Contrast of Gender in Glaspell s Trifles. Susan Glaspell s one act play Trifles, uses characteristics such as: motive,

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1 Ryan Fields English 230 Dr. Collier 3 Feb Contrast of Gender in Glaspell s Trifles Susan Glaspell s one act play Trifles, uses characteristics such as: motive, critical observation, and empathy to not only push the play further, but also ultimately illustrate the contrasts in the central actions of both men and women. The focus of the play falls on the murder of John Wright who was strangled to death in is farmhouse; John s wife Minnie is the main suspect for the murder. The county attorney Gorge Henderson, the town sheriff Henry Peters, Mr. and Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters, all return to the scene of the crime; the men are there to discover clues that point to Mrs. Wright s motive for murder; the two women on the other hand are there out of kindness to Mrs. Wright. The men in the play mock the women when they notice that things are slightly out of place; however, these keen observations are what brings Minnie s motive for murder to light. The contrast of the actions between the men and the women in Trifles, takes place as soon as they enter the home. The men are there out of obligation to the law with the objective to locate evidence that links Mrs. Wright, back to the murder of her husband; whereas, the women take part of the investigation in an effort to be kind to Minnie Wright. As soon as the men enter the home they automatically dominate the scene. The investigation starts as soon as they walk through the door; they question Mr. Hale, and take note of the important information. Suzy Clarkson Holstein, author of

2 Silent Justice in a Different Key: Glaspell s Trifles, refers to the men s investigation as linear. In other words, the men investigate by the book; there is no room for fooling around, or focusing on unimportant details. In the kitchen the men stay in their linear mindset a take very little note to detail about the room, other than harsh comments on Mrs. Wright s housekeeping skills; and furthermore when the women offer their help by informing them when they notice things are out of place the men mock them stating that their observations are all trifles, or useless. However, what neither the men nor the women in the play realize is by stepping into the home the women are also beginning to investigate John Wright s murder (Holstein 283). Even though the women s investigative process seems unmethodical to the men, compared to their linear approach, the information the women uncover is revolutionary to the state of the case. Holstein indicates that the two women are able to uncover important information about the murder that the men in the play are not in a few ways: memories of Mrs. Wright, comparing Mrs. Wright s life to their own, and perception to how Mrs. Wright felt in reaction to the state of her life. Without thinking about it the women almost naturally place themselves in Minnie Wright s shoes; uncovering information, such as Mrs. Wright s sewing basket (Holstein 283). Any information the women have discovered all stemming from their search for items they feel will comfort Minnie while she is in custody, kindness. The sewing basket is the first piece of evidence the women were able to unearth that was quickly overlooked by the men over. After the discovery of the basket, Mrs. Hale takes special note of the sewing stating, 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

3 didn't know what she was about! Mrs. Hale even later speculates that Minnie s sewing was off because she may have been nervous, perhaps at the thought of murder. The men glossed over evidence, such as the sewing basket, because it didn t fall into information that they felt could even be considered as useful, or relatable. The men, not unlike the women, focus on areas of the property they can relate to. The men quickly leave the kitchen, because they cannot relate to any of the information. They stick to the things they can understand, Mr. Wright s area of the home. The men spend large portion of time in the Wright s bedroom and around the barn because those are the areas they can understand. Even though the men suspect that Minnie is the murder, they pay little attention to the areas of the home that she would have inhabited, probably because they could not understand any information they uncover. For instance, had the men happened upon the weirdly sewn quilt they most likely wouldn t have thought anything of it; in fact when the women bring it up to them later in the play the men again tease them for mentioning something as trivial as a quilt. The men are unable to look at the quilt, notice that the last square is sewn differently than the rest, and use that information to strengthen their case. This hypothesis can be supported with a statement the Sheriff makes earlier in the play when they hear the women are discussing how Mrs. Wright might have been constructing her quilt. The Sheriff states, They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! The other men begin to laugh at this comment, which quickly causes the women to quiet. Had one of the men come across the sewing they never would have noticed how sloppily it had been done, or that this was out of the ordinary for Minnie Wright. This means the men would have never made the connection that she had anything to possibly feel nervous about, as Mrs. Hale herself

