"Trifles"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Susan Glaspell's work, "Trifles." It argues that the play is a powerful feminist text that draws attention to the destructive effect that the strict and coercive roles the women have to play in a society, have on their inner lives. The paper describes the content of the play and the message that Glaspell tries to convey through her work.

From the Paper:

"The play thus emphasizes the importance of the neglected "trifles" of the women's inner lives, which seem unimportant, as they produce no obvious effect on the outer reality. John Wright is described as a good man through the eyes of society, but the women intuitively perceive his coldness and heartlessness, which for them is equal to murder: "Yes -- good; he didn't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him -- [Shivers.] Like a raw wind that gets to the bone."(Glaspell) Wright performs well in society, but the women understand the chilling, murdering effect such a man would have on the joy of life. The women's experience is thus seen almost as a common block: all go through a "different kind of the same thing': "I know how things can be -- for women. I tell you, it's queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things -- it's all just a different kind of the same thing."(Glaspell) Thus, the division of the two worlds, the masculine and the feminine appears to be irreconcilable, as the many men have yet to understand the subtleties of life."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/trifles.htm

More papers on "Trifles":

• Analytical Essay # 2148 : "Susan Glaspell's "Trifles": Suspect or Victim?"
• Comparison Essay # 73789 : "Trifles" and "Crime and Punishment"
• Book Review # 100914 : "Trifles" and Victorian Society"
• Book Review # 68980 : "Trifles"

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