ipl-logo

Competition In Sarah Glaspell's Trifles

1368 Words6 Pages

The world is divided into two sets of individuals: male and female. While there are many variances between each gender, it seems that competition is the most important aspect of both sides. Men want to be better than women, but women know they are better than men. Who is stronger, who is more intelligent, who is always right, and who should lead the household are a few arguments most men and women bicker about in regards to his or her sex. This idea of dominance and gender-outdoing-gender often causes many problems. As a result, the majority of roadblocks that have gotten in the way of success for centuries have a root in gender competition, and this is evident in Sarah Glaspell’s 1916 play, Trifles. Although the murder of Mr. Wright is the headline for Trifles, the issue that inhibits the discovery of the felon and drives the plot is the conflict of genders. In the exposition of Trifles, the women have an emphasis placed on their looks and actions inside of the house, unlike the men. The first set of stage directions closely defines Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters by their appearances, while the men are simply noted as “bundled up” (601). Although this is so small that many people in the audience overlook it, this detail shares a great deal in the significance of the play. Just as the women …show more content…

The title alone is also a pun-like definition woven into dialogue of the play signifying that the women are of little value or importance to not only the investigation, but to society in general. Everything beneficial that could have been used for this murder is hidden due to the conflicting parties involved. Although this play is based and written in 1916, men and women still struggle today with the dominance and stereotypes that each gender holds. This conflict has a knot on society that is nearly impossible to

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Difference Between The Hossack Murder And A Jury Of Her Peers

    1422 Words  | 6 Pages

    As the two women and their husbands visit Minnie’s house looking for clues the men comment on the women’s attention to what they see as useless details saying “‘... would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?’” (150). The husbands' remarks criticize women, making them feel like they have no voice in the situation. At the same time, the results of the trial in “The Hossack Murder” also portray how women had no strength in court as they declare “We, the jury, find the defendant, Mrs. Margaret Hossack, guilty as charged in the indictment” (193). The justice system was against them, finding her guilty for just being a woman.

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In Othello And A Streetcar Named Desire

    1737 Words  | 7 Pages

    Although being written centuries apart, the limited expectations of women presented in ‘Othello’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ differ little from each other. The female characters are confined by society’s expectations of male dominance, female purity and virginity, and the many passive roles of women. Despite the differing legalities surrounding the position of women between the centuries in which the plays were written, both plays explore the impact of how societal conventions confine women and the ways they must comply to be safe in a patriarchal society. The behaviours and treatments of Desdemona, Blanche and Stella illustrate the attitudes enforced on and the behaviours of women throughout both periods in time and it is these attitudes and behaviours that impact the plays to the greatest extent. When characters in either plays defy their norms, or demonstrate a lack of compliance they induce negative consequences, such as the murder of Desdemona and the institutionalisation of Blanche.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Steel Magnolias

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    The play provides both comedic and mournful moments. In the end of the play, it is deeply revealing of the powerful bond the women share. Robert Harling uses conflict, mood, tone, and characters to portray this. The title suggest that women are delicate like

    Read More

  • Syntax In Trifles

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diction of the play helps to advance the plot and the theme of this play immensely. The word choice between the genders is different; the women sound more educated whenever the men aren’t around. This goes to show that women were only expected to speak if they didn’t sound nearly as intelligent as the men did. Glaspells use of this gives the reader the impression that the women don’t even want to be speaking properly, for fear of rebuke from their spouse. The author’s use of diction helps us to understand the women and their importance in the society at the time.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The World On Turtle's Back

    476 Words  | 2 Pages

    This idea has been diffused over centuries, but people now are trying to impede gender disparity and efface it. To conclude, we find ourselves on a dilemma. On one side we have machism and men thinking they are better than women and vice versa. On the other, we have people who are just looking for gender equality.

