Trifles by Susan Glaspell - 604 Words

Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a one-act play that explores the theme of the gender roles and social positions of men and women in early twentieth-century America. The play is loosely based on the true event of the murder of John Hossack which Glaspell reported on while working as a news journalist in Iowa. Years later, she used her experiences and observations to create the play. Trifles is about solving the murder case of farmer John Wright. While Mr. Wright was asleep in the night, someone put a rope around his neck. The most likely suspect is his wife, Mrs. Wright/Minnie Foster. Susan Glaspell shows in the play how women are seen as inferior and how men and women act and think differently. For one thing, the title reinforces the theme and understanding the play better. The title suggests, the concerns of women are often considered to be trifles, insignificant or superficial to society, which is dominated by men. Glaspell challenges the value of men’s and women’s pe rspectives and work by having a drama filled situation that unfolds through the development of one male narrative and one female narrative. Holstein argues that the two narratives are built upon two models of perception and behavior. An exploration of the play reveals a fundamental difference between the womens actions and the mens, a difference grounded in varying understandings of the home space (Holstein). In the play, the county attorney George Henderson, the sheriff Henry Peters, and aShow MoreRelatedTrifles, By Susan Glaspell Essay2136 Words   |  9 Pagesprimarily of a domestic nature. Trifles by Susan Glaspell indicates that a man’s perspective is entirely different from a woman’s. The one-act play, Trifles, is a murder mystery which examines the lives of rural, middle-aged, married, women characters through gender relationships, power between the sexes, and the nature of truth. The play, written in the early 1900s, long before the women’s movement and while men considered women their possessions. In the story of Trifles, it is easy to recognize theRead MoreTrifles by Susan Glaspell1158 Words   |  5 PagesAnalytical Essay on Drama Trifles by Susan Glaspell Heidi Barnard South University Trifles’ By Susan Glaspell I believe had several small defining moments leading to the one larger defining moment, which brings together all of them together. The defining moment is the discovery of the dead bird hidden in the pretty red box, this leads back to smaller points such as her sewing and the bird cage. â€Å" Here’s some red. I expect this has got sewing things in it. (Brings out a fancy box.) What aRead MoreTrifles By Susan Glaspell1000 Words   |  4 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the author presents a predominant  theme of women and femininity. This theme reflects upon the underlying message of the play, that women are not treated fairly and are not seen in the same light as men. Susan Glaspell demonstrates the common assumptions made by men towards women in terms of roles and degrading their value/insight. Throughout the play, Glaspell provides many instances to where a woman’s value or insight is degraded. Hale demonstrates thisRead MoreTrifles, By Susan Glaspell1034 Words   |  5 Pagessay goes. The 1912 play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, who was inspired to write this play from a story she covered as a reporter. A murder case is being held and authorities are getting down to it suspecting a woman of killing her husband in his sleep. The character Mrs. Hale who is neighbors and friends with Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife and Mrs. Wright, the woman accused of the murder of her Husband, Mr. Wright. The character Mrs. Hale, in the Susan Glaspell s play Trifles, is displayed as a empoweringRead MoreTrifles, By Susan Glaspell Essay1469 Words   |  6 PagesSusan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles is based on the murder investigation of John Wright. Minnie Wright’s isolation and the death of her canary are the major factors that led to the murder of her husband. Glaspell stresses the perceived supremacy of males when investigating the murder by giving the men lead roles in the investigation and by making fun of the â€Å"trifles† that the women are choosing to observe. It is ironic because the ordinary items observed by the women were thought of as â€Å"trifles†Read MoreTrifles : Susan Glaspell s Trifles940 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is a trifle? A trifle is something that has little to no importance (dictionary.com). For instance, the color of your nails would be considered a trifle. In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, women are criticized and made fun of by men because of the little things they worry about, such as the color of their nails or their hair. This exhibits the gender role difference portrayed during the play’s time period. The central conflict is what the plot is centered around. In Trifles, the central conflictRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1507 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Trifles† is a one act p lay written by Susan Glaspell in 1916, which was first performed on August 8th by the Provincetown Players in Provincetown, Massachusetts at the Wharf Theater. The author, Susan Glaspell, was born on July 1, 1876 in Davenport, Iowa. Over her lifetime she had become proficient in many different professions: Playwright, Actress, Novelist, and Journalist. For her works, she won an American Pulitzer Prize in 1931. The Provincetown Players was founded by Susan Glaspell and herRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1732 Words   |  7 PagesSusan Glaspell (1876-1948) was an American-born Pulitzer Prize winning writer of both plays and fiction. Glaspell came from humble beginnings and went on to study at Drake University and the University of Chicago. Much of Glaspell s work dealt with the relationships between men and women and the negative effects they have on women. In Glaspell s play Trifles, it is revealed that the operations of patriarchy are just an illusion that men have created to make themselves feel superior to womenRead MoreTrifles by Susan Glaspell Essay1253 Words   |  6 Pages Susan Glaspell’s most memorable one-act play, Trifles (1916) was based on murder trial case that happened in the 1900’s. Glaspell worked as a reporter, where she appointed a report of a murder case. It was about a farmer, John Hossack who was killed while he was asleep in bed one night. His wife claimed that she was asleep next to him when the attack occurred. No one believed in her statement, she was arrested and was charged on first degree murder. In Trifles, the play takes place at an abandonRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 1205 Words   |  5 Pagesreporters, Susan Glaspell, decided to write a literary version of this investigation and â€Å"Trifles† came to be. Susan Glaspell is a feminist writer from Davenport, Iowa who started off writing for a newspaper called Des Moines Daily News. Later on her literary career she left the journalism industry and founded a theatrical organization called ‘Provincetown Players’ on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In Trifles, Glaspell covers issues regarding female oppression and patriarchal domination. Susan Glaspell’s