StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s Trifles. The Motive of Isolation - Essay Example

Summary
The essay "Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s “Trifles”. The Motive of Isolation" tells about society at that time that was very stiff about gender roles and women as well as men were put into strict frames. They were supposed to follow certain patterns as presented in different episodes of the analyzed book…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s Trifles. The Motive of Isolation
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s Trifles. The Motive of Isolation"

Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s “Trifles”. The Motive of Isolation Susan Glaspells created her famous play “Trifles” in 1916 when feministic movement only started to develop. The society at that time was very stiff about gender roles and women as well as men were put into strict frames. They were supposed to behave in a certain way, to speak accordingly and to dress following some rules and norms. The position of men was domineering while women were considered as those engaged in mere trifles. The very title of Glaspell`s story helps to understand all the aspects of woman`s position at once: she is not responsible for anything except for the kids and the house, her place is in the kitchen while the destiny of the world and her destiny as well is decided by a man. Therefore, there is no a decent place for a woman in society as she is absolutely dependent on her man`s will. Such situation leads to serious problems in relationships of a man and a woman which are often concealed: domestic violence, injustice, humiliation, isolation of a woman (Hins-Bode 117). In this very story the woman manages to escape the role imposed on her only with the help of a serious crime which is a tragic end. The action takes place in the house where a murder of Mr. Wright, afarmer loving alone with her wife, was committed. One of the men, Mr. Hale, found the wife of the dead, Mrs. Wright a day before sitting emotionlessly in a kitchen and discovered that her husband was killed with a rope. The next day a sheriff with a first witness accompanied by a couple of women, Mr. Hale`s and sheriff`s wives, visit the house where the murder took place. The task of the men is to find any evidence while women have to take some things of the Mrs. Wright who is imprisoned. Little by little using intuition and mere observation women recreate the events of the tragic night and find some direct evidence that can explain the motive of the murder but decide to keep silence sympathizing to the victim. There are obviously two lines of narration in the story-one held by men and the other one is women`s. Men are emotionless, strict, and even somehow ironic about the situation. They seem to know the truth in advance and only need to find some evidence that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. They consider that the main evidence will be possible to find in the bedrooms. They behave in their usual way feeling their dominant position that is why they allow themselves small jokes about the situation. They consider that woman`s virtue depends mostly on her attitude and relation to a man. It is evident in the way Glaspell calls her heroes- only men except for Minnie Wright have names. This means that for a woman the status given by marriage is considered to be more important than her first name. When men enter the house they feel so supreme and then leave women in the kitchen pointing to the fact that there are only trifles there. Moreover, they start discussing Mrs. Wright`s being a bad housewife because of the mess that thy reveal there. They conclude at once that it is woman`s fault because Mr. Wright was a good man. They perceive women as slow-minded and incapable of anything, and do not hide this fact. They also neglect that women have a lot of tasks at home and can be simply unable to do all the housework on their own. The perception of a woman as only a part of a man is what deludes a man. For instance, Henderson speaking to Mrs. Peters suggests that she must be a wife to a law because she is married to a sheriff and that where he makes a mistake. He does not suppose that women are capable of logical thinking, acting, and taking serious decisions themselves. Under such obvious pressure even Mrs. Peters opens her hidden part of identity-the rebellious one. Moreover, this evident patriarchal attitude pushes two women to reflecting over the destiny of Mrs. Wright and the destiny of a woman more seriously. In the dialogue they understand that Mrs. Wright was suffering seriously from bad temper of her husband, from emotional coldness of their family life, and from domestic emotional violence. Mrs. Hale makes a conclusion that all women "(Glaspell 6). go through the same things--its all just a different kind of the same thing”, meaning that all women sometimes suffer from men`s cold attitude. Having realized this fact Mr. Hale starts blaming herself for not finding any time to visit Mrs. Wright and supporting her. Isolation that what makes women feel unhappy in marriage especially when they do not have children. For Mrs. Wright the bird was the substitution of a child and a friend that pleased her. The canary was also a symbol of her youth when she was pretty, attractive and sang in a choir. Mrs. Hale concludes after thinking over Mrs. Wright`s situation that isolation is inevitable part of woman`s world and understands that women have to support each other in such circumstances. Solitude and isolation are the reasons why Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peterson understand Mrs. Wright. But Mrs. Wright was exceptionally lonely because her husband probably forbade her to sing leaving her on her own with her inner world in which he was not interested. Killing the bird her husband underlined that for him her emotions were not significant because it is a man who decides the destiny of a woman. Mrs. Wright who felt encaged all her life in her own house committed a murder. However, despite the fact that her crime is hardly possible to justify, it is impossible not to understand that isolation becomes worse and worse each single day and how it can push a person to a sinful deed. At the beginning of the paly women do not feel anything toward Mrs. Wright, however, in the end they realize how her struggling and her worries are close to their own and try to protect her. They hide the evidence from men (violating the law) and decide to alleviate Mrs. Wright`s life by not telling her about fruit and her home things that were spoiled. This play is not ordinary because it demonstrates how even the most serious crime- a murder can be regarded from another perspective. A wife killed her husband in a sleep, and it seems that it is impossible to justify her actions. But when two women start unfolding the life of the criminal they realize that partially she was a victim and sympathize to her. In the society where a woman is completely deprived of any voice, where her place is determined by a man it turns out that many women live in a complete isolation. This isolation and the obligations imposed by culturally accepted roles make a woman feel encaged in her own house and in her own kitchen. The most devastating is when a woman does not have children, and is left absolutely alone. Nevertheless, all this cannot explain and serve the motif of a murder but still sometimes it is really difficult to know what emotional pain some people can hide deep-deep inside. So not only women have to change many things about social gender stereotypes but men have to get rid of patriarchal views and start treating women equally to avoid such tragedies. Works Cited Glaspell, S. “Trifles”, Retrieved from: http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=modern_english/uvaGenText/tei/GlaTrif.xml Hinz-Bode, K. “Suzan Glaspell and the Anxiety of Expression”, McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers: Jefferson, 2006. Read More

