Introduction
Susan Glaspell’s widely known play “Trifles” penetrates the main social themes of gender roles, isolation, and justice, which can be viewed through the prism of the lifestyle of the rural Midwest at the start of the 20th century. In what appears to be the humble surroundings of a farmhouse kitchen, Glaspell carefully constructs the setting to reach beyond its physical boundaries; it becomes, in effect, the backdrop on which the characters’ personalities are painted. Through her careful observation, Glaspell finally taps into the panels that depict the individuals, particularly focusing on the illumination of Mrs. Peters’ multifaceted characteristics. Glaspell’s gradual revelation of items within her setting reveals the dynamism of the character of Mrs. Peters.
The farmhouse setting’s kitchen is a significant factor in Mrs. Peters’ emotional transformation because it triggers not only the expressiveness but also the intensity of her character. Just as the women search for what led to Mrs. Wright’s death, they find her bird cage, a highly symbolic object. Mrs. Peter’s statement, “Seems funny to think of a bird here. But she must have had one, or why should she have a cage?” (Glaspell), prompts Mrs. Hale to face the fact that Mrs. Wright is quite alone and trapped in a small place, just as she has personally felt, being a married woman. It is this moment that the clip portrays, with the major conflict being Mrs. Peters, who is forced to choose between her loyalty to her gender and her duty to see justice done. Glaspell utilizes the metaphor of the cage with perfect accuracy to make Mrs. Peters feel sympathetic and to arouse her inner conflict, bringing her to a new, positive change. Glaspell, by employing the development of the farmhouse setting, probes deeply into the cunning and courageous side of Mrs. Peters, allowing her character to show many sides as she confronts the complex nature of the situation.
Apart from the farmhouse’s dining room, the kitchen represents Mrs. Peters’s growing moral consciousness. Amid the kitchen clutter, Mrs. Peters sees a quilt that practically embodies Mrs. Wright’s dreams and hopes of warmth and companionship. At that point, Mrs. Hale simply says, “She was going to quilt it. Its log cabin pattern. Pretty, isn’t it?” (Glaspell). Through this uncovering, Mrs. Peters reassesses her previous opinion, discarding her previous point of view on the murder case. The quilt, as a metaphor for Mrs. Wright’s longing to be part of a family and live peacefully at home, reflects the depth of her character and the dramatic reality that ultimately prompted her to commit the crime. Through Mrs. Peters’ encounter with the quilt, she begins a journey of self-examination, where she finds herself at a crossroads over which mixture of harshness and compassion will lead to true justice. Glaspell makes a very pointed use of the farmhouse as a setting by which Mrs. Peters’ development is mirrored, showing her complexity as she evaluates the starkness of life in the rural town and as the oppression of society’s rules are set upon her.
The farmhouse’s kitchen further depicts the setting of the author’s time when women struggled against the male-dominated, or patriarchal, society. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find themselves as mothers and housewives who are expected to remain within the walls of the kitchen cooking food and subordinate to their husbands. While ransacking Mrs. Wright’s belongings, they discover they are filled with ordinary representations of women in rural America. Furthermore, Mrs. Hale gives a hint of her feelings toward the heavy load of housework women like Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Peters are expected to bear, as she tragically declares, “She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break” (Glaspell). Through the finely woven setting of the farmhouse kitchen with other characters and the lives of the two women, it becomes evident how pervasive patriarchy is in their lives. Mrs. Peters’ presence in these surroundings foreshadows her growing awareness of the injustices resulting from patriarchal norms and how this progressively leads to the revelation of her inner growth and changing character.
Suzy Clarkson Holstein’s essay about Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” gives very important information concerning the idea of the play balancing the male and female gender roles and power. Holstein presents a very significant distinction between the male and female characters by analyzing the scenario of home in the film and strikes out at the different views those characters have about living together. She maintains that women develop a formless style of investigation that eventually transforms them into characters with moral choices and a deeper understanding of the circumstances around the crime. He states that Their method from the very beginning of the play leads not only to the discovery that eludes the men but also to their ultimate moral choice, which radically separates them from the men” (Holstein 282). This assertion captures the importance of the women’s method of unearthing pivotal details and making an ethical judgment, thus revealing their vigor and activism.
Carmen Manuel’s analysis of Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” provides a deeper look at the complicated interrelationship among domestic ideology, gender oppression, and female autonomy in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century America. To Manuel, “Trifles” is not just a case of a local color drama, but it serves as a deeply poignant critique of how men wield their power and hinder a woman’s life. Manuel highlights how Glaspell depicted Minnie Wright as a symbol of rebellion against the restrictive social confines women experienced due to their gender during that period. According to her, Minnie’s rebellion symbolizes an escape from the stereotyped, strictly defined standards of the domestic ideology that touted the image of an obedient and submissive housewife. She points out in her analysis that “In 1916 retaking the main elements that structured domestic fiction, Glaspell shows in Trifles how in a period of political turmoil the American Edenic home becomes a threatening nightmarish space for the alleged security of patriarchal domination” (Manuel 58). This quote reveals the potency of Minnie’s rebellion that fights against the firmly set patriarchal norms that intend to base women solely on the domestic.
Conclusion
Lastly, Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles” thoroughly deals with the conflicts of gender roles, social isolation, and justice in the rural Midwest, where the farmhouse kitchen is the platform that brings out issues like the nature of the characters, especially that of Mrs. Peters. Through Glaspell’s artistic skill of precise observation, the true personality of Mrs. Peters, having an inner world full of complex elements, is disclosed; this indicates her dynamism as she faces every situation. Through the help of literary analysis given by Suzy Clarkson Holstein and Carme Manuel, we further understand the reason for gender oppression and power struggles and whether women can gain more agency in literature. Holstein’s writing focuses on women’s investigation method and the resulting moral choice. Manuel addresses the play within the feminist relativistic context, the feminist discourse, which is an object of criticism of men’s power structure. In essence, “Trifles” is the renunciation of patriarchy and its conventions, done so that the audience is challenged to reflect on the complexities of human existence and justice within the set parameters of rural life.
Works Cited
Holstein, Suzy Clarkson. “Silent Justice in A Different Key: Glaspell’s” Trifles.” The Midwest Quarterly4, vol. 4, no. 3, 2003, pp. 282-290, https://search.proquest.com/openview/5009e8600e1fa17d1f2bb595fb7f5bff/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41210
Manuel Cuenca, Carme. “Susan Glaspell’s” Trifles”(1916): Women’s Conspiracy of Silence Beyond the Melodrama Of Beset Womanhood.” Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos, vol. 7, (2000) pp. 55-65, https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/31672/Susan%20Glaspells%20trijles.pdf?sequence=1
Glaspell, Susan. TRIFLES. 1916, www.uobabylon.edu.iq/eprints/publication_3_10984_471.pdf.
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