Trifles; an analysis of gender and oppression

Trifles is a play written by Susan Glaspell and was first performed on August 8, 1916. The play
narrates the case of a possible murder in the Wright house, where Mr. Harry Wright was
found hanged in his bedroom while his wife was doing her chores in a semi-catatonic state.

Needless to say, the main suspect of the whole scene is Mrs. Wright, and an attorney, sheriff
of the town Mr. Peters along with his wife and a friend of the deceases, Mr. Hale, who was
also joined with his wife are examining the whole house. They play, instead of being centered
on the men, takes a great portion of time with the women in order to prove a main subject of
that time: the position of both genders during that epoch. The play is plagued of stereotypes
from that time in order to denounce what was wrong in them and how the struggles to
change this way of thinking will change this vision. In example, during the play we can see a
line that dictates the whole theme of the play, “women are used to worrying over trifles” (3).

Less discuss the stereotypes of the play; the farmer, Mr. Lewis Hale is depicted as a
hardworking man with almost no time to have a sense of personal cleanliness. This is exposed
during the examination of the kitchen, were we can clearly see that his hands are black due to
the work he previously had prior the visit to the crime scene. We have the Sheriff Peters and
the attorney, both characters with high moral views since they represent the law and order
during the play. This is also a key element to their personality, why? Both characters are
sarcastic and tend to view the women in the scene as clueless and, they also think that their
views of the world is the only thing to have in mind. Then, we have the women, Mrs. Hale,
Peters and Wright; while the last one is not on the scene, is evidently present during the play
due to the fact that is her home were the actions are happening. Another point to have in
mind is that girls were expected to behave modestly and wear long dresses. When they went
out, they had to be accompanied by an older woman or a married woman (BBC).

Of course, when we talk of oppression, we talk of a game of power; the players in this game
are the men and women of the play and is clearly viewed that the males have the upper hand.
The overconfidence of the men while they search the house and the disrespect they show
towards many of the female’s action is a clear evidential of the abuse of powers fitting of their
status. In fact, during the kitchen scene, we can clearly view an interrogatory attempt toward
Mrs. Hale about the status of the Wright’s home without the consent of the woman. Then, the
men leave hall and go upstairs to check the crime scene in order to find more clues about the
murder of Mr. Wright; as to be expected, they leave behind the women in the first floor. Is in
this moment were the whole play is almost exclusively centered around Mrs. Hale and Peters,
who arranges the table, trifles about the life of Mrs. Wright and clearly states the position
they have in life: the woman during this period were confined almost entirely to their houses
and family. A clear evidence of this can be view in the following line of Mrs. Peters: “But of
course you were awful busy, Mrs. Hale—your house and your children”. In the country, many
movements were having the beginnings during the year of 1912 to change the life of the many
women in the country, and the rising media was a main resource to propagate these ideas.
“In all of these media, the figures and faces of women were never merely about womanhood
itself; they were also about broader social or political concerns. The specific motif of large
women and little men emerged from the pen of America's most famous magazine illustrator
as soon as the construct of a New Woman was first articulated in the popular press, during the
1890s. Charles Dana Gibson, whose work appeared in Life and Collier's, envisioned the New
Woman as beautiful, upper class, and extremely haughty, someone who cowed and
frightened men”. (Kitch, 4)

While in this play this vision is no crucially touched, it is clearly present for the theme that this
drama touches. The drama itself aims towards the change of treatments for both men and
women alike, and how that by working together, they can solve a problem faster and with less
problems during the resolution of these problems. While these groups were blooming in the
world, the men in high power were aware of the dangers this treat possessed, and, of course,
such could be the case of the Sheriff and the attorney in this play: the way they use their
status above the women is evidence enough to sustain this:

“Sheriff: They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! (The men laugh, the women look
abashed.)…

County Attorney: (as one turning from serious things to little pleasantries) Well ladies, have you
decided whether she was going to quilt it or knot it?…

Mrs. Peters: My, it’s a good thing the men couldn’t hear us. Wouldn’t they just laugh! Getting all
stirred up over a little thing like a—dead canary. As if that could have anything to do with—with—
wouldn’t they laugh!” (6, 9, 10)

As pointed before, the women here are afraid of the comments of the men towards their attitudes
and findings since they don’t have anything to do about the murder. In the best of cases, they
seem trivial and a bunch of nonsense and they even realize that. The shame seems to be a
matter to be avoided in all cases and having the right manners where pivotal in the era. This is
why they never reply or seems to be any mayor reaction of the women during the play, no
matter how rude the actions of the men were, specially the attorney since he’s the most
culturally elevated person in the scene.

Generally speaking, trifles is a play that places the woman as a distracted being that can’t
contribute to the investigation of Mr. Wright, but they manage an investigation of their
Surname 4

own: the discovering of a dead bird and the state that house is in shows more than meets the
eye for the men play. Following this idea, this is the central point on why is the drama named
“trifles”; the women are constantly talking about topics outside of the actual situation and
how to contribute to the investigation.

In conclusion, we can say that this play served as a double edge work for both men and
women alike: it served for men on how a woman should behave during this time in America,
and for women, how the oppression had their peers struggling and the abuse on part of the
men was to be avoided or even a call of awareness of the better times to come. And, indeed,
times were better since their struggles had mayor success and change the way the country
would work in the later years. Surname 5

Works cited

Chafe, William H. Women in early to mid-20th century(1900-1960): social and economic

Condition. Encyclopedia. 2005. [Link]. Accessed 2 August 2018

Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. The Project Gutenberg. 17 March 2011. [Link] Accessed

2 August 2018

“How did the lifestyle and status of women change during this period”. Changes in American

culture and society. BBC. n. d. [Link]. Accessed 2 August 2018

Gilkison, Taylor. The Transformation of gender and secuality in 1920’s America: a literary

interpretation. Western Kentucky University. 26 June 2017.

Kitch, Carolyn. Destructive women and little men; masculinity, the new woman, and powe in

1910’s popular media. Northwestern University. 1999.

Rupp, Leila J. Reflections on twentieth-century American women’s history. Vol. 9, No. 2. Jun
1981. [Link]/stable/2701999 Accessed 2 August 2018