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  • Essay / A Theme of Gender Equality in Trifles by Susan Glaspell

    Marie Shear said: “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people. » There are no truer words when it comes to the story depicted in the short drama Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell. This play focuses on the gender roles assigned to women and illustrates the difference in society's expectations of men and women. Throughout the story, Glaspell has the characters display the theme of gender equality through their dialogue and actions. The men, who are supposed to be in charge of an investigation, miss details due to their gender stereotypes, while the women, prove to be more perceptive, realize the deeper problem in the story and provide the greatest plot twist. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To begin with, the men investigate the house while the women mainly follow and observe. They started in the kitchen, the county attorney discovering that Mrs. Wright's jam jars had broken and spilled, leading to an informative exchange illustrating gender stereotypes. The county attorney, after looking around the kitchen again, opens a cupboard door. He climbs into a chair and looks at a shelf. He pulls his hand away, sticky. COUNTY ATTORNEY. This is a pretty mess. The women get closer. ROCK. (to the other woman) Oh, its fruit; it froze. (To the county attorney) She was worried about that when it was so cold. She said the fire would go out and her jars would break.SHERIFF. Well can you beat women! Detained for murder and worried about his reserves. The sheriff's choice of words here exposes his stereotypical gender beliefs and expectations. He acts as if Mrs. Wright's concern about spilled cans is unimportant, or even a joke. This implies that his male brain believes that women don't understand what real practical issues are and instead worry about trivial things, like spilled canned goods. Additionally, he uses a play on words that gives a condescending attitude towards women and refers to mistreating a woman by beating her. This use of dialogue by Glaspell clearly shows the sheriff's attitude towards the opposite sex. Additionally, another male character in this drama, Hale, begins making negative remarks about women shortly after the broken canning jars are discovered. Hale implies that women worry about trivial and unimportant things, just like the sheriff did just before. He is also credited with the title of the drama in his dialogue, demonstrating Glaspell's extensive use of symbolization. SHERIFF. Well can you beat women! Detained for murder and worried about his reserves. COUNTY ATTORNEY. I guess before we're done she might have something more serious to worry about. TAN. Well, women are used to worrying about trifles. There you have it, the title in the text! Glaspell's use of diction here makes it clear and simple that she wants to illustrate the unfair treatment of women during this time period and that Hale is stating her line in this situation. It further reaffirms the sheriff's earlier opinion that women do not have their priorities in order and worry about unimportant things. The fact that these men continue to state that women worry about the wrong things is also a huge use of irony. Throughout the story, it is the female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, who,.