Topic > A Theme of Gender Equality in Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Marie Shear said, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” There are no truer words when it comes to the story depicted in the short drama, Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell. This play emphasizes the gender roles assigned to women and illustrates the difference in society's expectations for both men and women. Throughout the story, Glaspell makes the characters show the theme of gender equality through their dialogue and actions. The men, who are supposed to be in charge of an investigation, miss the details due to their beliefs about gender stereotypes, while the women prove more insightful, realize the story's deeper problem, and provide the biggest plot twist of all .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To start, the men are investigating the house while the women follow them and mostly observe. They started in the kitchen, the county attorney discovers that Mrs. Wright's preserve jars had broken and spilled, leading to an informational exchange illustrating gender stereotypes. The county attorney, after looking around the kitchen again, opens a cupboard door. He stands on a chair and looks on a shelf. He withdraws his hand, sticky. COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here's a nice mess. The women get closer. LADY. PETER. (to the other woman) Oh, its fruit; he froze. (To the county attorney) He worried about it when it was this cold. He said the fire would go out and his jars would break. SHERIFF. Well, you can beat women! Held for murder and concern for his claims. The sheriff's choice of words here highlights his stereotypical gender beliefs and expectations. He acts as if Mrs. Wright's concern about the spilled conserve is unimportant, even a joke. This implies that his male brain believes that women don't understand what real, practical problems are and instead worry about trivial things, like spilled preserves. Furthermore, it uses a play on words that involves a condescending attitude towards the woman and refers to abusing a woman by beating her. This use of dialogue by Glaspell clearly shows the sheriff's attitude towards the opposite sex. Additionally, another male character in this drama, Hale, begins making negative comments about women shortly after the discovery of the broken preserve jars. Hale implies that women worry about trivial and unimportant things just as the sheriff did shortly before. He is also credited with saying the play's title in his dialogue, demonstrating Glaspell's thorough use of symbolization. SHERIFF. Well, you can beat women! Held for murder and concern for his claims. COUNTY ATTORNEY. I imagine he might have something more serious to worry about before we finish. HALE. Well, women are used to worrying about trifles. Here it is, the title in the text! Glaspell's use of diction here says it plain and simple that he wants to illustrate the unfair treatment of women during this time, as well as have Hale state his line in this situation. It is also reinstating the Sheriff's earlier view that women don't have their priorities in order and worry about unimportant things. The fact that these men continue to claim that women care about the wrong things is also a huge use of irony. Throughout the story, the women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, are the ones who notice the,.