Trifles

The cast of Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” did an amazingly realistic job of reenacting the relationship between men, especially those who were educated, and women in the early 1900’s. Women were looked down upon, seen as inferior, and even foolish in men’s eyes. Glaspell cleverly transformed this negative perception of women into a cunning strategy used by two of her characters, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, to outsmart the men who doubt they are even capable of an act as masculine as murder.

            As the male characters failed to find any evidence or any clues while searching the victim and suspected murderer’s home, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters single-handedly solved the mystery just by studying Mrs. Wright’s belongings and recent actions around the house. The women, who were supposedly too naïve to understand something so complex as murder and motive, did “a man’s job” without the men even realizing they were doing more than cleaning the kitchen (how ironic). This was my favorite aspect of the play: men underestimating women and in return making fools of themselves.

            The play was an amazing final Monday night presentation for the course. I believe it captured so many of the topics we have discussed and incorporated them into an entertaining performance. I took so much pleasure in recognizing and applying all the concepts in the play that were from past presentations while still enjoying a wonderful theatric performance.