Feminist Symbolism in Glaspell's "Trifles"
Feminist Symbolism in Susan Glaspell's "Trifles"
Have you ever wondered; just how much can one person take from another? What amount of cruelty and abuse persuades the fury in a typically passive person to leap into aggressive action? Susan Glaspell's play Trifles shows us just how far one woman, Mrs. Wright, is pushed before she snaps. This is a classic tale of spousal abuse, based off of a true story, which was not too uncommon and almost expected back in the late nineteenth century. Back then women were controlled by their husbands and were seen as insignificant by all the men around them. In this play the women fight the patronizing and belittling society and join together to support another woman. During this time in history, "marital conflict, frequently including violence, was mostly taken for granted in many working-class communities; in itself, it was rarely sufficient to warrant communal censure." (Hammerton 155) Since the women of modern day have much more freedom than women did back then, it is hard for many people, men and women to understand exactly what Mrs. Wright was going through. Unlike now where women are allowed to get divorced and not be shunned from society, in this time period husbands were allowed to kidnap their wife, imprison her, beat her, etc. Any police intervention was to discourage or lessen the abuse but not stop it. (Hecker 34)(DeLuzio 96) Women had few resources and even fewer sources of support, no matter what was taking place in their homes. Women could not sit on juries nor give a judgment of their peers (Ruben). Mrs. Hale remembers Mrs. Wright as a girl; Minnie Foster. Mrs. Hale described the young girls, as "kind of like a bird herself – real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery." (Glaspell) If you notice, even the name Minnie belittles her. There are several indicators that Mr. Wright is abusive to his wife, but the people of their town see John Wright as a "good man." (Glaspell) Mrs.
Have you ever wondered; just how much can one person take from another? What amount of cruelty and abuse persuades the fury in a typically passive person to leap into aggressive action? Susan Glaspell's play Trifles shows us just how far one woman, Mrs. Wright, is pushed before she snaps. This is a classic tale of spousal abuse, based off of a true story, which was not too uncommon and almost expected back in the late nineteenth century. Back then women were controlled by their husbands and were seen as insignificant by all the men around them. In this play the women fight the patronizing and belittling society and join together to support another woman. During this time in history, "marital conflict, frequently including violence, was mostly taken for granted in many working-class communities; in itself, it was rarely sufficient to warrant communal censure." (Hammerton 155) Since the women of modern day have much more freedom than women did back then, it is hard for many people, men and women to understand exactly what Mrs. Wright was going through. Unlike now where women are allowed to get divorced and not be shunned from society, in this time period husbands were allowed to kidnap their wife, imprison her, beat her, etc. Any police intervention was to discourage or lessen the abuse but not stop it. (Hecker 34)(DeLuzio 96) Women had few resources and even fewer sources of support, no matter what was taking place in their homes. Women could not sit on juries nor give a judgment of their peers (Ruben). Mrs. Hale remembers Mrs. Wright as a girl; Minnie Foster. Mrs. Hale described the young girls, as "kind of like a bird herself – real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery." (Glaspell) If you notice, even the name Minnie belittles her. There are several indicators that Mr. Wright is abusive to his wife, but the people of their town see John Wright as a "good man." (Glaspell) Mrs.