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Trifles

In: English and Literature

Submitted By ms1819
Words 767
Pages 4
April 7th 2009
Lit & Comp
Trifles
Marriage and beliefs can cause tension when it comes to law and justice. This is demonstrated in the one act play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell. “Trifles” is a play that takes place in the early 20th century. This play is set at the scene of a murder, where a house wife is suspected of killing her husband. The story comes down to two women deciding what to do with newly found evidence. This causes tension between law and justice. The treatments these women receive during this story portray a larger statement about the role of gender and justice in society. For example, the Sheriff, Mr. Peters and his wife represent the conflict between law and justice because Mrs. Peters has to choose between her marriage to the “law” and her beliefs of justice.
One important role in this story is sexism. “Trifles” involves drama within the male dominated society of the time period. The men in this play such as the Sheriff, the County Attorney, and Mr. Hale all represent the law. These men are in the play to try to enforce the law and find evidence against the suspected murderer Mrs. Wright. Justice is demonstrated in the characters Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are at the crime scene supporting their husbands to find evidence. After being mocked by their husbands, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale conceal the evidence they find to bring Mrs. Wright closer to justice. Mrs. Peters keeps her mouth shut and goes along with Mrs. Hale’s last minute decision to hide the dead canary they have found. The men in this story overlook the women in the kitchen because they don’t believe women can have any important input. The input the men overlooked was the hard evidence they wanted to find. This all comes down to the question; is it right for Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to conceal evidence from the county attorney?
In my

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