Comparing Glaspell's Trifles And The Glass Menagerie
Motifs are abundant throughout the world of literature. Many esteemed works of literature contain symbols in order to imbibe deeper meanings. Trifles’s canary and The Glass Menagerie’s glass animals both serve to further enhance the characterization of Mrs. Wright and Laura in each respective work.
In Glaspell’s Trifles, the canary and its subsequent death assists in an explanation of why Mrs. Wright acts the way she does and also provides a way to compare her before her marriage to after getting married. Before marriage, Mrs. Wright had been a sweet and pretty girl known throughout town for her pleasant disposition. Yet, as Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale point out, “[Mrs. Wright] used to sing. He killed that, too” (Glaspell 1012). This emphasizes …show more content…
As Laura is talking to Jim, she shows him her glass animal collection, saying that “[she]-do[es]-as [she] said- have [her]- glass collection-” (Williams 1428). Here, Laura is illustrating how she herself lives. Laura, being extremely shy, encloses herself in glass and lives in a figurative glass castle. She is overly cautious with her life, does not meet new people, does not go out, and does not leave her house often. Laura is afraid to break this glass and venture out into the world. Laura is so scared to put herself out there and be different that she is very similar to the glass animals she collects. Plus, she believes that since she is a cripple, she will be highly repulsive to anyone who sees her. This self-conscious feeling further creates the glass she lives in. Thus, while she admires her beautiful and fragile figurines, she is one herself. Similarly, when the glass breaks when Jim knocks into the table, it represents the figurative shattering of Laura’s glass shell. Jim asks if “‘it [is] broken?’” and Laura replies with “‘Now it is just like all the other horses” (1429). Here, Laura too is breaking; breaking out of her shell, breaking into the real world. However, shortly after this figurative breaking of the glass, Laura is let down by Jim’s betrayal. Following this, Laura once again draws into her shell and returns to the glass castle of her own
In Glaspell’s Trifles, the canary and its subsequent death assists in an explanation of why Mrs. Wright acts the way she does and also provides a way to compare her before her marriage to after getting married. Before marriage, Mrs. Wright had been a sweet and pretty girl known throughout town for her pleasant disposition. Yet, as Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale point out, “[Mrs. Wright] used to sing. He killed that, too” (Glaspell 1012). This emphasizes …show more content…
As Laura is talking to Jim, she shows him her glass animal collection, saying that “[she]-do[es]-as [she] said- have [her]- glass collection-” (Williams 1428). Here, Laura is illustrating how she herself lives. Laura, being extremely shy, encloses herself in glass and lives in a figurative glass castle. She is overly cautious with her life, does not meet new people, does not go out, and does not leave her house often. Laura is afraid to break this glass and venture out into the world. Laura is so scared to put herself out there and be different that she is very similar to the glass animals she collects. Plus, she believes that since she is a cripple, she will be highly repulsive to anyone who sees her. This self-conscious feeling further creates the glass she lives in. Thus, while she admires her beautiful and fragile figurines, she is one herself. Similarly, when the glass breaks when Jim knocks into the table, it represents the figurative shattering of Laura’s glass shell. Jim asks if “‘it [is] broken?’” and Laura replies with “‘Now it is just like all the other horses” (1429). Here, Laura too is breaking; breaking out of her shell, breaking into the real world. However, shortly after this figurative breaking of the glass, Laura is let down by Jim’s betrayal. Following this, Laura once again draws into her shell and returns to the glass castle of her own