FREE ESSAY ON APPARENT FEMINISMS IN THE PLAY TRIFLES

APPARENT FEMINISMS IN THE PLAY TRIFLES

Apparent Feminisms in the Play Trifles
Male domination in 1916, when Susan Glaspell's play Trifles was written, was the way of
life. Men controlled most women and women were not very outspoken during that time
period. Mr. Wright in her play was no different from the rest, but she made him a symbol
of all the men in the community. The play opens at the scene of the crime. The first
three characters who enter the room are the three men involved in the investigation of
the murder at hand. The purpose of their visit is to find evidence of motivation of
murder, but the women who they leave downstairs find the very evidence that they are
looking for.
The men presume the women to be harmless for a couple of reasons one being: the women are
left in the kitchen where, according to the Sheriff, there are "nothing but kitchen
things"(1174). His comment was in response to the County Attorney's question about the
Sheriff being "convinced that there was nothing important" in the kitchen "nothing that
would point to any motive" (1174).
The concerns of the women are considered little or silly and insignificant and this is
the most important reason for the men's comments about them. The Sheriff laughs when the
women express that maybe the frozen preserves have some meaning (1174). Mr. Hale, who is
the husband of one of the women, comments "women are used to worrying over trifles"
(1174). They figure the women are not dangerous because they are in a room where there
could not possibly be any evidence, but also because they believe that the women's minds
are so limited to "trifles" that they are not a threat to the investigation. The men feel
that the women cannot think, cannot act, and cannot do any harm to their investigative
work. 
However, the women find lots of evidence in that room. They do think, act, and sabotage
the investigation. They find the very evidence that the men are looking for. In most
stories of this nature the men are the center of attention, but Glaspell opens our eyes
to something new. Not only do the men not solve the case, but they also aren't the center
of attention. Even though the men were not using lots of demeaning dialogue and they are
not patronizing the women, it is clear that they are using the traditional manly ways to
put the women down. Men say that they are superior to women and that they can do
everything by themselves, but why is it that the County Attorney's biggest dilemma is
that he cannot figure this case out by himself yet the women can? 
The men's lack of knowledge, the failure to solve the case, and the men's insignificance
in the play speak for themselves. This is a reversal of the characterizations of the
women of that time period. Glaspell was successful in showing us this by letting the
audience see everything from a woman's point of view. Not only were the men superficial
feminists, they were simply trifles.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. The Bedford Introduction to Liter
ature. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.Martin's, 1999. 1172-118
3.
Apparent Feminisms in the Play Trifles
Male domination in 1916, when Susan Glaspell's play Trifles was written, was the way of
life. Men controlled most women and women were not very outspoken during that time
period. Mr. Wright in her play was no different from the rest, but she made him a symbol
of all the men in the community. The play opens at the scene of the crime. The first
three characters who enter the room are the three men involved in the investigation of
the murder at hand. The purpose of their visit is to find evidence of motivation of
murder, but the women who they leave downstairs find the very evidence that they are
looking for.
The men presume the women to be harmless for a couple of reasons one being: the women are
left in the kitchen where, according to the Sheriff, there are "nothing but kitchen
things"(1174). His comment was in response to the County Attorney's question about the
Sheriff being "convinced that there was nothing important" in the kitchen "nothing that
would point to any motive" (1174).
The concerns of the women are considered little or silly and insignificant and this is
the most important reason for the men's comments about them. The Sheriff laughs when the
women express that maybe the frozen preserves have some meaning (1174). Mr. Hale, who is
the husband of one of the women, comments "women are used to worrying over trifles"
(1174). They figure the women are not dangerous because they are in a room where there
could not possibly be any evidence, but also because they believe that the women's minds
are so limited to "trifles" that they are not a threat to the investigation. The men feel
that the women cannot think, cannot act, and cannot do any harm to their investigative
work. 
However, the women find lots of evidence in that room. They do think, act, and sabotage
the investigation. They find the very evidence that the men are looking for. In most
stories of this nature the men are the center of attention, but Glaspell opens our eyes
to something new. Not only do the men not solve the case, but they also aren't the center
of attention. Even though the men were not using lots of demeaning dialogue and they are
not patronizing the women, it is clear that they are using the traditional manly ways to
put the women down. Men say that they are superior to women and that they can do
everything by themselves, but why is it that the County Attorney's biggest dilemma is
that he cannot figure this case out by himself yet the women can? 
The men's lack of knowledge, the failure to solve the case, and the men's insignificance
in the play speak for themselves. This is a reversal of the characterizations of the
women of that time period. Glaspell was successful in showing us this by letting the
audience see everything from a woman's point of view. Not only were the men superficial
feminists, they were simply trifles.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. The Bedford Introduction to Liter
ature. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.Martin's, 1999. 1172-118
3.
Bibliography
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. The Bedford Introduction to Liter
ature. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.Martin's, 1999. 1172-118