“Trifles” is a play set in 1916 and written by Susan Glaspell. It is a murder conspiracy that unfolds in a creepy yet interesting manner. It represents the author’s cultural affiliation to her environment at the time. It also presents the roles of different genders at the time and how they were perceived. The title is a representation that everything written in the play is a comparison between how men view things and what women consider as important to them. However, the story does not reveal that all women are concerned about are trifles. Instead, it contradicts the perception by revealing that women can be much smarter than men, even when they are not expected to. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical literary analysis of the play. The essay highlights the different areas where society has defined the roles of women, yet they have overcome the odds by doing the complete opposite. Besides highlighting the role of genders, the essay also highlights the symbols in the play and their representation of gender roles.
In the first scene of the play, there are three men and two women on stage. Sheriff Peters, the court attorney Mr Henderson, the neighbour Mr Hale, Mrs Hale, and Mrs Peters are at the Wrights’ house to investigate the murder of Mr John Wright, who has initially been strangled by a rope. The men first set up the fire and invited the ladies to join them (Hilton 149). However, regardless of the cold of the night, Mrs. Peters decides she is not cold and refuses to join them. This shows the segregation between the men and the women of the community at the time of the play’s setting. They have defined different roles for each other. The roles are so far apart that mingling for a fire becomes difficult for Mrs. Peters.
The sheriff mutters some words to suggest that Mrs. Wright should be worried about more important things than her preserves. This is after Mrs Peter tells the group that Mrs Wright is worried about what might happen to her preserves with the extremely low temperatures. The way the sheriff muses about her worrying about preserves shows that this community has conditioned women to be multipurpose beings. Besides having to go through the trouble of jarring berries to put together the preserves, they expect her not to be worried if they burst. All the same, the sheriff claims that she is a typical woman. “Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 30). Mrs. Wright is supposed to only worry about herself being held for murder and to forget about her preserves. The claim does not sound fair, but it shows the place of women in society.
Also, as they look around the house, the county Attorney notes that the kitchen towels are dirty and concludes that Mrs. Wright must have been a careless and dirty woman. All this while, he does not mention Mr. Wright regarding the housekeeping. Her fellow women attempt to stand up for her, but the men oppose, claiming that having a farm should not be an excuse for failing to clean the kitchen. At this point, it is obvious that this society has clearly defined gender roles, and the women are solely for housekeeping and ensuring that everything is in order. The county Attorney claims that there are women who own farms yet spare their time to clean their kitchen. Critically analyzing the situation, one can conclude that that was too much work on the side of women (Hilton 147). Using logic to reason it out, the Wrights had a farm. If the couple divided the labour for farm work, then it would also be fair if they assisted each other in the housework. The men do not realize this. Therefore, they put all the blame on the woman whose kitchen is unkempt. The defence by the ladies shows that they may have been through a similar situation, where they are caught up in balancing housework and other chores.
Most of the scenes in the play are in the kitchen. The women in society are given unimportant roles, yet when they are not properly done, the main complaint is without taking into consideration the struggles of a woman. As explained by the title, women are viewed as trifles. The word can be defined as something of little importance. Even as they begin the investigation, the men are focused on the scene of the murder, as the women are left to look around the kitchen and see if they can find anything. The women’s perception of the kitchen is not as evidence or a place to get hints from. They still treat it as a home and even feel sorry for Mrs Wright because the jars of her preserves have burst because of the low temperatures. They even try to clear the kitchen mess as they attempt to find hints (Glaspell 32). Surprisingly, most of the evidence of the murder is in the kitchen. Perhaps if it was the men who had investigated the scene, they might not have uncovered the little details about Mrs Wright and her possible motive for the murder of her husband.
The ladies in the scene do not treat Mrs Wright as a murder suspect. Instead, they treat her as a fellow woman. They even complain that they would not personally be okay with someone checking out their kitchen if they were in jail. Mrs. Hale also feels guilty for not visiting her old friend when she still could (Hilton 147). The details of the motive of the murder were uncovered because it is easier for women to relate with their fellow women. The fact that the women are there as friends and treat the scene as a home, yet the men treat it as a professional site for investigation, shows the different roles between men and women roles.
The men in the play are ignorant, while the women are keen to detail. For one to figure out what actually transpired in a murder case, it is important to keenly look into the lives of both the suspect and the victim. Identifying the motive in a murder case does not need substantial evidence. Instead, it needs one to figure out the life they were living and find out if there was any reason to motivate murder (Dozier). The place where the women are placed is where there is all the evidence that they need to convict Mrs Wright. This can be translated to mean, often, society choses to place women in positions they think are low. However, in doing this, they place them in reserves of truth and evidence. They put them in areas where they can see things exactly as they are. Men, with their ignorance, place themselves in high positions where they think there is truth. The women keep the truth to themselves in an attempt to defend each other. The men remain hidden from it, yet they are only unaware of its existence. Men attempt to exercise power and authority over women, which leaves the honest, most important and useful things unsaid by women (Glaspell 40).
The women instantly identify with Mrs Wright and the life she has been living. Back in the day, she used to sing in the choir and was also a jovial woman. All this has changed ever since she was married to John Wright. He forbade her from singing, yet because of her loneliness, she takes a bird to keep her company. The cherries are a symbol of the dark life that she has been going through. The bursting of the jars symbolizes breaking out from the roles that society has confined her in. Perhaps killing Mr. Wright was one of her ways to achieve her long-awaited freedom. The caged bird is a sign of the captivity experienced by Mrs. Wright (Hilton 148).
Some critics claim that the book justifies murder. However, according to the discussion, the book is a presentation of the plight of women in the community. It identifies different gender roles according to the timing of the setting. Perhaps these and many more are the struggles that women go through as men segregate them.
Works Cited
Dozier, Barbra. “The Gender Conflicts in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles.”. Barbra Dozier’s Blog, 2018, https://barbradozier.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/the-gender-conflicts-in-susan-glaspells-trifles/. Accessed 14 Apr 2018.
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. [Publisher Not Identified], 2014.
Hilton, Leon. “Trifles, By Susan Glaspell”. Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, vol 21, no. 1, 2011, pp. 147-149. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/0740770x.2011.563045.