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Accepted Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells`s Trifles. The Motive of Isolation

Drama Analysis - Trifles

This play not only raises the question that how women are values on the basis of the gender roles in the society but this play also points out that knowledge and perspectives are taken into consideration by the people and the society at large.... The story of the play revolves around genders and their roles in a give sphere.... “trifles” is a drama written by Susan Glaspell who became famous as a feminist writer after this play.... susan Glaspell has also highlighted the difference of behavior between the two genders such as men being more rigid on their motives and women being more flexible on how they perceive the crime and the crime scene....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Susan Glaspells Trifles

As the title of the play depicts, women's issues are considered to be minor or bear less or no important at all to the whole society, they are considered to be mere trifles; the greater roles in the society has been left for men to carry out.... Susan Glaspell's play, trifles, is a book written in 1916 that reflects Susan's preoccupation and perceptions towards culture-bound notion of gender and sex roles.... That why Glaspell, through her play tries to bring out the relative values of men and women in various perspectives as she develops two distinct stories on both the gender....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

The play ‘trifles' by Susan Glaspell strongly portrays the strong character of women in a male dominant society where they are often forced to play the subservient role.... The play ‘trifles' by Susan Glaspell strongly portrays the strong character of women in a male dominant society where they are often forced to playsubservient role.... When they hide the evidence like dead canary or collects shawl, quilt, apron which the attorney finds as ‘trifles' rather than as vital evidences of crime, they are actually quietly removing evidence of crime to save a woman who was oppressed all through her life....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

n the senses laid out in this discussion of the feminist themes which run throughout Trifles, Glaspell's play is at one time simply another feminist play which analyzes and deconstructs strict gender roles in society and the social divisions which they cause; and yet at another times, it is incorrect to merely describe it this way.... At this time, the concerns of women were treated as essentially unimportant, or, trifles, which have no importance within the inner....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Role of Gender Differences in the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell

In the essay 'Role of Gender Differences in the play trifles by Susan Glaspell' the author focuses on a play written by Susan Glaspell.... Role of Gender Differences in the play trifles by Susan Glaspell Introduction “trifles” is a play written by Susan Glaspell.... ender Difference in trifles ... he role of gender difference finds its root in the background of trifles.... Contemporary writers like Chopin and Fern along with the practice of the plays with themes based on gender differences provoked the representation of the theme in the play “trifles”....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Trifles ( A Play) by Susan Glaspell

The characters and events in susan Glaspell's Trifles help describe the discrimination that American men afforded their women during the time when the play was written. ... The characters and events in susan Glaspell's Trifles help describe the discrimination that American men afforded their women during the time when the play was written.... The characters and events in susan Glaspell's Trifles indeed show the dominance of men in 20th century America and its consequence – discrimination against women....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

In the paper 'trifles by Susan Glaspell' the author analyzes a one-act play that reflects on the social and historical issues during the period that the work was written.... The author states that Glaspell's trifles focuses on the lives of women, as the issue of the welfare of women in the society was the main subject of discourse during the period that she wrote the play.... Glaspell used trifles to talk about the stereotypical roles that women were made to play in the society....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

in susan Glaspells Trifles an assembly of characters gathers at the home of the Wrights with a serious issue to tackle.... Peters breaks away from traditional gender roles for women of her era to take on her husband's role as sheriff, but, in this process, seems to abandon being “married to the law” and is ultimately “loyal to her sex.... Peters she just wants to know the truth and she too seeks evidences that the official investigators would dismiss as trifles....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us