Glaspell's Trifles

I believe Susan Glaspell’s title Trifles refers to the scant attention or importance placed on the thoughts of the female characters, by the male characters, as well as to the inadequate deliberation with which the men attend to the trifles that are actually of import. Not only does Mr. Hale plainly state, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (1283) as the men belittle the thoughtfulness and consideration of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in regards to Mrs. Wright worrying about her stored jars, but Sheriff Peters clearly sees just “kitchen things” (1283), while the women begin to see missing pieces of the murder motive in the everyday items. Similarly, Mr. Henderson sees “a nice mess” (1283) in the kitchen, while the women begin to recognize

In Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles, written in 1916, two female characters are left in the kitchen of a house where a murder has been committed, while the menfolk search around for clues. The men largely ignore the women and are mocking of them and their petty concerns on the occasions that they do speak to them. While the men are about looking for the “cold hard facts” of the murder, the women are in the kitchen bothering with “trifles” that display all of the details about the wife’s life and, most probably, her motivation for the murder. In this play, Susan Glaspell has written male characters that clearly display the “Ethics of Justice”, a sort of right is right and wrong is wrong view; while the women clearly embody the “Ethics of Care”, a view that takes relationships and feelings into account when judging the morality of actions.

The reactions in Trifles reveal to the reader how heavily defined gender roles were in the early twentieth century. The two genders quickly form separate bonds with one another in this play. The men of this time dominate every aspect of this story. They make sarcastic jokes at the women when they start to show concern about things that appeared out of the norm in Mrs. Wright’s house. The first thing they noticed is the broken can goods when the Sheriff says, “Well, you can beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 1245). This tone of voice reveals how the men did not take the women seriously. They laugh at the women’s idea of trifles but as Phyllis writes, it is “their attentiveness to the "trifles" in her life, the kitchen things considered insignificant by the men, the two women piece together, like patches in a quilt, the

In “Trifles”, Glaspell shows the oppression of women back in 1916 when the play was written. In the play, Glaspell shows the roles of both men and women. To show how men treated women, what was expected of the women, and how women overcame the patriarchal society that they were placed in. Also, “Trifles” having an effect on the society it was based on and how the roles of women have evolved over time.

The play Trifles is a world-famous production written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 during the women’s suffrage movement. The women’s suffrage movement was a point in U.S. history when rights for women, like voting and gender equality, were greatly stressed to be enforced. Glaspell’s involvement in the movement did not go unnoticed. Today Glaspell’s plays are famous worldwide for her feministic and socialistic views on legal reform, and involvement in the women’s suffrage movement. However, the play Trifles stands out amongst her others due to it being based on a true murder story she covered as a reporter. The play is about a man named Mr. Wright who is discovered by his neighbor, Mr. Hale, with rope around his neck murdered. Upon discovering Mr. wright, the county attorney and sheriff get involved, along with Mr. Hales wife, Mrs. Hale, and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters. Throughout the investigation at the Wright residence, the women are not asked for help, and are looked down upon by the men. While the men seldom ask the women for their opinion on the murder, the case unfolds right in front of the two wives’ eyes. Like the women in the play, Glaspell was unable to play a significant role in the murder case she was involved in, and her observations over small and minor details she thought may be of importance went unnoticed by the men. Throughout the play, Trifles, Glaspell symbolizes the conflict of men versus women seen during this period through recognition, the

The play “Trifles” written by Susan Glaspell is about John Wright who was murdered. When the play begins the county attorney, sheriff, and Mr. Hale are all at Mr. Wright’s home to search for evidence for who murdered him. The two women that are in the poem are Mrs. Peters who is the sheriff's wife, and Mr. Hale’s wife, Mrs. Hale. Minnie Wright is the suspect in Mr. Wright’s case, but they are searching for answers to know exactly what happened. While the men are trying to solve the crime their wives sit in the kitchen discussing Minnie Wright and the peculiar things in her kitchen. Glaspell uses many literary techniques to express the theme of her play by using the setting, symbolism, and tone to display gender roles, and the feeling of

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.

