How Does Susan Glaspell Present Dianoia In Trifles
Victim or Murderer: Anangnorisis and Dianoia in Trifles
The play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell and written in 1916, is set in a time period when women were contained to the limits in which their gender role was of use in a patriarchal society. Housewives were often isolated within the domestic sphere and degraded to being merely characters of superficial and physical value. As a result, women were often divided amongst each other. The treatment of anagnorisis and dianoia in Trifles reflects the ways in which the achievement of anagnorisis and exhibition of dianoia can be influenced by feminine gender roles, particularly that of empathetic understanding in conflict, and aids in the play’s purpose of persuading the audience that …show more content…
Peters, anagnorisis is provoked by observing Minnie’s isolation within her home and feeling sympathy for Minnie because of the loneliness and anger that she might have felt. Mrs. Peters relates to Minnie’s situation for two reasons. First, Mrs. Peters begins to identify with Minnie by relating the isolation and stillness of Minnie’s life towards her own. She indicates this when she says, “Mrs. Peters: [something within her speaking.] I know what stillness is. When we homesteaded in Dakota, and my first baby died – after he was two years old, and me with no other then – “ (38). Mrs. Peters relates her own experiences of loneliness to Minnie’s situation. However, she then continues with “Mrs. Peters: I know what stillness is. [Pulling herself back.] The law has got to punish crime, Mrs. Hale.” (38.) This additional statement reveals how Mrs. Peters begins to reject her recognition of relativity towards Minnie’s isolation and reminds herself of Minnie’s faults. Mrs. Peters experiences of isolation does not result in murder, therefore, she ends up retracting the correlation she has begun to make towards Minnie’s life. This is a false anagnorisis in the sense that it does not result in a dianoia. Mrs. Peters’ attitude towards Minnie remains the
The play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell and written in 1916, is set in a time period when women were contained to the limits in which their gender role was of use in a patriarchal society. Housewives were often isolated within the domestic sphere and degraded to being merely characters of superficial and physical value. As a result, women were often divided amongst each other. The treatment of anagnorisis and dianoia in Trifles reflects the ways in which the achievement of anagnorisis and exhibition of dianoia can be influenced by feminine gender roles, particularly that of empathetic understanding in conflict, and aids in the play’s purpose of persuading the audience that …show more content…
Peters, anagnorisis is provoked by observing Minnie’s isolation within her home and feeling sympathy for Minnie because of the loneliness and anger that she might have felt. Mrs. Peters relates to Minnie’s situation for two reasons. First, Mrs. Peters begins to identify with Minnie by relating the isolation and stillness of Minnie’s life towards her own. She indicates this when she says, “Mrs. Peters: [something within her speaking.] I know what stillness is. When we homesteaded in Dakota, and my first baby died – after he was two years old, and me with no other then – “ (38). Mrs. Peters relates her own experiences of loneliness to Minnie’s situation. However, she then continues with “Mrs. Peters: I know what stillness is. [Pulling herself back.] The law has got to punish crime, Mrs. Hale.” (38.) This additional statement reveals how Mrs. Peters begins to reject her recognition of relativity towards Minnie’s isolation and reminds herself of Minnie’s faults. Mrs. Peters experiences of isolation does not result in murder, therefore, she ends up retracting the correlation she has begun to make towards Minnie’s life. This is a false anagnorisis in the sense that it does not result in a dianoia. Mrs. Peters’ attitude towards Minnie remains the