4 does state. The information does not fall within their methods of investigation, so they view it as trivial. After the men return to their search for evidence outside the women continue with their own investigation in the kitchen. After awhile Mrs. Peters herself comes upon an empty birdcage with a broken door. Neither women are sure about what happened to the bird, but the idea that a cat got ahold of the bird is quickly ruled out as Mrs. Peters recalls that Mrs. Wright had a fear of cats. Even so Mrs. Hale does remember that before Mrs. Wright married John that she liked to sing; so she may have been very fond of a canary, which a man was selling for cheap about a year ago. Mrs. Hale then continues to comment on the fact that the Wright s house was always so un-cheerful, and that Mr. Wright was a very harsh man who most likely wouldn t have liked a songbird. Mrs. Hale decides that bringing Minnie her quilt might allow her to take her mind off of her predicament, which causes the women to further investigate the contents of the sewing basket. Quickly the women find a beautiful red box, but when Mrs. Peters open the box she is suddenly startled. In the box, wrapped in silk, is the missing canary, and it has a broken neck. From here the women speculate that Mr. Wright grew tired of the sing bird, and silenced it s singing just as he silenced Minnie s. The women are forced to cover their finding when the men have reentered the kitchen, once again teasing them for worrying about the quilt. The county attorney notices the birdcage, but takes no specific interest in the empty birdcage, only asking the women if the bird has flown away. Mrs. Hale lies saying that they believe a cat has gotten ahold of the bird, and when the attorney questions if there is a cat in the house she quickly lies again stating that cats leave when a death has occurred. Holstein believes that the attorney and the other men are too

5 concerned with the visible evidence, limiting their ability to pick up on intangible evidence. Again this seemingly useless information does not fall into their method of linear search, and as a result of this the empty birdcage, and the fictitious cat are quickly looked over by the men, jus like the other important evidence. This shows a massive contrast between the actions of both the men and the women. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were able to unearth a substantial amount of evidence simply by noticing small things that the men referred to as trifles. These trifles allowed the women to not only solve the murder, but keep it from the men as well. Holstein points out why the women were so successful in their findings by stating, But the women do not simply remember and sympathize with Minnie. They identify with her, quite literally. In her first lines, Mrs. Hale defends the accused women's housekeeping from the county attorney s attack. From their identification with Mrs. Wright the women have not only solved the case, but have also made the decision to keep their findings from the men; most likely because they can empathize with how Minnie might have been feeling after John has not only isolated her, but also killed the bird she loved so dearly. Perhaps the biggest contrast between the men and the women in the play is how they would have handled the situation after solving the murder. The women have made the decision to keep this information from the men because they can heavily empathize with Mrs. Wrights feeling; however, the men would have handled the evidence much differently. Holstein herself states that the men have already decided before the investigation that Minnie Wright is the murderer (Holstein 286), and therefore it is fair to assume had they found the same evidence as they women they quickly would have turned it all in, and punished Mrs. Wright for her crimes. The men stay emotionally unattached

6 from the case, which in this situation would have made it easier for them to uphold the law and turn in the evidence. However, the men are unable to identify with Minnie Wright, and as such they are unable to make the critical observations like the women. Their men lack the ability to understand and empathize for Mrs. Wright, and as such their investigation is damaged. The fact that the women were emotionally invested in the investigation from the start is what drives their investigation further. Soon after the women place themselves in Minnie s shoes, a skill the men in the play lack, they solve the murder. Glaspell uses her play, Trifles, to make a direct statement about the contrast in the basic actions of both men and women. Both genders have the same amount of information about the murder; however, the women use skills such as: basic kindness, keen observations, and their ability to empathize with Minnie Wright not only allows Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to solve the murder, but also make the ethical decision to keep it from the men.

7 Work Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, Jan Web. Holstein, Suzy Clarkson. "Silent Justice In A Different Key: Glaspell's 'Trifles'." MidwestQuarterly: A Journal Of Contemporary Thought 44.3 (2003): MLAInternational Bibliography. Web. 12 Feb