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.

Susan Glaspell's Trifles explores the classical male stereotype of women by declaring that women frequently worry about matters of little, or no importance. This stereotype makes the assumption that only males are concerned with important issues, issues that females would never discuss or confront. The characters spend the entirety of the play searching for clues to solve a murder case. Ironically, the female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, uncover crucial evidence and solve the murder case, not the male characters. The men in the play, the Sheriff, County Attorney, and Hale, search the scene of the crime for evidence on their own, and mock the women's discussions. The women's interest in the quilt,

In Susan Glaspell's “Trifles”, the male characters are depicted as being more sensible, logical and all-knowing gender. It is the men in the play who hold the most noteworthy positions, for example, the county attorney and sheriff. They esteem finding the quickest response to Mr. Wright's murder. They would prefer not to squander in attempt to find the mystery, thus they neglect critical subtle elements, for example, the messy kitchen. They expect that it is more critical to assess the room where Mr. Wright was murdered than to break down how Mrs. Wright kept her home or the couple's relationship. In the earliest reference point of the play, the County Attorney

Susan Glaspell's play Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. It also talks about the stereotypes that women faced. The play takes place in Wright's country farmhouse as the men of the play, the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale, search for evidence as to the identity and, most importantly, the motive of the murderer. The attorney, with the intensions of proving that Mrs. Wright choked the husband to death, was interviewing Mr. Hale on what he saw when he came in to the house. The women, on the other hand, were just there to get some clothing for the wife who was in jail for suspected murder of her husband. However, the clues which would lead them to the answer

At the start of Susan Glaspell’s dark drama “Trifles” we are introduced to the characters as they all arrive at an abandoned farmhouse previously owned by the recently murdered Mr. John Wright and his killer, and wife, Mrs. Wright. The men’s dominance over the situation and the women is clear from the initial understanding of their individual roles. The men all seem to have important tasks to perform. The sheriff and the county attorney are investigating John Wright’s murder by searching for evidence of his wife’s guilt. Mr. Hale, a farming neighbor, has been requested to give his testimony of the morning he discovered the murder, thus enforcing the important roles of the male characters. The

The different attitudes towards trifles in this story play a key role in enhancing Glaspell’s theme of feminism and the recognition of women’s efforts. The various objects and occurrences that become key pieces of evidence in Minnie’s conviction are picked up immediately by the women, yet brushed off as “trifles” by the men. When the women find the burst jar of preserves in the pantry and the sloppy, unfinished quilt, they question whether or not Minnie had her wits about her and was focused on the tasks at hand. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale both understand the importance that society has put on women taking care of the home and fully empathize with Minnie. In contrast, the men belittle this trifles and even go as far as insulting and laughing

“[She is] not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” asks the County Attorney reference to the mess Mrs. Wright left on the kitchen counter. Mrs. Hale, the neighbor of the Wrights, coldly responds that “there is a great deal of work do be done on a farm” (Glaspell 775). Susan Glaspell’s Trifles is a one act play focused on Mrs. Wright, a character that never actually makes an appearance, though all the discussion in the play is surrounding her. The small section of dialogue mentioned above is a prime and subtle example that is shown early on in the play of the tension between the male and female characters, as Mrs. Hale was so quick to defend the woman who is an active suspect in her husband’s murder case. The County Attorney even comments shortly after in reply to Mrs. Hale that she is apparently loyal to her sex, thus further proving the distinct divide of the genders. There is great dissension experienced between the two women and the three men that are active characters as well as between Mrs. Wright and her husband, and it is this deeply ingrained conflict shown between genders that powers the play. Though the reader never encounters them directly, it is through the unseen characters, Mr. and Mrs. Wright, the aftermath of coercive violence is conveyed.