Essay on Male Prejudices in Susan Glaspells Trifles :: Trifles Essays

Male Prejudices in Trifles      Susan Glaspells Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. The trick takes place in Wrights country farmhouse as the men of the play, the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale, seem for designate as to the identity and, most importantly, the motive of the murderer. However, the clues which would lead them to such are never found by the men. Instead it is their female counterparts who discover the evidence needed, and who are able to do so because of their gender.   The male investigators need to find, as Mrs. Peters puts it, a motive something to show anger, or--sudden feeling (357). Yet the men never see the uneven fix on a puff Minnie Wright was working on before the murder. The quilt is a symbol of Minnies agitation--her anger. The men, though, laugh at the womens wonderings about the quilt. To them it is of little importance.   Likewise, the bird an d its chicken coop are easily dismissed. In fact, the men just as easily believe a lie about this bird and cage. When the cage is noticed, its broken gate overlooked, the county attorney asks, Has the bird flown? Mrs. Peters replies that the cat got it (360). There is actually no such cat, but the men do not know that and never question the existence of it. The bird, however, is vital to the case. Mr. Wright killed the bird, Minnies bird, which may have provoked her to then kill him. In addition, the strangle of Mr. Wright, a form of murder which perplexes all when a gun was handy, is reminiscent of the strangling of that bird. It is another answer to the mens questions, but an answer they never find.   The women, on the other hand, take note of all they see. They notice not only the bird, the cage, and the quilt but other things that the men call trifles, like Minnies frozen preserves and her request for her apron and shawl. These women are united, it seems, not only as cou ntry wives or as neighbors but on the basic level of womanhood. This is apparent from the start of the play. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters stand close together near the door, emotionally bonded throughout the play and, here, physically, in a way, too.   Mrs.