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The portrayal of women in literature
The portrayal of women in literature
Gender in literature
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Drama Analysis on Mrs. Wrights Actions and Their Justifications “Trifles” first written in 1916 is labeled one of the first artistic pieces written about feminism and sheds new light on the conditions involving females in a day and age where they were second class citizens: unable to vote, make any decisions, or do anything without their man’s consent before so if at all. First and foremost, to justify Mrs. Wright’s actions the reader must first acknowledge the fact if her husband was abusive or not towards her. Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Wrights neighbor, says “I've not seen much of her of late years.” (Glaspell) Normally two neighbors would see each other on dozens of occasions throughout a couple years. Yes, both ladies live in farmhouses but work …show more content…
When Mrs. Wright was younger, before she met her now husband, John Wright, she was part of the church choir, but when she joined Wright in holy matrimony she stopped singing and doing everything she once loved. While this isn’t proof of abuse this is for sure a sign that something was wrong with her. This is also pointed out by Mrs. Hales quote, “She—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself—real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. How—she—did—change.” (Glaspell) Mrs. Hales talks about how sweet and pretty she was and then she changed [after she met the now husband]. This change could also be attributed to the fact that she moved on to a farm that requires constant upkeep which would limit her time to do community events. One unsettling piece of evidence toward the likelihood of abuse, was the dead canary. Mrs. Wrights little canary was said to be one that she cherished deeply, because it reminded her of what she used to love, to sing. To the point that she was going to “bury it in that pretty little box.” (Glaspell) The canary died from a traumatically broken …show more content…
Wright’s abuse is indecisive, Mrs. Hale also shows sign of abuse and when her and Mrs. Peters find the dead bird they decide to hide it from the Sheriff because they fear it will incriminate Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright were childhood friends who participated in the community youth choir together. Mrs. Hale feels guilty for never visiting Mrs. Wright much. She admits that she didn't because the place was not "cheerful"(Glaspell). She describes the house as a "lonesome place"(Glaspell) but admits that that is more reason that she should have visited her childhood friend sooner. She feels if they could have been closer and talked to each other they both would be in better places, which hints that Mrs. Hale may also be abused? This is strengthened when she says that she, “hates men snooping and criticizing in her kitchen." (Glaspell) Mrs. Hale's making this statement lets the reader know that she has had men verbally criticize her which can be labeled as verbal abuse. This is all important for the reader to understand because it explains why Mrs. Hale helped hide evidence from the Sheriff. She sympathizes with Mrs.
The character Mrs. Wright is portrayed as a kind and gentle woman. She is also described as her opinion not being of importance in the marriage. It is stated by Mr. Hale that “ I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” .(745) Her neighbor, Mrs. Hale, depicts her as “She─come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself─real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and─fluttery. How─she─did─change”. (752) It appears that Mrs. Wright is a kind and gentle woman, not capable of committing a murder. But, with the evidence provided and the description of Mr. Wright’s personality it can also be said that the audience will play on the sympathy card for Mrs. Wright. She appears to be caught in a domestic violence crime in which she is guilty of, but the audience will overlook the crime due to the nature of the circumstances. By using pathos it will create a feeling that Mrs. Wright was the one who was suffering in the marriage, and that she only did what she felt necessary at the
It is no surprise the police have arrested Mrs. Wright, especially since Mr. Wright was killed right next to her. Her nonchalant attitude towards his death and how she cares more about her personal items, like her apron and canned fruits. The sheriff sees through her lies and that's why he arrested her as the primary suspect. Mr hale
The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states, Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold. The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but now she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic, I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year. Then she goes on to explain, I liked her well enough. Farmers wives have their hands full, it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.
Susan Glaspell in Trifles explores the repression of women. Since the beginning of time, women have been looked down upon by men. They have been considered “dumb” and even a form of property. Being physically and emotionally abused by men, women in the early 1900’s struggled to break the mold formed by society.
