Susan Glaspell is an American playwright and author who lived in the early twentieth century. When the role of women was skewed and not even nearly equal to that of men in literature, her art reflected her society and her life. Susan wrote many plays, but one that will be the sole means of discussion for this paper is Glaspell's, Trifles(a short play she wrote in ten days), which she produced in 1916. In Trifles, Glaspell shows how women were mainly given the reproductive role which confined them to raising children and taking care of their households and husbands. Through the conflict and characters in the story, Glaspell is able to produce a feeling of oppression between the female characters. Glaspell also aligns certain details within the
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Women's roles were mainly reproductive and briefly social. These roles place a woman in the kitchen; expecting her to cook, bake, do housework and take good care of her husband. Two facets of the story, setting, and dialogue, are two very important facets to the story. The Wright farmhouse kitchen is a less than favorable place to be as is was left "left without having been put in order--unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish towel on the table--other signs of incompleted work" (Glaspell, 1). It is no coincidence that the setting is a kitchen, a place where women spend and abundance of their time in this era, that was left practically in shambles to illustrate Minnie's confused state of mind. The uncompleted work in the kitchen points to her inner chaos, leaving things messy is not in a woman's nature especially in the kitchen and in this case, it points to Minnie's breakdown from the oppression brought on by men, in this case, her husband. The dialogue is helpful, from a feminist view, in seeing the play as a patriarchal society. Further making the notion that men do not see women as their peers, The two men in our story share dialogue that expresses humiliation and belittlement towards women in general. We can see that women's feeling are never taken into consideration by men. When the sheriff says, "Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves" (Glaspell 3)." The sheriff does not care about women's thought or their possessions because they are small and insignificant. The exchange of words between the attorney and Mrs. hale about whether Mrs. Wright is going to quilt or knot her quilt, Mrs. Hale answers, "We call it--knot it" (Glaspell 10). Here, "Knot" has two meanings. One is that Mrs. Wright literally is going to knot the quilt together or the other, which is signifying that Minnie knotted the rope she used to kill her husband.
Women's roles were mainly reproductive and briefly social. These roles place a woman in the kitchen; expecting her to cook, bake, do housework and take good care of her husband. Two facets of the story, setting, and dialogue, are two very important facets to the story. The Wright farmhouse kitchen is a less than favorable place to be as is was left "left without having been put in order--unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish towel on the table--other signs of incompleted work" (Glaspell, 1). It is no coincidence that the setting is a kitchen, a place where women spend and abundance of their time in this era, that was left practically in shambles to illustrate Minnie's confused state of mind. The uncompleted work in the kitchen points to her inner chaos, leaving things messy is not in a woman's nature especially in the kitchen and in this case, it points to Minnie's breakdown from the oppression brought on by men, in this case, her husband. The dialogue is helpful, from a feminist view, in seeing the play as a patriarchal society. Further making the notion that men do not see women as their peers, The two men in our story share dialogue that expresses humiliation and belittlement towards women in general. We can see that women's feeling are never taken into consideration by men. When the sheriff says, "Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves" (Glaspell 3)." The sheriff does not care about women's thought or their possessions because they are small and insignificant. The exchange of words between the attorney and Mrs. hale about whether Mrs. Wright is going to quilt or knot her quilt, Mrs. Hale answers, "We call it--knot it" (Glaspell 10). Here, "Knot" has two meanings. One is that Mrs. Wright literally is going to knot the quilt together or the other, which is signifying that Minnie knotted the rope she used to kill her husband.