Section 1: Introduction “A woman is like a tea bag: only in hot water do you realize how strong she is” -Nancy Reagan. Susan Glaspell's Trifles is a one-act play, seen as an early example of feminist drama (Bradford). It was composed during a time when women's position in society was despised and their contributions were overlooked. The show is a perfect example of how men and women show variations in their perception of duty, law and justice due to their different roles and experiences in society. The show begins when the author sets the scene mainly in the kitchen area. Inside the kitchen of the Wright house are the sheriff, his wife, the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Hale) and the county attorney; they were there to collect evidence relating to Mr Wright's murder. At the order of the county attorney, Mr. Hale begins to recount his visit to the house the previous day when he found Mr. Wright upstairs lying dead from apparent strangulation (Ronson 185). Hale notes that Mrs. Wright was acting rather strange and atypical for someone who had just lost her husband (Ronson 185-186). The three men begin to search the house for physical evidence but fail to find any clues, blinded by their cold and emotionless approach to investigating the case. Meanwhile, the women, attentive to even the smallest details and guided by their feminine instincts, determine that the killer is Mrs. Wright herself. The irony of the work's title is evident, as the simple "nonsense" that men derisively accuse women of engaging in leads them to solve the spine-tingling mystery. Section 2: Historical Look at Gender Differences During the Setting of the Story The 20th century saw the rise of radical patriarchy when men held all the power and women were essentially seen as second class citizens (Smith). Men were considered the head of society, while women were mere objects. Women's potential to contribute to society was largely overlooked, as they were seen as weak and not meant for anything other than bearing children, raising families, and taking care of the home (Smith). Thereafter they were unable to have any political opinion, nor did they play any economic role in society. In fact, for a long time they were prevented from being able to work and own their own property; they were also denied education (EMS). This was done so that they could depend solely on their husbands and fathers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayOf course, this dependency gave men the upper hand over them and introduced a sense of ownership that men had over women, and to some extent, women succumbed to this way of life for decades, as they had very few options at the time. Even when it finally became the norm for women to be able to earn their own money, they were paid much less than men (Manpreet). In addition to the blatant social and economic inequality they had to endure during that time, women were often subjected to domestic abuse and marital oppression. They were expected to remain in an unhappy marriage or be punished by law if they attempted to elope (Manpreet). Not being able to think for themselves, women had no say or leeway in decision-making. With these gender differences often emerged the different ways in which justice, right and duty were perceived by both sexes. Section 3: How Men and Women View Duty Differently From aFrom a social point of view, a man's duty is to be the head of the house, earn money and provide for the family, while a woman's duty is to be a housewife, make the house pleasant for her husband and be submissive to him. The men in the play clearly see duty as something they must do, as part of their job. In this case, they are blinded by their commitment to finding material evidence against Ms. Wright. The wives' perception of duty, however, was more emotional. They saw it as their duty to protect Mrs. Wright from another life of injustice by withholding from men the only evidence against her, because they understood her motives: 'We all go through the same things, it's just a different kind of the same thing'" (Ronson 191), says Mrs. Hale, it can be interpreted that the wives consider their duty to the women in the community, as they are seen defending Mrs. Wright from the men's criticisms: “Those towels get dirty very quickly men are not always as clean as they could be,” Mrs. Hale says in defense of Mrs. Wright when one of the men mentions her dirty towels (Ronson 187). The men criticize her domestic skills as if they are what defines her as a woman , highlighting what men think of a woman's duty. She shows guilt and regret for not visiting Mrs. Wright. “I wish I had come here once in a while (Ronson 191)” is another example that describes how women consider it their duty to show solidarity and loyalty to each other, “Ah, loyal to your sex, I see,” she says the county sheriff to Mrs. Hale (Ronson 187). Section 4: How men and women see the law differently The concept of law for men may be related to what they think a woman's duty is. In the 20th century, women, by law, were bound to their husbands once married. Any attempt by women to exit an unsatisfactory marriage would be shunned, sometimes resulting in punishment by the laws established in a patriarchal society. These laws often saw women forced to act and behave in a certain way, especially after getting married. In Trifles, Mrs. Peters, because she is married to the sheriff, is expected to respect the rules of men and follow the law since she is “married to the law” (Ronson 192). There were specific ways in which women were expected to act, behave, and function in society, while men were not bound by such social standards. Section 5: How Men and Women View Justice Differently Men's assessment of what is right and what is wrong is clearly subjective. They discriminately view Mr. Wright's murder as an unjust act deserving punishment by law, but they overlook the apparent injustice that Mrs. Wright had to endure over the course of her marriage to Wright. In fact, the county sheriff avoids the topic of Mr. Wright's wrongdoings, dismissively saying "I'd like to talk about that a little later" (Ronson 187) when Mrs. Hale brings out Mr. Wright's cold nature and his defects as a husband. The wives felt violated by the men's many derogatory comments, but could not openly express their frustration to them. The women become defensive and, in a passive act of rebellion, decide to take matters into their own hands and resolve what justice is in the murder case. The conversation between the two wives gives us a glimpse into Mrs. Wright's life before and after her marriage. Before she became Mrs. Wright, she was known as Minnie Foster, the "lively" girl who "wore pretty dresses" and was "one of the girls in town who.