In fact, when Mrs. Hale comments that Mrs. Wright was not one for housekeeping, Mrs. Peters replies by saying “Well, I don’t know as Wright had either.” (748). The disheveled state that the house is in, as well as the fact that Mr. Wright is characterized as a hard man who is unwilling to share his part expresses the idea that their marriage was unhappy, and in turn, Mrs. Wright could have motive to harm him. Likewise, when the men leave the women to find clothes for Mrs. Wright, the two discover more possible evidence that the men will shrug off. For example, Mrs. Hale examines some quilt work that Mrs. Wright was working on, and notices that the most recent square is very sloppy compared to the rest of the work on the quilt. Moreover, the fact that they believe she crafted it by knotting is very significant (750). This correlation times closely with Mr. Wright’s time of death, and could indicate as a stressor, which the women can pick up on. Since the men laugh at their seemingly trivial observation, they are close to solving the crime on their
The females begin responding “stiffly” rather than “quietly”(7) as before. This adjective usage serves to support the speech even more by allowing readers to see the progression from silence to a bold rebellion in the women regarding their husbands, for “by hiding the canary Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are also going against their husbands” (Bee2). Indeed, this act was the major act of defiance that secured the women’s strengthened devotions to each other rather than their husbands. Peters especially undergoes a drastic transformation when she eventually joins in as “support of her fellow oppressed women” (Block B 1). When, at the climax of the story, the bird is hidden from the men in the sentimental tin box, Glaspell exhibits the tension with the selection of detail. She chooses to focus on the clammy hands of Mrs. Peters as she stuffs the tin away and the quivering voice of Mrs. Hale as she denies knowing any information about the crime. The descriptions of the seemingly miniscule and weakening objects around her house match the “quiet desperation” (Schotland 3) Foster repressed until it overflowed the night before. Considering that the adjectives show how burdensome it is for the women to conceal the evidence, it truly demonstrates how strong the relationships between them has grown based
Minnie had nothing but her canary to keep her company since John was no source of companionship. John was so against noise, that the couple would not “ ‘...to have had any children around. No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird--a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too’ “ (Glaspell 245-246). John killed her only companion that fulfilled that social interaction need, and when he took away that little piece of interaction away, Minnie soon lost her mind. With this prolonged isolation, it can cause “changes in the brain’s white matter have been seen before in psychiatric disorders, and demyelinating disorders like multiple sclerosis have also had association with depression” (“Prolonged Loneliness”). John killed off Minnie’s only real source of socialization, leading her to have this prolonged confinement which, like said above, caused Minnie to form a psychiatric disorder making her go crazy. These events start to fall into a domino like theory, John Wright’s actions created this isolated lifestyle for Minnie, leading to her change in personality and emotions,
The strong women characters in Trifles allow for feminist discussion, but also question the classic gender roles present at any point in time. Through the crime committed by Minnie Wright, three women grow together and establish that justice for all is deeper than finding the culprit. Justice occurs in all things, in hiding the clues by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, in the quiet dignity they both have by helping their friend, and by proving that women are capable of anything they are determined to
Hale and Mrs. Peters reflect on their past experiences with Mrs. Wright, saying she wasn’t a very cheerful person. Mrs. Wright’s house was very gloomy and lonely. The ladies believed her unhappiness with her marriage was due to not having any children to fill her home. Also, the bird symbolized joy in Minnie’s world. The ladies believed that the bird lightened up not only her home, but her spirits. “Mrs. Hale says, I wish you'd seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up in the choir and sang. [A look around the room.] Oh, I wish I'd come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who's going to punish that?” (976.) Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not visiting Minnie as much as she should have, and wondering if it would have changed things. Mrs. Hale knew women are better joining forces, than being left to fend for
‘Here’s a nice mess,’ he said resentfully” (Glaspell, 4). Not only was the sheriff being insignificant towards the kitchen, he was criticizing Mrs. Hale for sticking up for Mrs. Foster stating, “’Ah, loyal to your sex, I see,’ he laughed” (Glaspell, 5). Throughout the text, the women believed that there was a possibility that Mrs. Foster is responsible for killing her husband. Mrs. Hale decides to fix the quilt Mrs. Foster was working on and then starts questioning what she was nervous about that caused her to mess up her-
Mr. Wright was a cruel, cold, and heartless man. He was also a very unsociable man. He abandoned his wife's contentment and paid very little attention to his wife's opinions. He even prevented her from singing. This is revealed about Mr. Wright during the conversations between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters when they find the dead bird with a twisted neck in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket. Mrs. Hale points out, "She- come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery. How-she-did-change" (Glaspell 1267). Mrs. Wright used to be a very high-s...
Mrs. Wright, however, justified killing her husband due to Mr. Wright trapping her inside the house and how Mrs. Wright job is only to be domestic wife. When Mrs. Hale (farmer’s wife) and Mrs. Peters (sheriff’s wife) discovered a dead bird with her neck bruised all over, they start to put the pieces to the puzzle together and ...
Mrs. Wright’s loneliness indirectly causes the death of Mr. Wright once sadness triggers inside Mrs. Wright’s mind. Indeed, it says in the story that Mrs. Wright is lonely and lives in a dark place by stating: “I’ve never liked this place. Maybe because it’s down in a hollow, and you don’t see the road. I dunno what it is, but it’s a lonesome place and always was. I wish I had come over to see Minnie Foster sometimes” (Glaspell 270). Mrs. Wright does not like the location of the house since it is isolated from the surrounding people and from the roads. Apparently when she was young she was a woman full of life and who loves singing and dancing but when she married Mr. Wright, he forces her to change her environment and her life which causes her to kill her husband. This abrupt change in her life affects her characters and her behaviors which causes her to be lonely and not aliv...
Feminism in Trifles and A Jury of Her Peers As a strong feminist, Susan Glaspell wrote “Trifles” and then translated it into a story called “A Jury of Her Peers.” These works express Glaspell’s view of the way women were treated at the turn of the century. Even though Glaspell is an acclaimed feminist, her story does not contain the traditional feminist views of equal rights for both sexes. The short story and the play written by Susan Glaspell are very much alike. The story takes place in an old country town in the early 1900’s.
Wright was described as a beautiful women filled with such joy and life until she married John Wright. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale feels sorry for her because her husband treated her so bad. Due to female bonding and sympathy, the two women, becoming detectives, finds the truth and hides it from the men. The play shows you that emotions can play a part in your judgement. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale felt sorry that Mrs. Wright had one to keep her company no kids and she was always left alone at home. “yes good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that goes to the bone. I should of think she would have wanted a bird. But what you suppose went with it?” Later on in the play the women find out what happens to the bird. The bird was killed the same way Mrs. Wright husband which leads to the motive of why he was killed. Mrs. Wright was just like the bird beautiful but caged no freedom not being able to live a life of her own. Always stuck in the shadows of her husband being told what to do and