The Battle of the Sexes in Susan Glaspells Trifles Essay -- Feminism

The Battle of the Sexes in Susan Glaspells Trifles Well, women be used to worrying over trifles, (Glaspell 957) remarks crime scene eyewitness Mr. Hale in Susan Glaspells short play Trifles. As this quotation blatantly demonstrates, literature has had a lengthy history of gender bias, both in terms of adequate representation of women as authors and as formidable, healthful characters. In this reference to his and the sheriffs wives, Mr. Hale presents the argumentative conflict that will prove prevalent, if latent, throughout the course of this work. In the play, the male characters atomic number 18 regarded as intellectually superscript to their wives, who are patronized as rather childish for their concern in domestic detail. In Trifles, Glaspell makes a feminist leap as she portrays her female characters with grand cunning to secretly and humbly triumph over male condescending. The action of Glaspells play is executed by a mere five players, three of whom are men - a fact which in itself demonstrates the establishment of women as a minority, even in such a small sampling. The county attorney, Sheriff Peters, Mrs. Peters, eyewitness Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Hale are drawn together in a dismal and atmospheric farmhouse to investigate the murder of Joe Wright, whose wife is the prime suspect. Even in the plays most rudimentary introduction, we are presented with a marked distinction between the mens and womens perspectives. The men immediately perceive the house as a crime scene and as such feel compelled to interview Mr. Hale about details of his visit and officiously search for smoking-gun evidence as to the killer?s motives. Conversely, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters comprehend the surroundings as something more inti... ...e women remain silent, withholding information from their husbands for the sake of an unhappy mistreated woman whose loneliness and isolation are not terribly far-removed from their own. In her article, Hol stein refers to Trifles as a deceptive play (Holstein 282), and I believe that to be an excellent choice of description. Trifles only superficially masquerades as a murder brain-teaser Glaspell has, in actuality, crafted a battle of the sexes - a veritable war between men and women, so imperceptible and silent that not even the characters really enjoy that it exists. Works CitedGlaspell, Susan. Trifles The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St.Martins Boston 2005. Holstein, Suzy Clarkson. Silent Justice in a Different Key Glaspells Trifles. Midwest-Quarterly A Journal of Contemporary Thought (MQ). 44.3 (2003 Spring) 282-90.