Sociological Analytical of Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Sociological Analytical Table Contemporary Drama

Trifles

By: Susan Glaspell

Datum Number	Duration of Minutes (Citation in Film)	The Dominant	The Subordinate	Explanation (Deconstructing the subordinate compared to the dominant)
American Women in early 1900s got less respect from men and had to accept the gender roles that oppress them as something of a natural world order.
1.	HALE: Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.	American men	American women	According to Shmoop Editorial Team (2008), the slew of sexist comments from the menfolk in the play represent the attitude of most men in the country. Those very men also fail to recognize their role in oppressing the women. As a result, the men belittle the women, mocking their character, intelligence, and subservience. The men laugh at the women for their emphasis on “trifles,” the small needs of housekeeping and comfort, even when those things are all the men allow the women to have. The men have not only oppressed the women, they also blame the women for enjoying the only things their oppression allows them to have. Deconstructing: The male characters are prejudiced in believing that nothing important can be discovered in areas of the house where Minnie spent most of her time. Their minds are clouded by prejudice and they disregard important clues as being mere "trifles" that women concern themselves with. They search the barn and the bedroom, places where men have dominance, rather than the kitchen, the only place where a woman would be in charge. One important line, spoken by the sheriff, says of the kitchen "Nothing here but kitchen things." This dismissal of the importance of a woman's life and the male reluctance to enter the "women's sphere" is key in the men's failure to discover the crucial evidence for the case. The most important evidence, the dead canary that the two women find, was hidden in Minnie's sewing basket. [They look in the sewing basket.] MRS HALE: Here's some red. I expect this has got sewing things in it. (brings out a fancy box) What a pretty box. Looks like something somebody would give you. Maybe her scissors are in here. (Opens box. Suddenly puts her hand to her nose) Why—(MRS PETERS bends nearer, then turns her face away) There's something wrapped up in this piece of silk. MRS PETERS: Why, this isn't her scissors. MRS HALE: (lifting the silk) Oh, Mrs Peters—it's— [MRS PETERS bends closer.] MRS PETERS: It's the bird. MRS HALE: (jumping up) But, Mrs Peters—look at it! It's neck! Look at its neck! It's all—other side to. MRS PETERS: Somebody—wrung—its—neck. The two women, having pieced together the murder, face the moral dilemma of telling the men about the motive or protecting Minnie, whom they see as a victim. Their choice raises questions about solidarity among women, the meaning of justice, and the role of women in society as a source of justice. As they recognize that Minnie was abused by her husband, the two women hiding the evidence against Minnie so that she will not be found guilty. The women side with Minnie and understand why she chose to kill her husband.
2.	MRS HALE: I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be—for women. I tell you, it's queer, Mrs Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things—it's all just a different kind of the same thing.	American society	American women	At the beginning of the play, the women too seem to accept the gender roles that oppress them as something of a natural world order. However, as the play progresses, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters come to recognize that, as women, they are being oppressed. In Minnie’s dead bird – a bird strangled by her husband – they see their own strangled hopes, perhaps even their own strangled lives. They become sympathetic to the difficulties Minnie Wright experienced after his marriage to John Wright since they also feel the same as fellow wife. Deconstruction: [HALE goes outside. The SHERIFF follows the COUNTY ATTORNEY into the other room. Then MRS HALE rises, hands tight together, looking intensely at MRS PETERS, whose eyes make a slow turn, finally meeting MRS HALE's. A moment MRS HALE holds her, then her own eyes point the way to where the box is concealed. Suddenly MRS PETERS throws back quilt pieces and tries to put the box in the bag she is wearing. It is too big. She opens box, starts to take bird out, cannot touch it, goes to pieces, and stands there helpless. Sound of a knob turning in the other room. MRS HALE snatches the box and puts it in the pocket of her big coat. Enter COUNTY ATTORNEY and SHERIFF.] In this joint recognition they find a connection between themselves and with other women, and begin, in their own quiet yet profound way, to rebel. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters decide to hide the evidence against Minnie from the men.

Author:

Arum Ratnaning Ratri

2211416050

English Literature, 2016

Universitas Negeri Semarang

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Drama Analysis (407)