Holmes always solves the crime, and that fact is very satisfying to the reader. Similarly, the two women are inadvertently unearthing the clues to the murder alongside the searching investigators. Glaspell endears us to the two women through the use of personal experiences and memories. Through their similarities, the two women also endear the reader to Minnie Wright. This closeness in character makes it perfectly acceptable when the women lie to the investigators about the bird and the cat, as well as when they stay quiet at the end of the narratives (Holstein 282).
As the story unfolds, the reader becomes keenly aware of the emotional abuse and frightening loneliness that Minnie Wright was facing. Because her character has been flushed out through the use of the tiny things in her life, the reader can solve the mystery of Minnie Wright. We not only know why she murdered her husband, but we understand it and, as much as can be expected, sympathize with her situation (Russell 88-90).
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters lie to the investigating men because they understand and sympathize as well. They see the dead bird and know that its existence will not help Minnie's plight; instead, they know that the men would take the dead bird and the resulting murder as another example of women reacting to trifles (Russell 88). Ironically, the fact that the men do not value the opinions of women is the very reason that the truth and motive in the murder eludes them. Holstein points out that the unvalued status of women in the rural Midwestern society allows the women the ppwer to remain quiet (282).
By the end we have a clear picture of the "mystery" of Minnie Wright. We reach the motive through following the clues, though the actual team of investigators never makes it that far. They move methodically from room to room looking for large and obvious clues. They do not notice or attend to the tiny things, the trifles, that actually made up who Minnie Wright was. Their inability to recognize the value of trifles is also their inability to recognize who Minnie Wright was and what her motive could have been for murdering hr husband (Holstein 282).
The two women who are in Minnie's house and "sphere" humanize the unseen character by sharing her experiences. They create a human and tangible woman through the many trifles that they observe *Hedges 89). Glaspell's use of the word trifles in the text and in the title of her one act play should draw the reader's attention to the...
Susan Glaspell,(Trifles). Please ensure original wor Formal Approach There is a great deal of irony found in Susan Glaspell's work of literature entitled "Trifles." Irony, of course, is when words are used the exact opposite of their literal meaning. The concept of situation irony also exists within literature, in which characters act the exact opposite of the way that a certain situation calls for. An examination of Glaspell's work indicates that
Susan Glaspell's Trifles Analysis of Symbols in Susan Glaspell's Trifles Although short, Susan Glaspell's play, Trifles, is packed with key symbols that, thoroughly examined, offer a close look at the isolation and hopelessness that characterized the life of some women in the early 20th century. In particular, Glaspell uses the setting of the kitchen -- the traditional sphere of the woman -- to provide several symbols and offer biting social commentary
TRIFLES by Susan Glaspell In "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell, the characteristics of the women and the attitudes to their men and their own roles in life are gradually illuminated. The intensity of the situation, in effect two women judging the life of the third, absent party, provides a context in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter grow significantly, in character, strength and importance. The principle characters in the play are effectively the
Then after Homer disappeared, she gave china painting lessons until a new generation lost interest, and then "The front door closed...remained closed for good" (Faulkner pp). Emily's depression caused her to become a recluse. All three female protagonists are so dominated by male authority figures that their loneliness leads to severe depression, which in turn leads to madness, then eventually acts of violence. None of the women have active control
While men ignore the kitchen as containing "nothing but kitchen things," women look for evidence precisely there because it is the only place where women are in control. As Holstein (2003) argues, women do not enter the house of Mr. Wright as a place of investigation but as a home of two human beings who have feelings. For men, what matters is the evidence and if they find one,
Trifles Susan Glaspell's one-act play Trifles is frequently anthologized, and for good reason (Makowsky 59; Cerf 103). The play differs from a traditional drama in a number of ways, including its structure and narrative content, but arguably its most important feature is it reveals who its protagonists are and the effect this character choice has on the play as a whole. Although the actions of Minnie Wright constitute the narrative focus
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