Theme Of Gender In Trifles

Register to read the introduction… Wright differently. The men see the Wright's relationship from an outsider's stance; they know Mr. Wright to be a hard man, but have no cause to believe he was out of line in his treatment of his wife. Thus, they don't even consider Mrs. Wright's living conditions or spousal abuse as a motive. Probably, if abuse were even considered as a motive, it would be thrown out in the sexist farm society of this play. Meanwhile, the women look at Mrs. Wright's plight and what it must have been like to live in a house with practically no escape and no company other than the hard Mr. Wright. They understate their thoughts to the men saying, "But I don't think a place'd be any cheerfuller for John Wright's being in it (1354)". The women are sympathetic even when the begin to find that Mrs. Wright was more than likely the murderer; they understand what she must have felt and her monotonous life with Mr. Wright. The women see Mrs. Wright as a whole person. The men see her as simply a murder suspect. Perhaps the most significant difference between the sexes that is demonstrated in this play occurs at the end. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale deliberately conceal the evidence that they find that links Mrs. Wright with the murder in order to protect her from her impending fate. They chose to hide the dead bird instead of showing it to the authorities, perhaps because they will deem it a "trifle" and perhaps because it could be incriminating. Either way, the qualities that the men deem purely feminine in this play turn out to be the exact things that help the women solve the mystery. At the end, they chose to stick together as a sex and to protect their own gender. As the County Attorney says at the beginning of the play, "Ah, loyal to your sex, I see (1354)". The women side with each other in the face of male adversity, they understand each others' frustrations with their everyday farm-life oppression. Shared discrimination is the cause of women's willingness as a sex to bond together against their male oppressors. As Judy Topich points out, "Even though the women were not personal friends with Minnie Wright, they still bond together to protect her because of the sympathy that they feel for another woman who has also hurt and suffered". The men in this play seem to be simply individuals, an "every man for himself" mentality. They bond as men, but do not protect each other as the women. Glaspell seems to be making the statement that women tend to be more compassionate and thus, more willing to side with their own sex. Glaspell sums many of these gender differences into one sentence, "Women are used to worrying over trifles (1353)". …show more content…
What is a "trifle"? The question is, are the things women worry over really trifles or, rather, relevant and important information? In this play, the "trifles" are the most important keys to finding the clues to solve this mystery. In short, these women are put down for their attention to detail and their insight into the minds and feelings of others. Glaspell makes it clear that the men and women in this play not only present "action vs. emotion" views to solving this mystery, they also identify with the suspect differently and side with their respective sexes. Glaspell intends these men and women to be representatives of their sexes. She shows the differences between men and women and their pros and cons. Most importantly, Glaspell shows the reader that the differences between men and women are definitely not "trifles". Works Cited Banner, Lois. Women in Modern America: A Brief History. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1974. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2005. Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles." Plays by Susan Glaspell. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., 1920. Reprinted in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia Eds. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 2004.