Paper Summary:

In an examination of "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell, "I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, this paper explains that, while the works share a common theme about society's prescribed roles for women, each work delivers its message using a different genre.

From the Paper:

"Susan Glaspell shows her views of the role of women in her play "Trifles." The genre play has two important features that influence how Glaspell presents her views. The first is that the play is a visual genre. A play is designed to be performed, rather than read. This means that Glaspell needs to show how women are suppressed and the place they are given, rather than focus on how women feel about it. Unlike a short story or a poem, a play cannot be largely focused on a woman's interior dialogue or what she thinks. Instead, a play must deliver its message via the action that happens. The second important feature of a play is that it is a way of depicting life. Glaspell is able to look at life, observe what she sees is wrong with society, and then put a representation of life on the stage so that other people can see what she sees. This is exactly what she effectively does in the play. One of the major ways the play makes its point is by showing how men act and how they view women. This is seen when the sheriff is looking in the kitchen and states that there is "nothing here but kitchen things" (Glaspell 997)."

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