The Women In “Trifles”. The Play “Trifles” , Written By

The Women In â€Å"Trifles† The play â€Å"Trifles† , written by Susan Glaspell allows us to experience the gender divide in the early nineteen hundreds. While the play title gives the reader the idea that the story will be trivial or unimportant, it is anything but. The play focuses on the fact that women are considered â€Å"other† or an â€Å"object† (Beauvoir, 8). This is the complete opposite of men who are considered the â€Å"subject†, which holds immense amount of values. These two definitions are polar opposites. In the piece Second Sex, Beauvoir goes onto explain that this distinct difference between genders cause women to lose their humanity or individuality. In this world, women have no authority since they are nothing more than objects for men to†¦show more content†¦From the beginning of the play it is obvious that our characters are vastly different levels of importance. The men gain their importance from the type of people they are. The women, on the other ha nd are defined by the men that they have married. The critic Beauvoir mentions in chapter five of The Second Sex that â€Å"Marriage is the reference by which the single woman is defined† (Beauvoir, 502). In society a woman only hold value based on the man that she has married. In â€Å"Trifles† all the men are addressed by their birth given first or last names. However all the women within the play are addressed by their last name given to them by marrying their husbands. Beauvoir goes onto say that marriage was supposed to be a free choice between both spouses and that the desire of marriage should be reciprocal. However, it has developed into a woman s responsibility to marry, take her husband s last name, stay at home and be a housewife (Beauvoir, 502). This concept is portrayed when Mrs. Hale describes Minnie before she married Mr. Wright: â€Å"I heard she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster† (Glaspell, 984). Minnie was once her own individual who lived her life depending on what she wanted to do. However, once she married Mr. Wright she lost her individuality and became his object. When she was with her husbandShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Susan Glaspell s Trifles 1714 Words   |  7 PagesPaper 2 In both A Rose for Emily written by William Faulkner and Trifles written by Susan Glaspell loneliness, poverty and isolation consume the lives of the characters. Susan Glaspell’s play â€Å"Trifles† written in 1916. In this play the author’s talks of her preoccupation with culture- bound notions of gender and sex roles. Glaspell says women are considered trifles which mean they are not important to society which is carried out by men (Baym, p. 742). In Trifles written by Susan Glaspell the time isRead MoreTrifles : Susan Glaspell s Trifles940 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is a trifle? A trifle is something that has little to no importance (dictionary.com). 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Instead, two women (Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters) who visit the home are able to read a series of clues that the men cannot see because all of the clues are embedded in domestic items that are specific to women. The play at first it seems to be about mystery, but itRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles 904 Words   |  4 Pages Trifles is a play written in 1916 by author Susan Glaspell. It is considered to be one of the earliest pieces of American feminist literature. Feminism is a political movement which seeks to establish equal social and political opportunities for women. In Trifles, the women are looked upon as unimportant and inferior to the men in being able to help solve the case. The story opens with the sheriff, county attorney and their wives coming to pick up some clothes for Minnie who has been arrested