...Epps Mrs. Heuisler English 152 14 November 2013 Women Are Underestimated The sheriff Henry Peters and the county attorney George Henderson arrive with Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale at John Wright's house, where Wright was murder. The cause of Mr. Wright’s death was by being strangled with a rope. The men belittle the women for worrying about irrelevant things such as preserve fruits frozen and broken, dirty towel, quilting with uneven stitches, broken birdcage and dead canary instead of useful evidence for the case. After looking around the house, the women found a quilt and decide to bring it with them. Also, they found a dead bird in a box in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket while they were searching for materials for the quilt. The bird was strangled and killed the same way as John Wright. Although Mrs. Peters is hesitant to disobey the men, who are only following the law, she and Mrs. Hale decide to hide the evidence, which will leave the men unable to find any sealing evidence to pin the case on Mrs. Wright. In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the play reveals a society that revolves around masculine power but the women outsmarted the men with their sensitivity to another woman dilemma. Women pay more attention to the little things that may lead to the solving of a bigger problem than guys who look at the obvious. Lewis Hale utters, "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles" (1067), this is odd because the women found the evidence, and the men didn't. The men were...
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...Susan Glaspell's story “Trifles” has the main theme of the social oppression of women. However, not only that but about how knowledge and perspective are misconstrued in the minds of men. This story displays three symbols that amplify this theme sexism, jars of fruit, a dead canary, and a quilt. One thing the attorney noticed in the story was that Mrs. Wright was canning fruit in the cupboard. This shows that she cared about her image of being the perfect housewife. This concern is justified when the men laugh at the condition her house is in. Yet, they also laugh at the women for caring about such trifles, so really the women can never win. Another thing the canned fruit symbolizes is Mrs. Wrights fate. “The canning jars are broken as Minnie feared, and this symbolizes the inevitability of her conviction” (LitCharts, 1). As she sits in a cell worrying over her cans, it symbolizes how she is worried about the verdict of her case. Therefore, when the cans are shattered so is her hopes of going free....
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...Men’s Pride Leads to Downfall in Glaspell’s “Trifles” “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” says Mr. Hale in Susan Glaspell’s play, “Trifles.” While demeaning women and their concerns is criticized as sexist in the twenty-first century, mere decades ago people accepted sexism as common and even warranted. Since the male-dominated society considered women’s tasks less important than men’s, men treated women with a lack of consideration. In the 20th century drama “Trifles,” Glaspell challenges the suppression in effect during her lifetime, basing the play on a series of news stories she wrote about the real-life court case of a woman prosecuted for murdering her husband. In “Trifles,” Glaspell uses symbolism to show that male sexism causes a lack of empathy which leads to men’s failures as much as it does women’s. From the first scene to the final line, Glaspell uses spatial symbolism to reason her case about the detrimental effects of men’s stereotypes of women. According to the stage direction, the initially timid female characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters “...come in slowly, and stand close together near the door,” clearly displaying a reluctance to enter a widow’s empty home. However, as Mr. Hale, the sheriff and the county attorney “go at once to the stove,” they discuss what happened the previous day. When Mr. Hale had first knocked on the door to request Mr. Wright’s help, he tentatively entered when he thought he heard “come in”; now that Mr. Wright is gone...
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...As the title of the drama by Susan Glaspell, “Trifles” suggests, the concerns women have are just trifles, small issues of unimportance that have no importance to men. The author effectively uses conflict, dramatic irony, and verbal irony to illustrate the theme of unfair traditional gender roles to the reader. The use of these literary devices causes deep thought-provoking interest makes this drama a successful literary art. Glaspell clearly illustrates the subjugation of women by their male counter parts and cause the audience to question the value of men and women’s perspective by creating tension filled conflict. Conflict should provide interest, suspense, and tension between two opposing forces. Right at the beginning of the drama the conflict is between the group of men who are investing the murder and the women who were there to collect the items for Mrs. Wright. The conflict between the two forces began when the men went towards the stove and left the women at the door .The author used the separation between the men circled at the stove and the women at the door to show how women are left out of important business and social transactions. When the young...
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...Frohlich 1 Makenzee Frohlich English 1020 Mr. French 18 December 14 Symbolic Beyond Sexism “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” says Mr. Hale in Susan Glaspell’s play, “Trifles.” While demeaning women and their concerns is criticized as sexist in the twentyfirst century, mere decades ago people accepted sexism as common and even warranted. Since the maledominated society considered women’s tasks less important than men’s, men treated women with a lack of consideration. In the 20th century drama “Trifles,” Glaspell challenges the suppression in effect during her lifetime, basing the play on a series of news stories she wrote about the reallife court case of a woman prosecuted for murdering her husband. In “Trifles,” Glaspell uses symbolism to show that male sexism causes a lack of empathy which leads to men’s failures as much as it does women’s. From the first scene to the final line, Glaspell uses spatial symbolism to reason her case about the detrimental effects of men’s stereotypes of women. According to the stage direction, the initially timid female characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters “...come in slowly, and stand close together near the door,” clearly displaying a reluctance to enter a widow’s empty home. However, as Mr. Hale, the sheriff and the county attorney “go at once to the stove,” they discuss what happened the previous day. When Mr. Hale had first knocked on the door to request Mr. Wright’s help, he tentatively entered when he thought he heard “come in”; now that Mr...
