Trifles responce paper - Essay Example

“Trifles Response Journal. Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, “Trifles,” is very moving. It makes the reader explore the true meaning of innocence and guilt. After reading the play, I am deeply aware that it is wrong to rush to conclusions and make judgments of people’s actions. Although it is clear that Minnie Wright murdered her husband, Glaspell has written such a thought-provoking drama that I am unable to judge her guilty. It is the cultural context of the play which makes the strongest impact.

The fact that the play was written in 1916, when women were denied the right to vote and to serve on juries, greatly influences the reader’s attitude towards Minnie Wright. It is obvious that any all-male jury of those days would take the position that “The law has got to punish crime” (Glaspell, 1135). To these men, the sufferings of Minnie’s life, and the loss of her liveliness and love of music will be ignored as mere domestic ‘trifles.’ A man would not be able to equate the deliberate killing of the songbird with the killing of Minnie’s love of music and singing.

Men cannot “know how things can be --- for women” (Glaspell, 1135). This is true to a lesser extent even now! Glaspell uses the lively, singing canary as a symbol for the lively Minnie Wright who sang in the choir. Wright’s killing of the bird is linked to his killing of Minnie’s singing. This is a very vivid image and helps the reader to understand the character of Minnie although she does not appear in the play. At every turn of her drama, Glaspell emphasizes the attitude of masculine superiority, sarcasm and arrogance with which the Sheriff, the County Attorney and Mr.

Hale deal with the women. Mr. Hale says, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell, 1128); the men laugh at the women’s interest in Minnie’s quilt. This only makes the two women close ranks and “move a little closer together” (Glaspell, 1128). As a female reader, I must admit that I also felt a sense of solidarity with the women in the play, including Minnie Wright. Glaspell skillfully shows that the women finally get their own back at the men who laugh at them and scorn their intellects.

It is ironical that it is the women who find all the evidence which points to Minnie Wrights’ guilt: the bad stitching which is a sign of nervousness, the broken birdcage, the strangled canary. The men who are so proud of their ability fail to discover Minnie Wright’s motive for the murder. They are completely fooled by the women who hide the evidence. I must confess that I support the women in their decision, although I admit that strangling a man while he sleeps is a horrible crime. As a matter of personal opinion, I feel that Minnie Wright should not be found guilty of murder and punished.

If it is held that “The law is the law” (Glaspell, 1131), she will not receive justice for all her suffering as John Wright’s wife. I also feel that she has already been punished enough – she appears to have been pushed almost over the edge of sanity by the pressure of Wright’s cruelty. “Trifles” is Susan Glaspell’s protest against the subordinate position of women in the early twentieth century. Although times have changed and gender equality is accepted in politics and every profession, I wonder whether women are really equal in modern marriages.

It is still the woman who is largely responsible for domestic chores and her career is expected to take second place to her husband’s advancement. Maybe we still have some way to go before we can confidently say that there are no Minnie Wright’s in today’s gender-equal society. Works Cited.Glaspell, Susan. “The Brute.” Title of Collection. Ed. Editors Name(s). City of Publication: Publisher, Year. 1125-1136. Print.