Since the male-dominated society considered women’s tasks less important and meaningful than men’s, men treated women with a lack of consideration and as if they were beneath them. In the turn of the century play “Trifles,” Glaspell challenges the suppression and inequality of women in effect during her lifetime, basing the play on real stories. As stated “Well, women are only used to worrying about trifles”. In the dramatic play, ‘Trifles’, Glasbell uses irony and symbolism to show inequality in a marriage and ever growing fragile mental state which played out to be their downfall.

One of the meaning of “Trifles” is gender roles. Throughout the play, the women in the story are talked down upon. This is not a surprise because of the period that this play was written in. During this time, women were seen to be inferior to men in all aspects and were not treated with respect. The court attorney patronizes the women in the story by saying things like, “And yet, for all their

The title of the play, Trifles, is a symbol all in itself, reflecting how men viewed and looked down upon women. “The males' dominance is immediately apparent

I am arguing that “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is a feminist play, which was an uncommon topic for plays in the early nineteen hundreds. The term “feminism” was first used in the English language in the late eighteen nineties which was not long before “Trifles” was first preformed (Feminism 2017). The play exploits patriarchal oppression while simultaneously showing the ability of the females in the play. The women are referred to by their husbands last names, leaving the women with a lack of identity, which is another sign of patriarchal oppression. Glaspell begins to challenge this concept of patriarchal oppression;

In the play “Trifles,” Susan Glaspell creates a one-act play in a single location. “Trifles” was written in 1916 and is an example of a feminist drama. Throughout the play, the audience can observe the connection made between the female characters and Minnie Wright, and also see a divide between men and women. Henry Peters, Lewis Hale, and George Henderson represents the arrogance of men, while Glaspell uses the female characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to represent the oppression of women. Men have dominance over women and they are overlooked and in the shadow.

To begin, the title of the play, Trifles, is as fitting as it is ironic. The word trifle is defined as something of little value or importance, which is exactly what the men thought about the women’s concerns. Mr. Hale, the sheriff, and the county attorney believed that the women weren’t much use to the case, and this opinion was derived not only from the times they lived in, but also the first impressions the women made upon entering the home. Their