Susan Glaspell's Trifles

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“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman,” Margret Thatcher once said. This quote can relate to many women within literature, whether it is in reference to the lead woman or the author, such as Susan Glaspell’s Trifles. In Glaspell’s Trifles, it is evident that there is a difference in gender roles between the men and the women. Glaspell uses a story where a woman is the murderer, to demonstrate the roles of women during that century. The roles that were given to the women were provided by the men in this play. Those roles were dispersed to them on behalf of the men that believed that women were only concerned with little unimportant things or so-called trifles. This concept is mentioned a few times throughout the play, but what makes this the statement ironic is that the women find these so-called “trifles” while the men are in search for them. It is evident that there is a difference in gender in regards to their thought processes. The way the men look around the house for clues and evidence as oppose to what the women look for, shows gravely how different both sexes think. “Because of gender differences and the men’s sexist attitude,…show more content…
Wright’s preservatives freezing and the jars cracking. The Sheriff responds to the ladies that are deeply concerned about Mrs. Wright’s preservatives by saying, “Well, you can beat the woman! Held for murder and worryin about her preserves.” The preserves signify what a woman does for the well-being of her entire family. It is a sheer reflection of the important role a woman has in a house hold during that time period. Also, Glaspell proves that although the men write off these little “trifles” as unimportant and insignificant; they actually serve more of a purpose than they believed but the only ones that are able to acknowledge that are the women. Those insignificant trifles are what contain the motive for the

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