Susan Glaspell's Trifles

“Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is situated in 1916 and is a one act play which incorporates essential components of what the women’s rights movement was about. After moving on from Iowa’s Drake University in 1899, Glaspell commenced her writing vocation of composing short stories and books. The play from Glaspell recounts the story of a homicide mystery involving the married couple of Mrs. Wright (Minnie) and her spouse, the murder victim, John Wright; this story also incorporates the outlook of society towards women being viewed as beneath men. “Trifles” demonstrates the unfair mentality regularly acknowledged among men towards women in 1916. In addition, it showcases the big role comradery plays for women in becoming equal represented

In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, the theme of contrasting roles between men and women is magnified by the setting of a lonely, Midwestern farm isolated from the public. This play demonstrates how different the roles between men and women were, and how women were treated. Trifles, also illustrates the changing times in the late 19th century to early 20th century. During this time period, women become more independent and wanted to be equal to men instead of inferior to them.

Susan Glaspell uses a variety of symbols in her play to demonstrate the stereotypical view and treatment of women by men during the start of the twentieth century. She intricately portrays the female characters in her story as intelligent, but passive due to the fact that males dismiss their ideas and conversations as unimportant. The play, Trifles, uses multiple symbols to show how men fail to recognize the intelligence of women, and oppress the feminists’ way of thinking throughout society.

Though numerous strides have been made to eliminate the equality gap between men and women, there are fundamental ideals in our culture that are detrimental to women. In 1916 Susan Glaspell attempted to expose, and shatter the male dominating norms in her one-act play Trifles. By juxtaposing the misogynistic, dismissive behavior of the men in the story with the reserved and intelligent demeanor of the women, Glaspell successfully portrays women as the strong and empowered people they truly are.

“Trifles” is a play by Susan Glaspell. The play is set in the abandoned farmhouse of John Wright. Mr. Wright was murdered and the suspect is his wife Minnie. Glaspell uses this play to illustrate how women were socially oppressed in early America. Glaspell expresses just how men think a women’s worth is in how well she keeps her house. An example is when the county attorney states, “Dirty towels!” and “Not much of a Housekeeper, would you say ladies?” (pg. 746) The language is that of working class people, farmers and such. A impressive example would be when Mr. Hale was explaining his conversation with Mrs. Wright to the attorney. Mr. Hale stated, “‘How do. Mrs.

The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell is a mystery story of a murder that takes place in a small farming town. At the time the play was written women in the united states were still not given the opportunity to vote. It is through the mystery of this murder that we find the role of gender to be a major factor throughout the entirety of the play. In the play, we are given tandems of females and males to follow as they seek to solve the mystery of how Mrs. Wright’s husband was murdered. The tandems are composed of Mr. and Mrs. Hale, neighboring farmers, the town sheriff and his wife as well as the court attorney, George Henderson. The first indication to the role of gender in this play is when the men split from the women in search

Trifles is a play written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 about the investigation of a murder. Together the sheriff and his wife, the county attorney, and a neighboring couple, study a murder case in the home where it occurred. The two women pay more attention to the makeup of the home rather than the police report, which gave them an advantage in finding evidence. In the play Trifles, women challenge the stereotype of male dominance through the author’s use of symbolism and diction to find evidence for the murder case at hand.

In Susan Glaspell's Trifles, women are seen as less of a person based on their gender. Trifles by definition describes an object or situation as being of little importance. The boundary between female and male gender is a prominent issue in our society. Modern society till this day, is unable to escape gender inequality (Cohen 1177). It is all around us, at work, in homes, and in media.

Trifles is a one act play about two murder investigations the official formal one by the men as well as the unofficial informal one by the women.( Beatty, 1) Throughout the play the women in their own way solve the crime while the men hit a dead end. There are a variety of perceptions and interpretations of Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”. These were the ones most attention-grabbing or noteworthy: the notion that the three women in this play Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Wright are allegorically based on the Fate sisters from Greek mythology; secondly, the connection and symbolism between Mrs. Wright (Minnie) and the objects within her house the quilts irregular and sloppy stitching signified the turmoil Mrs. Wright was going through, and lastly the oppression of women which is depicted in many situations including the men of the plays viewpoint on the women.

In the short story, Susan Glaspell's (1916) "Trifles," tells a perplexing mystery in which a woman's husband was strangled to death while laying in bed next to her sleeping. There are points in the story which Mrs. Wright, whose being held in custody, seems to be stereotyped by the men. As the County Attorney, Sheriff, and Hale walk through the farmhouse investigating the scene, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale sit at a table observing Mrs. Wright's kitchen connecting dots themselves about what might have led to the murder of Mrs. Wright's husband. As the men come down the stairs, the County Attorney says, "No, Peters, it's all perfectly clear except the reason for doing it. But you know juries when it comes to women. If there was some definite

“All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” is a proverb written 356 years ago by James Harrell (Howell p. 12). The proverb can still be valuable advice to all Americans of the Twenty-first despite being written in 1659. A good example of why people should have Happiness in their life is seen in Susan Glaspell’s one act play, “Trifles.” The play is about the investigation of a murder. The setting of the play is inside of a cold, dark, and unwelcoming farmhouse that is secluded from view.

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” is a play about a woman who is be investigated for the murder of her husband. It was actually loosely based upon a true story involving the murder of a man named John Hossack, whose wife—a woman named Minnie—was also accused and originally convicted for the crime. I do believe that the theme for this play revolves around feminist theory. The two female characters named Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter are shown to sympathize with the wife of the victim and even understand why she might have killed him. For example, they discuss the fact that Minnie used to sing before she wedded John Wright. Martha reasons that perhaps after Minnie's marriage, the husband kept her from singing, or doing whatever else which would

In the play “Trifles” Susan Glaspell takes the audience on an investigation that involves a wife that has been arrested for the allegedly murdering her husband. The audience is introduced at the start of the investigation though the author never says so the audience can easily conclude that the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Wright was not the best situation. There is evidence through the house of even possible abuse. Mrs. Wright for reasons not really know is driven into a life of solitude, for instance, she has not joined in any of the community events, like other women and she has not been seen outside of the home in at least a year. She does however get a canary from a traveling salesman of sorts to keep her company. The play does not mention

In Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles a man has been murdered by his wife, but the men of the town who are in charge of investigating the crime are unable solve the murder mystery through logic and standard criminal procedures. Instead, two women (Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters) who visit the home are able to read a series of clues that the men cannot see because all of the clues are embedded in domestic items that are specific to women. The play at first it seems to be about mystery, but it abruptly grows into a feminist perspective. The play Trifles written by Susan Glaspell can be considered a revolutionary writing in it its advocacy of the feminist movement.