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...Trifles was written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell. The setting of the story was the early 1900's when society was based on patriarchy. Men were viewed as superior and women in society were treated as second class citizens, with limited opportunities and few rights. The main focus for women was to serve their husband, raise their family, be a good housekeeper and cook. The author defined the roles of the characters according to the reality of that time frame, with the theme of male superiority and dominance obvious throughout the story. In describing the characters, the author begins defining roles and identities. George Henderson, County Attorney, Sheriff Henry Peters, and Lewis Hales, the neighbor, are the men and Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are the women. Although the women are the protagonists in the story, we do not know their first names. They have no real identity, only that of being married to Henry Peters and Lewis Hale. From the beginning of the story, the women are submissive to the men. The author presents Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale as being timid, walking in to the house slowly, standing together in the doorway, almost like they are waiting for permission to enter. They don't walk in to the house until the County Attorney invites them to come to the fire (Glaspell 1475). The men do not seem to acknowledge the women in the first few pages of the story, do not include them in their serious conversation or solicit their opinions. The men in Trifles treat the women...
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...Morgan heidel Professor Jacobs ENGL 1020-006 March 13, 2018 Wright or Wrong The play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell emphasizes the value of men and women’s perspectives of the murder of Mr. Wright in his and his wife’s, Mrs. Wright, old farmhouse. It questions the gender role of women being confined to the house work while it all goes unnoticed. The title of the play hints to that women’s work is considered trifles while the mean do all the “real work”. In this play Mrs. Wright is being accused of murdering her husband by tying a rope around his neck, strangling him to death. The different genders search the house to find clues as to why she would have committed such a crime shows the opposite views. Susan Glaspell exhibits that women are important and not to be trifled with. This supports the idea that men see women’s actions incompetent. This idea is continuously portrayed all through the story by the way the men act towards the women and...
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...Trifles The sensitivity of feminism was very complicated in early 20th century, and Trifles by Susan Glaspell comes out not only for entertainment to this day but also it’s a message to the world about gender roles in expect actions. The story took place in the kitchen, which was the domain of Mrs. Wright and the women, whereas the men were not so familiar. The background of the story focuses on one side, the women, and it is known for inequality of gender through history. By using the bird cage and the bird are symbolisms, and the way protecting their friend Mrs. Wright from being charged with murder, which is the guilty between of feminism and the world dominated by men. Trifles by Susan Glaspell represents the problem of gender discrimination in terms of crime and guilt. The birdcage represents a falling marriage, and it is a first motive in establishing guilt. The birdcage is a physical trap to keep the bird or ant kind of animals, and they are not free and loneliness. As the same Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage, and could not escape it. Whatever she does everything and couldn’t keep her free, and that will become a strong motive to push her make up a guilt. The birdcage’s door, which represents her troubled marriage to Mr. Wright, is broken. We can compare Mrs. Wright to a wild animals who just want to escape the trap as same as her marriage from Mr. Wright. Whenever the door open, it allowed Mrs. Wright to become a free woman. At that point in time, the cage’s...
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...associated with change. Nothing remains the same over time. Progress and regress are presented in every aspect of life. Literature illustrates this on several occasions. This may be exemplified by observing Trifles by Susan Glaspell. Trifles illustrates adverse identifications of women in earlier Americana that correlate to the identity women maintain in our current society. Male dominance is one of the central themes displayed throughout the play. The women identified in Trifles have modest voices compared to their male counterparts. This causes numerous opportunities for male dominance from the beginning to the end of the play. Their opinions are blatantly disregarded. An instance of male dominance may be illustrated by the interaction between Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Hale. Mr. Henderson requests information regarding Mrs. Hale's relationship with the Wrights. Once Mrs. Hale begins to provide details regarding the Wrights' lifestyle, Mr. Henderson stops her mid-sentence and demands a brief answer. Another instance of male dominance is displayed when men brought attention to the women's handy work. When Mrs. Wright constructed a quilt, the men basically made fun of the women's craft. This is illustrated by the lines that state, “Mrs. Hale: It’s log cabin pattern. Pretty, isn’t it? I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt or just knot it? Sherrif: They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it. (the men laugh, the women look abashed).” (Glaspell) The next instance of male...
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...story “A Jury of Her Peers” revolves around Minnie wright, she is the main focus of a murder investigation. The story shifts views to two women, Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Hale who are internally struggling to decide their verdict on Minnie as well as deciding her faith. Throughout the story, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggle women face living in a world controlled by men. Susan Glaspell uses the symbolism of the trifles, dead bird, and the quilt to develop the theme of gender role throughout the Short story. Before the twentieth century, there were many stereotypical roles assigned to men and women. The men were seen as the head of the household so they would go out into the world and work in order to support their family. On the other hand, women would stay at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. In the short story “A Jury of Her Peers” the men viewed the women as facetious and incompetent from beginning to end. They would patronize the women by stating remarks like “women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell...
