Analyzing Trifles by Susan Glaspell: The Unheard Aspiration of Women

www.dorar-aliraq.net/threads/337929-TRIFLES-a-play-in-one-act-by-Susan-Glaspell

    The way society treats an individual or group of people could affect those people in many aspects, including psychological aspect. This kind of issue depicts in a play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell. Despite a mysterious murder case is the focus of the story, there is also implied women’s status in society. How the society underestimate women’s aspiration affect the women psychologically. Women’s behavior and psychological condition that describes in this play is a reflection of the patriarchal society influence.

    In order to solve the murder case of John Wright, the characters in this play carry out an investigation on the crime scene. They argue with each other opinions. However, it shows that women’s opinions were not so much heeded. In investigating the scene, the men only focuses on analyzing major objects, while women are very observant and pay attention to the trifles. Unfortunately, the effort of these women is not appreciated by men. They underestimate the women thoughts and consider them to be over thinking about trifles, as it is told by the sheriff, “Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worry about her preserve.” and as Mr. Hale says, “Well, women used to worry over trifles.” Living in such a patriarchal society seems to influence men to behave that way towards women.

    The investigation they held led them to the impression that John Wright’s wife is the culprit. Mrs. Wright, or known as Minnie Foster is depicted as a cheerful women in the past, before she faced marriage life. She used to sing and loved to sing, but it ended after the marriage. At the scene, there was found a carcass of Mrs. Wright’s bird, which eventually assumed was killed by her husband. Mrs. Wright really liked the bird, as Mrs. Hale says, “She really liked the bird. She was going to bury it in that pretty box.” As people know, bird is the singing animal that could represent the hidden desires of Mrs. Wright to keep on singing. Nevertheless, after the bird was killed by her husband; it represents her desire being destroyed by her husband’s domination. Undergoing such a terrible marriage life affects her psychology and makes her suffer from depression. She wants to get rid of her husband in attempt to reach out freedom. It makes her become insensitive and ignorance about anything, for example, when Mr. Hale asked her why can’t he met her husband, she answers calmly with laugh, “Cause he’s dead” as if it is not a big deal at all.  

    As Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale finished investigating the crime scene, they come to the conclusion that the culprit was Mrs. Wright. They even managed to find accurate evidence to prove that. However, instead of revealing the truth about the culprit, they chose to hide the evidence for some reasons. Seeing Mrs. Wright condition from women’s perspective, both Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale sympathize with her. They can understand that even though Mrs. Wright was the killer, she did that because she felt depressed by the way her husband treat her, which indirectly become the cause of her husband murderer. Before they assured what to do with all the result of their investigation, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale decided to hide the evidence in order to save Mrs. Wright. In addition, another thing that caused these women behaves that way is because of social treatment that they received. The perspective of men about women, and the way they speak to women that describes in this play, implied that women’s aspirations are being unappreciated by men. They throw jokes about women and do not pay attention to what the women want to convey. This kind of condition either consciously or unconsciously creates solidarity among these women. They want to shake off men domination of them.

    The behavior and psychological condition of the characters in this play do not emerge with no reason. Men, who do not appreciate women’s aspiration, thought, or opinion, and women, who despite the wrong way of behaving, try to reach their freedom, are actually the result of the treatment they received by the society. How men are ‘allowed’ to underestimate women, and women who can be ‘dictate’ by men certainly affect them from many sides. Therefore, their behavior and psychology are dealing with something that reflects how they are being treated.