    Read More

  • Susan Glaspell's Trifles: An Analysis

    1207 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many female characters in stories are realistic to females in the real world. For example, Susan Glaspell’s story called Trifles has female characters that resemble the females living in Glaspell’s society. The female characters in the story are wives to the investigators for the case. As a matter of fact, the Women’s Rights Movement (WRM) was also taking place during Glaspell’s society. “This movement was far from unified, however; strife and division often arose as activists faced the difficulties of meeting the diverse needs and priorities of the women of America” (Andreas et al.).The WRM did start in the 1800’s which is long before Trifles came out, but the movement lasted until the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Trifles

    1014 Words  | 5 Pages

    The characters in the play reveal some of the gender stereotypes through the way they are presented in the beginning of the play, “The sheriff and Hale are men in the middle life… They are followed

    Read More

  • Real Women Have Curves Play Analysis

    865 Words  | 4 Pages

    In comparison to the movie, the play undermines male dominance by focusing on women’s efforts to solve their own problems. First of all, there aren’t even men in the cast of the play,

    Read More

  • Trifles By Susan Glaspell Research Paper

    1238 Words  | 5 Pages

    Susan Glaspell's play "Trifles" explores the theme of silencing of marginalized groups such as women. The play is set in the early 1900s and centers around the investigation of a murder in a rural farmhouse. As the male investigators search for evidence, their female companions begin to uncover clues that the men overlook, leading them to solve the case, but decide not to tell the men. In order to portray the theme, Glaspell employs many literary techniques such as irony, dialogue, and symbolism.

    Read More

  • Perceiving Evidence In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Susan Glaspell's play “Trifles,” there is a difference between the men and women’s way of perceiving evidence to Mr. Wright’s murder case. The men spend most of their time searching for solid evidence upstairs where Mr. Wright's murder takes place. However, the women spend most of their time in Mrs. Wright’s kitchen. Instead of seeking tangible evidence, they inspect the condition of the items and acknowledge how they have been muddled around. Different perspectives lead to a variety of discoveries such as the women’s way of perceiving evidence.

    Read More

  • Trifles And A Jury Of Her Peers Analysis

    1408 Words  | 6 Pages

    " Adversely, the story doesn't leave much for the reader to decide how to feel, it almost tells one how to feel because the detail is so engaging. That was just the point that Glaspell was trying to make though when she decided to turn the play into a story. It was the story, rather than her play, that drove her message home; the pursuit of justice for women in a man's

    Read More

  • Trifles Gender Roles

    823 Words  | 4 Pages

    The one-act play, “Trifles,” by Susan Glaspell, has several themes that are incorporated within it. There are several dominant ideas such as female identity, patriarchal dominance, isolation, and justice are themes that are all reflected in different ways throughout the play; however, gender is the main theme of “Trifles.” There is a considerable difference between the roles of the men and the women in this play. The men are expected to act in a more controlling, dominant way, while the women are expected to act in the typical ‘housekeeper’ fashion. The theme of gender is brought out through the play in many dramatic elements such as character, tone, and dramatic irony.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Play Trifles

    1001 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nevertheless, while using the play’s setting to first project the notion that men are superior to women in the society, the actual murder investigations depicted by the play goes to underline that indeed women are not inferior to men. Therefore, while placing the women’s intelligence over that of men, Trifles challenges the typical male-dominated detective story by deviating from the norm of men being superior, women only being good for the kitchen, and women paying attention to unimportant things like a jar of preserves busted. Although the men in the play, Trifles, are depicted most determined to resolve the murder by combing throughout the entire house to discover the clues related to the murder and the motive of the murder, women are keener in observing the small spaces they have been allowed to access. In the

    Read More

  • Gender Differences In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

    1795 Words  | 8 Pages

    Section 1: Introduction Susan Glaspell’s Trifles is a play about the effect of gender differences on perceptions of duty, law, and justice. The play Trifles was a murder mystery that got investigated by the County Attorney (George Henderson), the Sheriff (Henry Peters) along with his wife (Mrs. Peters), and a neighbor farmer (Lewis Hale) with his wife (Mrs. Hale). The story took place in an isolated farm house that was miles from the rest of the community in the Midwest. The victim of this murder mystery was John Wright as he was found dead with a rope around this neck.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Lysistrata By Aristophanes

    1568 Words  | 7 Pages

    Introduction The purpose of this essay is to investigate the women’s role in Classical Greece society and literature (5th/4th century b.C.). Therefore, I decided to discuss and analyse one of the most controversial comedies of that time, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. This text shows how women, sick of their submissive and powerless position in the political scenario of Athens and Sparta, come on the scene and, through a smart stratagem, achieve their expected result.

    Read More

More about Competition In Sarah Glaspell's Trifles

Open Document