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SUSAN GLASPELL'S "TRIFLES."   Term Paper ID:30170 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the 1916 one-act play in terms of gender relationships.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses the 1916 one-act play in terms of gender relationships. Characters, plot, setting, dramatic conflict. Different meaning of common household "trifles" to the male and female characters as a key to the play's resolution. Different ways of seeing and interpreting of male and female characters. Theme of traditional rules of society vs. justice. Paper Introduction: Susan Glaspell' s classic 1916 one-act play "Trifles" is a character driven drama that pits the wits and empathy of female characters against the blinding arrogance of the male characters. Set in a bleak, Midwestern farming community, the plot centers around a murder investigation. Minnie Wright has been arrested by the sheriff for the murder of her husband John after saying that she just woke up in bed beside the body of her rope-strangled husband. What the sheriff needs is proof of Mrs. Wright's guilt in the form of motivation and evidence. The dramatic conflict of the play is the search for evidence and how that evidence is interpreted. The setting of the play is the gloomy kitchen of the Wright's farmhouse. The play's five onstage characters include the County Attorney George Henderson, Sheriff Henry Peters, his wife Mrs. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The bits and pieces of information they find informthem of the day to day meaning life Mrs. Wright was living.The information tells t story of what Angel describes as "anabused wife who kills heir abusive husband" (23 ). As the Sheriff says:"For that matter, a sheriff's wife is married to the law. Thetitle of the play comes from a remark made by Mr. Hale: "Well,women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell 959) .Theremark is ironic, although Mr. Hale does not mean it that way.It is his contempt for the lives of women, along with that ofthe other two men, that causes the two women to bond, not onlywith each other, but with Mrs. Wright as well. "Criminal Law and Women: Giving the Abused Woman Who Kills a Jury of Her Peers Who Appreciate Trifles." American Criminal Law Review 33 (Winter 1996) : 229-348.Glaspell, Susan. She also pays attention to the men saying that Mrs. right wasnot much of a housekeeper because the drying towelwas dirty, the inference being that a hardworking man is entitled to expecta clean towel to wash up with when he comes home. Once they decide to become herjury, they have the power to condemn her or set her free. A contemporary essay, "Trifles: Deconstruction from Withinthe Women's Sphere," contends that Glaspell deconstructed "gender roles by giving the female characters knowledge thatempowers them within the women's sphere" (Susan Glaspell -perspectives). No, Wright wouldn't like the bird--athing that sang. They take it upon themselvesto become a jury of her peers, which an all male jury could not be. Wright, and then they search the rest of the house and barnfor evidence, evidence which they are sure cannot be found intrivial "kitchen things." But that is where the evidence lies.The two women set about cleaning up the kitchen while the men gooff to solve the mystery . When they find a patch of wild sewing inan otherwise careful quilting, they surmise that Mrs. Wrightmust have been in a terrible state of mind. The two women come to believe that Mrs. Wright'skilling her husband was justifiable homicide. The three mencan't be bothered with he trifles found in the messy kitchensuch as jars of ruined reserves or sewing kits. In Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. She used to sing. Set in a bleak, Midwestern farming community, theplot centers around a murder investigation. Theychoose the latter course of action and do not give the Sheriffthe circumstantial evidence he could use to establish a motive.In this way the two central characters show that while theyaccept their roles as dutiful wives, they have minds of theirown, their own moral code, and will defy the traditional rules of society when they believe that is the proper way to behave. Mrs. Hale's response is"these towels get dirty awful quick. The dramatic conflict of the play is how the two maincharacters, Mrs. Peters land Mrs. Hale, will use thecircumstantial evidence they find. The setting of the play is thegloomy kitchen of the Wright's farmhouse. He killed that too"(Glaspell 965). X.J. The twowomen are the main characters. Their perceptions and the inferences they draw fromthe details they find, reveal circumstantial evidence againstMrs. Everthink of it that way, Mr. Peters?" Mrs. Peters responds:"Not--just that way" (G1Bspell 966). New York: Harper Collins, 19 1.Susan Glaspell -Perspective. By examining female possessions, the two womenare able to determine Mrs. Wright's state of mind and motive.However, it is what they decide to do with their discoverieshat provides their empowerment. The play's five onstage characters include the CountyAttorney George Henderson, Sheriff Henry Peters, his wife Mrs.Peters, the farmer Lewis Hale, and his wife Mrs. Hale. But asthey look at the kitchen items, and remember Minnie Wright'slife before and after marriage, they come to have a differentidea of how the law should be applied in the murder case. Wright, as well as he motivation for her murdering herhusband. This terrible stateof mind, they discover, resulted from her husband havingstrangled her canary to death. As women they realize thatthe all-male jury that would hear the case against Mrs. Wrightwould not understand the impact of the married life she led for3 years. Mrs. Peters statement that she does not think of beingmarried to the law in the way her husband does is a key elementin the decision she makes regarding the evidence found in the kitchen. Kennedy, ed. The way the male characters see the world in the play isdifferent from the way the female characters see the world.They figure out, for example, that the deputy sheriff who hadearlier in the day come to light the fire in the stove couldrave dirtied the towel by wiping his hands on it. They alsomake other inferences. Minnie had a sunny disposition as a girl and worepretty clothes, was lively and sang in the church choir.Marriage to the dour, cruel, cheap John Wright changed all that.Minnie turned into a shabbily dressed, cheerless women, tooembarrassed to be seen in public or go to choir practiceanymore. Sheand Mrs. Hale believe that a crime has beencommitted, and the guilty person must be punished. The broken cage and strangledcanary lead them to believe that John Wright's destruction ofthe only beauty and music left in Minnie Wright's life was acriminal violation on his part, a violation for which Mrs. Wright feltcompelled to seek justice. The three male characters tend to bear this out. As the two women discuss the Wrights, and go over thehousehold "trifles," the begin to notice things that they wouldnotice around their own homes, and around the homes of otherhousewives. While Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters tidyup they discuss the effect that Mrs. Wright's unhappy marriagehad upon her. Susan Glaspell' s classic 1916 one-act play "Trifles" is a characterdriven drama that pits the wits and empathy of femalecharacters against the blinding arrogance of the malecharacters. Men's hands aren't always as clean asthey might be"(Glaspell 959) .The County Attorney replies that she is justbeing loyal to her sex This exchange is an example of the different outlookand experiences of the male and female characters that Glaspell depicts. Minnie Wright hasbeen arrested by the sheriff for the murder of her husband Johnafter saying that she just woke up in bed beside the body of herrope-strangled husband. It is, however, the unseencharacter of the accused around who dominates the play. At the beginning of the play the County Attorney tells thetwo women to "keep an eye out for anything that might be of useto us" (Glaspell 96 ) .The women intend to do this. Trifles. Fifth edition. What the sheriff needs is proof of Mrs.Wright's guilt in the form of motivation and evidence. Works CitedAngel, Marina. "Trifles: Deconstruction from Within the Women's Sphere." http://www.tcnj.edu/-verasteg/viewssg.htm They tell thetwo women to gather up some personal things to be brought toMrs. Thedramatic conflict of the play is the search for evidence and howthat evidence is interpreted. Thetwo women consider John Wright's cruelty to his wife and murderof her canary crimes because they realize he killed not only herbird who may have represented a surrogate child for Mrs. Wright,but his wife's joy as well. Mrs. Hale says: "I wonder how it would seem never to havehad any children around. But thenature of the true crime and the guilty person must bedetermined. Theyare only interested in the big picture, and in maintaining thestructure of a male dominated society. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.