Stereotypes In The Play Trifles

The men were in command over the total life experience, until the man or husband cared for his children. The author gracefully applies the same characteristics to the key role characters during this time. The basic meaning of the following play is men strongly opposing the women. Being both knowledgeable (on figuring out the mystery of the murder) and authority wise (by the men searching in all places besides the cooking area- where the women mainly are). During this extent in time, the man of the house (or all men in general) considered themselves as educated in a higher manner during their efforts to determine the murder. SITE. In addition to this point in time, it’s made known that majority of the women have (or in this case will) spend their time in

In the kitchen, the dishes are dirty, bread is sitting out on the counter, and everything is in disarray. The County Attorney is disturbed, because the kitchen is not clean. The men assume that Mrs. Wright must have not been a very tidy person. In this time era, men expected women to keep the house tidy and clean, cheerful, and decorated according to the County Attorney in Trifles; he states, “It’s not cheerful. I shouldn’t say she had the homemaking instinct” (1031). Men during this era think that women should only be in the house worrying about what the inside of a house should look. In the County Attorney’s mind, the house should have been warm, clean, organized, and presenting a happy feeling. This is a demonstration of how hard a woman’s life is when she is expected to be when a man’s views think of how a woman should be in the household, for example a slave to cooking, cleaning, and sewing. As shown in the beginning of the play, the men leave the women in the kitchen to gather some of Mrs. Wright’s items she requested as if this is where these women belong. The men go upstairs and out to the farmhouse to investigate for clues for a motive to prove that Mrs. Wright is guilty of the murder of her husband. The men never investigate the kitchen for any clues since they feel there is no significance in the kitchen. The kitchen is an area for women to do cooking and cleaning, which makes them feel there is nothing important in this area. Men

The men made a few remarks that seemed a bit sexist. Hey seemed to label women as housewives that have to keep the house clean. George Henderson, the county attorney, Henry Peters, the sheriff, and his wife Mrs. Peters, and Lewis Hale, the neighboring farmer and his wife all went to John Wright 's abandoned farmhouse to search for evidence. The house was filthy. The County Attorney said, “And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies? Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” meaning women should be considered maids or housekeepers. The County Attorney also mentioned that the towels were

The environment of the play takes place in the early 1900’s. The roles of the family members were much different then than they are today. The Husband would often times do the hard work that would take place outside, and the wife would simply take care of the house and children. This system was actually pretty efficient, but some men saw themselves more powerful than the woman, and often would discriminate against the woman. While investigating the house in the kitchen the sheriff states, “Nothing here but kitchen things.” And the County Attorney says, “Here 's a nice mess” in reference to the sticky substance on the shelf. Mrs. Peters makes a statement on Mrs. Wright’s fruit preserves and after this statement has been made the sheriff and the County Attorney make remarks to even further degrade the position that woman held by stating, “Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin ' about her preserves.” (Sheriff) And also, “I guess before we 're through she may have something more serious than preserves to worry about.” (County Attorney) This moment is significant, because when these men made this statement they

The gender differences in the play are obvious and important to the story. The men in this play exhibit some traditional stereotypes of men during the time period, such that they were aggressive and self-centered. The women seem to be more cautious, intuitive and sensitive. These traits allow the women to come a lot closer to figuring out the murder than the men do. At one point in the play the women find a quilt that Mrs. Wright had been working on. Mrs. Hale asks Mrs. Peters, “I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt it or just knot it?” (658). Just then the sheriff comes down the stairs and once again ridicules the women for worrying about such little things. “They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it!” (658), he exclaims. This is actually an important piece of evidence in the story, as the ladies find out later. They realize that she was extremely nervous about something while she was sewing, because she usually sews “so nice and even” (658), but the piece she had been working on was “all over the place” (658).

All the men notice is clutter. The men do not look deeper behind the meanings of this disarray. However, the women do. The women understand that the reason that things such as the towels are not clean is because she more than likely was busy doing her many other chores of the household. They also considered how much trouble Mrs. Wright went to fix the preserves. The women reason that the uncaring concern John had for Minnie and the attention he paid to the house perhaps forced Minnie to resort to killing. Even the County Attorney, Sheriff, and Mr. Hale could not understand all the difficulties women go through. They criticize Mrs. Wright as well as insult all women. Mr. Hale says, "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles." The actions of just these men show how women were taken for granted in this era. Inevitably, the men are unable to prove that Mrs. Wright murdered her husband but are going to convict her anyway. However, the women have solved the case. They come to the conclusion that Mrs. Wright was not treated very well by her husband and was not able to withstand the mistreatment anymore. They could tell the lack of attention he paid to his wife. The men still have a hard time accepting this concept because they do not believe that men treat women badly.

she is proud and open about it to her friends. Therefore it is safest to say that these stereotypes do not apply to any of them.

The theme of this play deals with the discrimination and poor treatment of women during this time period. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters

The men in the play look at things in a different light and miss major points in their investigation because of their lack of a feminine view. When the men enter the Wright’s house, they instantly comment on the state of their home. Instead of seeing the things the way that their wives

I feel that the men in this story underestimate their wives. They believe that the women’s knowledge only revolves around cooking and cleaning. The men are oblivious, though, as to why Mrs. Wright would kill her husband only because they do not understand a woman’s point of view. For example, when all of the characters enter the house, all the men see is a kitchen that has not been cleaned and feel that nothing there has any contribution to the investigation. The women point out that Mrs. Wright’s fruit froze due to the coldness in the house. The men think that the fruit has no significance and kind of laugh at the women for pointing it out. “And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies? Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” (1094). The men think that Mrs. Wright is just a lazy housewife that does not do what she is told for leaving the dishes and towels unwashed. They view the women as basically a dumb, personal maid, and the way that they talk about women shows the lack

The men of the play do not physically treat the women horrible, but break them down mentally. To begin with, the men are particularly arrogant due to the roles they all play in society and somewhat in the

In Susan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles, the women become more privy of the circumstances surrounding John Wright’s murder than their husbands who are actually conducting the investigation. In the male-centric setting of the American Midwest in the 1920’s, the play addresses gender roles by placing the emphasis on the female characters in the play. While the men are hard at work, it is the women who emerge as the protagonists. In this essay, I wish to explore the gender roles developed by Glaspell in the house of John Wright, particularly their role in the home, finding their identities, and the stereotypes portrayed in literature. The gender role motif is important to explore because it is replicated in many texts including the literature of today.

There are many female characters in this play trying to show their presence and there problems are being discussed. The men in this play are mostly of the opinion that the identity of women is derived from their relation with men, who are the superior gender. For example, Mr. Henderson tells Mrs. Peters that since she is a sheriff’s wife therefore, she is “married to the law” (Glaspell, p25). But Mrs. Peter’s answer is “Not just that way”, showing that she has identified a different self during the course of the play that binds her to her personal experiences more than marriage to her husband. Mrs. Hale also comments in a similar manner to express the idea of feministic approach.

The 1st theme surrounding gender differences is first found when we realize that most of the story, the two genders are separated socially and mentally. Glaspell shows examples of this throughout the play, and also demonstrates it through the characters ' actions "These were trifles to the men but in reality they told the story and only the women could see that” (Sherif 774). In Trifles, the men believe that they give females an identity by the females not having a first name

The relationship between men and women is much deeper than people think. The relationship is all about a social division created by the genders in which separate the men from the women. For years men and women have been treated differently. The men are looked at as the person who controls the relationship and the women are looked at as submissive minons who have to follow their husband's every order. In “Trifles,” Glaspell shows the division between men and women. In “ Silent Justice in a Different Key,”Holstein adds on to the division shown in “Trifles.”