Susan Glaspell's Trifles: The Conflict Of Gender
April Martino
Professor Bruemmer
English II
14 December 2013
Trifles: The Conflict of Gender
Throughout history women have always been fighting for equality. As if their existence held very little value in society, more so in the past than today. It was obvious during the turn of the 20th century men maintained dominance over women, in fact they would use their superiority to maintain their inferiority. A word that comes to mind, Trifles. A word referring to something considered to be small, holding little value or perceived to be insignificant. The word trifles does not only refer to physical objects but also, through the eyes of the innocently ignorant, insensitive or even unappreciative, a word used in referring to things unseen, such as thoughts, memories, feelings, and emotions. Glaspell uses her talents to demonstrate, through literature, how women were seen as only a man’s possession and not that of an individual. In Glaspell’s play Trifles, she uses setting, dialog, symbols, and concept to reveal gender conflict and exposing prejudices of that current society. …show more content…
It was suspected that Minnie, Mrs. Wright, had murdered, by way of strangulation, however there seemed to be no substantial proof. While the main character, Minnie was being held in jail, the local sheriff, Henry Peters, the county attorney, George Henderson, and a neighboring farmer was searching the farmhouse where John was found for clues proving that Mrs. Wright had in fact murdered him. While these men scoured the house for any clue, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, two local women happened to be in the kitchen making discoveries of their own with observing certain things unrecognized by the investigators. “The interaction between the male and female characters in Trifles is somewhat limited, yet extremely revealing socially”
Professor Bruemmer
English II
14 December 2013
Trifles: The Conflict of Gender
Throughout history women have always been fighting for equality. As if their existence held very little value in society, more so in the past than today. It was obvious during the turn of the 20th century men maintained dominance over women, in fact they would use their superiority to maintain their inferiority. A word that comes to mind, Trifles. A word referring to something considered to be small, holding little value or perceived to be insignificant. The word trifles does not only refer to physical objects but also, through the eyes of the innocently ignorant, insensitive or even unappreciative, a word used in referring to things unseen, such as thoughts, memories, feelings, and emotions. Glaspell uses her talents to demonstrate, through literature, how women were seen as only a man’s possession and not that of an individual. In Glaspell’s play Trifles, she uses setting, dialog, symbols, and concept to reveal gender conflict and exposing prejudices of that current society. …show more content…
It was suspected that Minnie, Mrs. Wright, had murdered, by way of strangulation, however there seemed to be no substantial proof. While the main character, Minnie was being held in jail, the local sheriff, Henry Peters, the county attorney, George Henderson, and a neighboring farmer was searching the farmhouse where John was found for clues proving that Mrs. Wright had in fact murdered him. While these men scoured the house for any clue, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, two local women happened to be in the kitchen making discoveries of their own with observing certain things unrecognized by the investigators. “The interaction between the male and female characters in Trifles is somewhat limited, yet extremely revealing socially”