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Gender Norms In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

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The author of many drama plays and short stories, Susan Glaspell is an exceptional writer and creator. She is famous for many of her works, and the drama/play “Trifles” is definitely one of the top. “Trifles” has much more meaning and detail than it may seem on the surface. All of the characters play some type of role into the whole meaning of the story. The two wives stick together, as the husbands follow their patriarchal thinking. The author added in many thoughts on gender norms and stereotypes especially back in the day. All of the details, themes, literary devices, symbols, and characters have great significance in the story. Susan Glaspell incorporated the different settings and details to impact her story and plot of the mystery in …show more content…

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were still conflicted in choosing the side of helping Mrs. Wright out, and being on the side of standing up against women oppression, or the side of following the law because at the end of the day, a murder was still committed. It was two different types of morals their mind was torn between. Throughout the story, the readers can tell that they were done with the arrogance and ignorance of the men, When Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale found the blanket and tried to cover the hidden clues, men thought nothing of it except for the fact that that is the only thing women have to worry about. That along with the jars of fruit Mrs. Wright has kept. Widyaningrum states, “When Glaspell wrote the play, women were designated to be inside the house and especially the kitchen, women’s domains that do not assign important responsibilities and empowerment to men. This article argues that the typical entrapment of women can only be overcome through the sisterhood and empowerment of women” (Widyaningrum 32). The way that the men acted so ignorant made the women lean even more towards Mrs. Wright’s side, and helped her out with hiding the evidence. All of the evidence that was found were stereotypes of what women were “designated to do”, so the men paid no attention to it. Glaspell wanted …show more content…

The idea of Mr. Wright killing the bird went into the idea of him killing Mrs. Wright’s happiness, then that eventuating into the murder of Mr. Wright and the type of injury that caused it. Luebering states, “They represent two opposite ideologies; patriarchy and feminism delivered by the male and female characters. The discourses show personal power, debate ideas, and building solidarity. The male character uses the discourse to display personal power. Meanwhile, the female characters use the discourses to debate ideas and build their solidarity as women” (Luebering 8). This also goes into how Glaspell showed the different power stances of the men and women in the case. She wanted to add the idea of patriarchy into her story since, at that time she wrote it, sexism was a very big deal and was beginning to gain more recognition. She wanted to truly expose what women were going through, and the oppression that could be existing in so called “happy marriages”. Glaspell carefully thought out her planning for her story, and she executed it

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In Susan Glaspell 's Trifles, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the primary characters that act out against social norms. An unseen character in the play; Mrs. Wright was one of the prime suspects in the case of her

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The scene begins to unfolds in their minds. Mr. Wright yanking open the cage door, taking out the bird, and breaking its fragile neck was enough to make Mrs. Wright lash out, and in a heat of passion, kill her husband. As the trifles collect,  the women worry that the men will see their findings, and have what they need to prove Mrs. Wright guilty. Though the men believe her to be the murderer, the women are trying their best to hide the evidence that will prove it.

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Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters contemplate this disturbing discovery, and they wonder who else could be capable of this act of violence. They know Mrs. Wright surely did not do it, as she cared for the bird greatly, she even “used to sing real pretty herself” and the women have already concluded “she would’ve liked a bird.” That leaves Mr. Wright, and due to the fact that he broke the birdcage, it is only reasonable that he killed the bird as well. This realization that the women make leads them to what the men have been searching for all day, a motive. Mr. Wright likes the quiet, so he killed the singing canary which happens to be the only thing bringing happiness to Mrs. Wright.

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Wright killed the canary and is also motive for Mrs. Wright to seek revenge. The women conclude that Mrs. Wright’s bird was her prized possession, the bird even reminds the women of Mrs. Wright, “‘She—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. How—she—did—change.’”

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