Trifles is a story that deals with the way women are perceived in society. This piece represents the early twentieth century, and at this time women had a very small amount of rights. Their role was usually just to be a housewife, to clean the house and take care of the children. In the story, there are some examples of this type of treatment. One can also see many stereotypes of the ways women were expected to act, and how they acted. There are also many male stereotypes about their treatment towards women. These stereotypes make the piece more interesting since they give the reader a glimpse at the everyday conversations of those times.
Throughout Glaspell's piece, one can mostly observe examples of female stereotypes of the time. One of
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For example, we can see that men's work is more physical, or of higher prestige, like the sheriff. However, women work as housekeepers, keeping the house tidy and raising the kids. Another way to compare these stereotypes is in their way of thought. It is very clear that the men think about “the big picture” since none of them stopped to look at the small details. On the other hand, women were paying attention to every single detail in the house, mostly focusing on the “smaller picture”. In the play it is also very stereotypical to see men mocking women since they have the last word and women's opinions are just "unimportant": "[After the women find the quilt and start discussing what happened] Sheriff: They wonder if she was going to quilt or just knot it! [The men laughed; the women look abashed]”. (1863) The stereotypes in this story are very important since they represent what women were in the era. They were often regarded as house workers, even seeming like the husband’s employee or servant. Most times they were treated as lower than men as if they had little to offer compared to them. However, these stereotypes agree with one of the central themes of the play: