Analysis of “Trifles”
In the single act play Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, a foil exists between two female characters Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Glaspell allows these characters to act as foils to one another in order to highlight the contrary qualities and characteristics that are present throughout the play. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are foils to one another on the grounds that they differ from each other on their ideals of nineteenth-century feminine roles, opposition to the law, and societal restrictions on women.
To begin with, Glaspell creates a foil among Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters by presenting nineteenth-century feminine roles. From the very beginning of the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs.Peters are instructed as if they were children …show more content…
After all Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters could have discovered it themselves.As the scene of the kitchen is introduced, it is soon disregarded by the men as amounting to nothing in regards to the murder of Mr.Wright. A kitchen during the nineteenth century was thought to be nothing more than a woman’s place and a segment of a nineteenth century women's’ role. As Suzy Holstein points out, “ An exploration of the play reveals a fundamental difference between the women's actions and the men's, a difference grounded in varying understandings of the home space.” (The Midwest Quarterly) Furthermore, this leads to the idea that women’s duties were not thought to be essential to anything …show more content…
Hale and Mrs. Peters. Notice how they are characterized by their last names rather than their first names. This alone conveys the oppression that is meant to be brought to light in this play. It shows that these women are not seen as individuals but as the men they are married to and that is society’s way of restricting women from individuality. By the same token, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are in fact restricted by society and men being apart of that but how they both take on these restrictions is a different story. Mrs. Hale is quick to defend Mrs. Wright when the County Attorney makes the sly remark of: “ Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” (Glaspell 820) Mrs. Hale comes back with: “There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm.” Then the County Attorney makes a fair statement: “Ah, loyal to your sex…” (Glaspell 820) Of course, Mrs. Peters is not backfiring because she does not have the bold and courageous personality that Mrs. Hale inhibits. The only phrase she says back before the men leave is: “Yes, Mr. Henderson.” So, here again it can be noted that Mrs. Peters fear and submissiveness towards societal restrictions and Mrs. Hale’s attitude of curiosity and the sense of independence that is presented in her further constructs the foil that exists between the
In the single act play Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, a foil exists between two female characters Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Glaspell allows these characters to act as foils to one another in order to highlight the contrary qualities and characteristics that are present throughout the play. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are foils to one another on the grounds that they differ from each other on their ideals of nineteenth-century feminine roles, opposition to the law, and societal restrictions on women.
To begin with, Glaspell creates a foil among Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters by presenting nineteenth-century feminine roles. From the very beginning of the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs.Peters are instructed as if they were children …show more content…
After all Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters could have discovered it themselves.As the scene of the kitchen is introduced, it is soon disregarded by the men as amounting to nothing in regards to the murder of Mr.Wright. A kitchen during the nineteenth century was thought to be nothing more than a woman’s place and a segment of a nineteenth century women's’ role. As Suzy Holstein points out, “ An exploration of the play reveals a fundamental difference between the women's actions and the men's, a difference grounded in varying understandings of the home space.” (The Midwest Quarterly) Furthermore, this leads to the idea that women’s duties were not thought to be essential to anything …show more content…
Hale and Mrs. Peters. Notice how they are characterized by their last names rather than their first names. This alone conveys the oppression that is meant to be brought to light in this play. It shows that these women are not seen as individuals but as the men they are married to and that is society’s way of restricting women from individuality. By the same token, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are in fact restricted by society and men being apart of that but how they both take on these restrictions is a different story. Mrs. Hale is quick to defend Mrs. Wright when the County Attorney makes the sly remark of: “ Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” (Glaspell 820) Mrs. Hale comes back with: “There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm.” Then the County Attorney makes a fair statement: “Ah, loyal to your sex…” (Glaspell 820) Of course, Mrs. Peters is not backfiring because she does not have the bold and courageous personality that Mrs. Hale inhibits. The only phrase she says back before the men leave is: “Yes, Mr. Henderson.” So, here again it can be noted that Mrs. Peters fear and submissiveness towards societal restrictions and Mrs. Hale’s attitude of curiosity and the sense of independence that is presented in her further constructs the foil that exists between the