The Treatment of Women in Trifles

The play ?Trifles?, by Susan Glaspell , is an examination of the different levels of early 1900?s mid-western farming society?s attitudes towards women and equality. The obvious theme in this story is men discounting women?s intelligence and their ability to play a man?s role, as detectives, in the story. A less apparent theme is the empathy the women in the plot find for each other. Looking at the play from this perspective we see a distinct set of characters, a plot, and a final act of sacrifice.

In the 19th Century, women had different roles and treated differently compared to today’s women in American society. In the past, men expected women to carry out the duties of a homemaker, which consisted of cleaning and cooking. In earlier years, men did not allow women to have opinions or carry on a job outside of the household. As today’s societies, women leave the house to carry on jobs that allow them to speak their minds and carry on roles that men carried out in earlier years. In the 19th Century, men stereotyped women to be insignificant, not think with their minds about issues outside of the kitchen or home. In the play Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, the writer portrays how women in earlier years have no rights and men

Gender roles throughout history have been portrayed in many works of literature. We imagine that in 2016 our world would be at its absolute best regarding the roles of women considering we just had our first woman from a major party run for the highest office in the nation. Unfortunately, we still seem to have a way to go. Oscar Wilde said, "Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." It has only been in the past few years that women have stood up and demanded equal pay and equal treatment. There are still many places in the world where women are still very oppressed. In Susan Glaspell 's "Trifles," written in 1916, the theme throughout is that the men are the smart, dominant ones, and therefore very chauvinistic, and the women only concern themselves with sewing and cleaning which is, therefore, insignificant and trifle. The women from the start of the play very clearly see clues to the murder that the men do not ever see. Glaspell tells the story of the murder of Mr. John Wright, who was found strangled in his bed. His wife Minnie is the main suspect. The men in the story, the County Attorney Mr. Henderson, the Sheriff Mr. Peters, and the neighbor who found the body, Mr. Hale, look for scientific clues and totally overlook what is right in front of them. In the 1900 's roles were clearly defined by the men and this is carried throughout the play. The women in this play are the unsung heroes while the men who are

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

First of all, in “Trifles”, men acted towards the women just as they would back in 1916. The men are seen as very dominating and they have little to no respect for women (School Helper). It is shown in the play when Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale found the quilt Mrs. Wright was making and they showed it to Mr. Henderson. “They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just know it!” (Glaspell). When they showed Mr. Henderson the quilt, he mocked and laughed at them. Showing that he didn’t care about some quilt that could have been a big piece of solving the case. Also, the men in the play push the women aside and demote the women when they try to help in the investigation (School Helper). Mr. Hale and Mr. Henderson really don’t care about the things women back then were accustomed to. When Mr. Henderson asked Mr. Hale if anything was important to investigate in the kitchen, Mr. Hale said, “Nothing here but kitchen things” (Glaspell). Proving they don’t care about trifles.

"Trifles," a one-act play written by Susan Glaspell, is a cleverly written story about a murder and more importantly, it effectively describes the treatment of women during the early 1900s. In the opening scene, we learn a great deal of information about the people of the play and of their opinions. We know that there are five main characters, three men and two women. The weather outside is frighteningly cold, and yet the men enter the warm farmhouse first. The women stand together away from the men, which immediately puts the men against the women. Mrs. Hale?s and Mrs. Peters?s treatment from the men in the play is reflective of the beliefs of that time. These women, aware of

Trifles, a one-act play, written by Susan Glaspell, has an interesting plot about an abusive husband?s murder at the hands of his abused wife on a secluded farm in the Midwest (Russell, pg. 1). The opening scene of the play gives us a great deal of information about the people of the play and their opinions. The play portrays the ways in which men treated women during this time period. The men in the reading reflected a male-oriented society, which caused the women feelings of repression and unappreciation. Throughout the play the actions of Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters resemble that of Greek mythology, where three sisters controlled the fate

The letter Abigail Adams wrote to her husband in the March of 1776 had one purpose. She encouraged her husband to “remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” Adams wanted her husband to include women in the formation of the United States. Unfortunately, women were scarcely mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, Article of Confederation, or Constitution. It was not until 1919 when women were given the right to vote, and there is still a pay gap between the genders. Throughout history, the oppression of women has been a common theme. Women have been seen as the weaker sex, restricted to domestic work, and treated as less than their worth. The limited rights of women in the 1950s and 1960s

“Trifles” is a perplexing drama that begins with a murder in a midwestern farmhouse. John Wright is found dead with a knot tied perfectly around his neck. In this one act play, Susan Glaspell, reveals the truth of women's suffrage during the early twentieth century. Women are restricted when it comes to individual rights. Without being able to vote, be a part of a jury, and working mostly out of their home, women have the unfair disadvantage in life. “Trifles” shows the treatment women undergo. The main theme of “Trifles” is the contrast of genders, stereotypes, and how view each other’s role.

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

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 Trifles by Susan Glaspell there are very clear gender lines and norms. The play follows three men and two women trying to solve the murder of a local man, Mr.Wright. The three men are seen as the ones who will solve the murder but in the end the disregarded women solve the murder. The women in the play are dismissed and seen as useless in helping solve the murder and are only taxed with taking care of the men. This turns into a tool for Mrs.Peters because she is able to use her gender and the way she is written off to solve the murder and help save a friend.

The play Trifles takes place during 1957 when women were silenced; they were only addressed and not spoken to or able to speak. They were not able to vote or partake in any dominant activities. Nevertheless, we see both females, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, form a silent sisterly bond while unintentionally uncovering motives for Mr. Wrights murder. The women were not given permission to help with the crime, while gathering items which Mrs. Wright had requested but they did it with natural senses due to activities they take on within the household as well.

The interactions of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters within the play, Trifles, can be related to the interactions of women who attended consciousness-raising groups during Second Wave Feminism. Firstly, both of the women stay together and away from the men from the very beginning of the play when they are asked if they want to stand next to the fire for warmth (line 3). Additionally, they are meeting in a kitchen, which was considered to be the woman’s realm and so was a place in which women would meet for CR groups. The women also only really speak amongst themselves, stopping their private conversation when the men come back into the kitchen (line 358). Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discuss the difficultly of maintaining a home, the loneliness of having

The play Trifles by Susan Glaspell shows how underappreciated women are and how they are confined to their homes and household chores. The two women in Trifles are Mrs. Peters, the sheriff's wife, and Mrs. Hale, the farmer’s wife. These two female characters have different views on the men and their actions at the beginning of the play, but as time passes by they start to realize their own strength and how they can do anything that their husbands can do.