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...Women were extremely oppressed during earlier time periods, which caused certain authors to mention this horrible treatment in their literature works. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, a woman is informed that her husband has passed away from an accident. At the arrival of this news, the wife is in grief, but shortly afterwards, she is beyond jubilant that her husband passed away. In the short story, “Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, two women find multiple pieces of evidence against a woman who killed her husband, which are viewed as trifles by the men. The men in “Jury of Her Peers” guffaw at the women several times throughout this story. Both authors of these two short stories use these literature works to enlighten their audience...
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...Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, Trifles, is based on actual events that occurred in Iowa at the beginning of the century. For two years Glaspell worked as a reporter for the Des Moines News, where she covered the murder trial of a farmer’s wife, Margaret Hossack, in Indianola, Iowa. Hossack was accused of killing her husband, John, by striking him twice in the head with an ax while he slept (Trifles 216). Trifles, written in the early 1900’s by Susan Glaspell. Glaspell wrote this play during a time of controversial feminist issues. Glaspell wrote "Trifles" to demonstrate the male assumption that women were insignificant members in a male dominated society. Because the men underestimate them, the women are able to prove they are not insignificant. The play opens at the Wright farmhouse where Mr. Wright has been murdered in his sleep. They entered in the house: county attorney, the sheriff, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters. The men and women have come to investigate the case against Minnie Foster, the wife of Mr. Wright. Most of the stuffs which the male characters supposed to be insignificant objects like the broken bird cage door, the quilt, the dead canary, and the entire kitchen consequentially lead to the solution (Trifles 219). The improper assumptions by men toward women can have dire consequences, as demonstrated in Glaspell's world. Combating these narcissistic assumptions displayed by men can result in a unity among women that can overcome any male caused disrespect...
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...Plot Summary The setting for Trifles, a bleak, untidy kitchen in an abandoned rural farmhouse, quickly establishes the claustrophobic mood of the play. While a cold winter wind blows outside, the characters file in one at a time to investigate a violent murder: the farm’s owner, John Wright, was apparently strangled to death while he slept, and his wife, Minnie, has been taken into custody as a suspect in the crime. The sheriff, Henry Peters, is the first to enter the farmhouse, followed by George Henderson, the attorney prosecuting the case. Lewis Hale, a neighbor, is next to enter. The men cluster around a stove to get warm while they prepare for their investigation. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale follow the men into the kitchen; yet, they hesitate just inside the door. They are obviously quite disturbed by what has happened in the house and proceed with more care than their husbands. In a play filled with minor details (trifles) that take on major significance, the entrance of the characters is very revealing. There is an obvious divide — social, psychological, and physical — separating the men from the women, a fact that takes on a larger significance as the play progresses. The investigation begins with Henderson questioning Lewis, who discovered the murder the day before. Lewis explains that he was on his way into town with a load of potatoes and stopped at the Wright farmhouse to see if John and Minnie wanted to share a telephone line with him, since they were neighbors...
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...In the play Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, in 1916(), Minnie Wright is guilty of murdering her husband, John Wright. Some of the signs that Minnie Wright murdered her husband is when she was in the rocking chair, just sitting there alone, and Lewis Hale stopped by to talk to her husband John Wright. Minnie Wright seemed despondent and knew her husband was upstairs dead. She didn’t notify anyone about his death, seemed unconcerned, and “then she laughed about it”(). Although there was a gun nearby, John Wright was killed with a rope, as if it was personal. John Wright’s murder occured while she was in bed with him, and she claimed she didn’t hear a thing that happened to him. Minnie Wright also seemed guilty, when Mrs. hale and Mrs. Peters,...
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...O’Neil 1 Becky O’Neil Arquette Eng. 112-01 December 6th, 2012 “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell During the 19th century, possibilities for women were severely restricted. Women were not allowed to vote, could not control their own finances, and were not able to work outside the home(unless widowed), any money or property they had was turned over to their husbands upon their marriage. Much of history is written from the male perspective. Women of that era were struggling with finding a sense of themselves and a certain freedom from the traditional gender roles society had dictated for them. Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” portrays these struggles through Mrs. Wright, who is expected to conform but resorts to an act of desperation to gain her freedom. The tale begins when Mr. Hale pays a visit to his neighbor, John Wright, only to discover That Mr. Wright is dead. Upon asking Mrs. Wright what killed him, she tells him, “He died of the rope around his neck.”(789) The sheriff and the County Attorney are called and arrive at the scene. However, in this case the professionals fall short in their task to find evidence of a motive for murder. It is the two women who accompany their husbands to the house who uncover the vital clues as to motive. Mrs. Hale, the wife of the man who reported the crime, and Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, are left in the kitchen. They are there only to gather a few...
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