YOU are a woman living in the 1870’s, there is great news: wife beating is illegal in most states, battering laws are put in place, BUT there is one catch, that doesn’t really matter because those laws are not enforced meaning that your suffering is ongoing. Finally, in 1920, women are finally given the right to vote thanks to the 19th amendment. But before that happens, we are in the year 1916 where women are not yet granted that right or any rights for that matter and in most states, women couldn’t even sit on juries.
In this same year, Susan Glaspell wrote her play, Trifles, which represent the struggles faced by women during that time, not only depicting issues regarding gender disparity but also issues relating to the justice system in place. It is arguable that even today despite women having rights, there exists contemporary issues regarding gender differences. Not just within the average American, but even other races living here in the United States still perceive women as only capable of playing the role of a wife.
The central theme in Glaspell’s play is gender disparity, the difference between men and women. They both play different roles within society. There is also a difference in how they act and perceive things and throughout the play, we get to see this. The play shows how two women during the process of helping another woman, they stray away from that designated role in society and put themselves as women first before the roles of wives. This uplifting awareness is what propel the women movement decades later.
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During Glaspell’s time, women’s responsibilities lied in housework: cleaning, laundry, childcare, preparing food, essentially a housewife. We don’t only know this as a fact due to the historical facts we have today but through Glaspell’s writing, we are also able to see this. Often, the men in the play which include the county attorney, George Henderson, the sheriff, Henry Peters, and a farmer, Lewis Hale, downgrade the women verbally. For instance, when George Henderson finds the fruit preserves he states, “Here’s a nice mess,” which Mrs. Peters responds by defending, “Oh her fruit; it did freeze. She worried about that when it turned so cold.”
This whole reaction becomes comically ironic especially with Lewis Hale’s response, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” (p. 777). Comically ironic because precisely the trifle things are what led the women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, to solving the case. Through this interaction, we see how the men perceive the women, and at this point, we start seeing the disparity between the two genders, which only contributes to Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale inevitable connection at the end of the play.
Another interaction that serves to validate the point as to how men perceive women is when George Henderson once again belittles Mrs. Wright as a housewife, “Dirty towels! (Kicks his foot against pans under the sink) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” This time Mrs. Hale responds by stating that the towels get dirty quickly, “Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be,” (p. 777). Just these two interactions are enough to demonstrate how condescending men were to women and not just men but society as well. Another notable thing to point is the names, we know the first names of the men, but we only know the women by their last names which of course is not even their last name but their husband’s due to marriage of course.
In addition, despite the difference in social class from the sheriff and the attorney compared to a farmer, is evident it certainly does not keep them from bonding over condescending women. Back then, women truly were along with other minorities at the bottom. Despite the patronization of women throughout the play, we also get to see how the two put the evidence together and solve the case once again highlighting the disparity between the men and women.
The loaf of bread left outside of its box, the uneven stitching of the quilt, half cleaned half messy table top, the empty bird cage and finally the sewing box that holds a canary with a broken neck, these are all evidence that leads to Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale realization of Mrs. Wright (Minnie) murder and the reason as to why she did it. The quilt is found by Mrs. Peters, later Mrs., Hale states, “Mrs. Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It’s all over the place! Why it looks as if she didn’t what she was about!” (p. 780), this piece of evidence is what puts both women in the right track as to figuring out what happens, they wonder what Minnie was nervous about, and of course, the men just saw it as Minnie being incompetent. The same thing happens with the other pieces of evidence. Through the process of all of this, they start discussing Minnie’s husband. Mrs. Hale described him as “a hard man…like the raw wind the gets to the bone,” (p. 781). And in the end, all the pieces come together, and the two women decide to hide the evidence that would sentence Minnie.
There are several reasons as to why they hid the bird, one of them is because they felt sympathy for Minnie, the bird symbolizes loss of freedom and that is precisely what Minnie went through with the type of husband she had. Mrs. Hale also feels guilty for never visiting her, Mrs. Peters understand because she recalls when a boy killed her kitten and she remembers that she wanted to ‘hurt’ him for doing that and having lost her first child she understands the type of isolation it brings. Throughout the play, it is safe to assume that Mr. Wright was an abusive husband.
At one point they point out how dull Minnie’s clothes look, which Mrs. Hale responds by saying that Minnie Foster used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, but she wasn’t that Minnie anymore, once she got married she changed, or more like her husband changed her. This indicates that her husband was controlling, and she was unhappy in her marriage the thing that kept her happy was the canary which her husband also took away which leads to Minnie killing Mr. Wright similarly to the canary’s broken neck. The men never figure it out, they saw it all as mere trifles, thus signifying that it isn’t just trifles. The women taking control, especially Mrs. Peters who states “But, Mrs. Hale, the law is the law,” (p. 780), even she herself escaped that designated role, the wife of the sheriff, and put her role as a woman above it all.
Even if today we would like to think that there is equality, maybe to a certain extent there might be, but it certainly isn’t sufficient. In the Hispanic culture, women are downgraded to housewives, just like in Glaspell’s play. The most depressing thing about it all is that some women are fine with it, especially the older generation. They expect you to get married to a good husband that can financially support a whole family and women are expected to stay home. I, as a Latina, broke this barrier, thanks to my family being very supported, but sadly most women are not as lucky. Families come here to the U.S. with children but if a girl comes here and is in their teenage years then they are considered too old for an education, it will be hard for them to learn English and study in a school then attend college, so the best option is marriage.
A friend I met in middle school couldn’t attend high school, due to too many boys. Once in high school she was being forced into marriage, I never saw her again after she married. This is common in her culture that’s what she said to me, she was from Yemen, despite her not wanting to, there was nothing she could do about it. Not only are some women being forced into a designated role that they don’t want to play but they are facing other harsh environments.
We hear about it all over the news, the #METOO movement exists, which is a movement against sexual harassment, assault, abuse. Many women are part of that movement, many women have faced sexual harassment, of course, it is not limited to just women. But women are even afraid to speak up, I was. It just shows how many other cases we are unaware of. Domestic violence is still prevalent, and many times the victim is left broken while the perpetrator goes on with his life as if nothing happened. Of course, this is not only limited to women, but men also have had to face this as well.
In Trifles, it is implied that Minnie suffered from psychological and emotional abuse from her husband, in addition, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter’s insights are overlooked and disregarded. Casual sexism occurs, so to no surprise can that turned into physical or verbal abuse. Just like in the “Me Too” movement many women are afraid to share their suffering, in Trifles we can see that a woman’s voice is inferior to men, even if Minnie talked about the abuse inflicted by her husband it is certain that it won’t be valid and that she still will be condemned to rot in prison; showcasing the similarities between today’s disparity between genders and the disparity in Glaspell’s play.
