Trifles by Glaspell is a play that depicts gender inequality. The playwright indicates that women in the play were oppressed for they were supposed to leave under their men. The women never went to work but were confined in their homes in loneliness and sadness. The monologues and dialogues in the play show how men viewed women in the play. The major theme in the play is about women. The playwright has developed this theme by observing how women interacted with each other, the matters that affected them and how they related to men.
The playwright has developed her theme through the solidarity of women in the play. When Minnie committed a tragic act of killing her husband, Mrs Peters and Mrs Hale hid the evidence that would incriminate Minnie. These women understood that the superiority of the law and that of their husbands affected how they functioned in society . Gender restrictions in their community had affected how they made their decisions. The women disliked how men entered and inspected Minnie’s house. “I’d hate to have men coming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticizing” (Mays, 2020). These women hid the dead bird, which created a metaphor and symbolized Minnie for it was trapped in a cage the same way Minnie was enslaved by her husband.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The theme of women has been developed using matters that affected women in the play. The men in the play despised women, and it’s i ronic that they considered issues that affected women as trifles. The trifles in the play included things such as canning jars of fruit. Minnie was concerned about her things even when she held in prison. “…fruit when she’s held for murder”/ “women are used to worrying over trifles” (Mays, 2020). This character wanted to have a quilt with her in jail other than worrying about her freedom. These trifles helped other women in the play to understand the motives behind Minnie’s actions , unlike men who arrogantly assumed that trifles were unimportant things.
Women in the drama seem oppressed. The playwright has depicted a society dominated by men and women are locked in their homes to lead lonely lives and be dependent on their husbands. Men in the play failed to understand how their behavior leads to the oppression of women. They referred to women with a mocking gesture ; they perceived them as less intelligent. “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (Mays, 2020). This behavior can be seen in their dialogues where they laugh at women emphasizing on their trifles.
In brief, the playwright has brought the theme of women by looking at the matters that affected females. The play depicts solidarity of women; Mrs Hale and Mrs Peter hid evidence when they realized that Minnie had murdered her husband. Also, women seem to be concerned with trifles when Minnie was jail; she requested the canning jar of fruits. The people who oppress women in the play are men. The playwright has depicted satire for she reveals their stupidity in the play. Minnie can be characterized as a heroine since she managed to get rid of what oppressed her.
References
Mays, K. (2020). The Norton introduction to literature (13th ed., pp. 650-669). Norton & Company Inc.
