Blurred Boundaries in Susan Glaspell's Trifles:
Length: 491 words (1.8 pages)
Rating: Red (FREE)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Blurred Boundaries in Trifles
In her landmark feminist play, "Trifles," Susan Glaspell offers a peek at the complicated political and social systems that both silenced and divided women during their struggle for equality with men. In this simple but highly symbolic tale, a farmer's wife, Minnie Wright, is accused of strangling her husband to death. The county attorney, the sheriff, a local farmer, the sheriff's wife and the farmer's wife visit Minnie's farm house. As the men "look for clues," the women survey Minnie's domestic environment. While the men scoff at the women's interest in what they call "trifles," the women discover Minnie's strangled bird to realize that Minnie's husband had killed the bird and Minnie had, in turn, killed him. They bond in acknowledgment that women "all go through the same things--it's all just different kind of the same thing" (1076). As their horror builds and the women unravel the murder, they agree to cooperate with one another, conspiring to protect Minnie against the men by hiding the incriminating "evidence."
Women's slow reluctance to cooperate across class even in the face of male oppression, as depicted in Glaspell's play, symbolizes the difficulty women had in creating a united "cross class sisterhood" when struggling for suffrage during the Gilded Age. This class conflict was exacerbated by the socio-economic dynamics of the day. Middle class women often employed working class women in their homes as servants. Employing women with hypothetically oppressive wages in their "private lives," while at the same time fighting for the economic freedom of all women in their "public lives" placed middle class women in a hypocritical bind. As historian Lois Banner reports, "In the 1900s and 1910s there was an outpouring of writings on the so-called servant problem--the shortage of women willing to work as cooks and maids. . . .It was not simply that they [servants] were expected to be paid long hours and were not well paid; they were subject to the whims and status anxieties of their mistresses" (52). The control that middle class women reportedly bestowed upon their domestic laborers extended into the larger picture; much of middle class club work focused on the "reform" of working class women. The imposition of middle class values onto working class and black women's lives alienated these women--making the feelings of sisterhood necessary for solidarity, nearly impossible. As historian Nancy Hewitt explains, "When 'true women' [i.e. middle class reformers] attempted to extend these 'benefits' and beliefs to all women, they failed to recognize the value that white and black working-class women placed on their own carefully constructed communities and therefore created antipathy in their search for unity" (312).
Gere's study of women's writing groups certainly does not deny the issue of class and how it affected relationships between club women, but she does not fully problematize the hierarchy imposed upon working class women by middle class or fully examine how this construct affected working class women socioeconomically and psychologically.
Search for: [clearly show] [far reaching] [dramatic increase] [new attitude]
|
Important Note: If you'd like to save a copy of the
paper on your computer, you can COPY and PASTE it into your word
processor. Please, follow these steps to do that in Windows:
1. Select the text of the paper with the mouse and press Ctrl+C. Azete.com (the "Web Site") is produced by the "Company". The contents of this Web Site, such as text, graphics, images, audio, video and all other material ("Material"), are protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws. The Company makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the Material or about the results to be obtained from using the Material. You expressly agree that any use of the Material is entirely at your own risk. Most of the Material on the Web Site is provided and maintained by third parties. This third party Material may not be screened by the Company prior to its inclusion on the Web Site. You expressly agree that the Company is not liable or responsible for any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other subscribers or third parties. The Materials are provided on an as-is basis without warranty express or implied. The Company and its suppliers and affiliates disclaim all warranties, including the warranty of non-infringement of proprietary or third party rights, and the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. The Company and its suppliers make no warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the material, services, text, graphics and links. For a complete statement of the Terms of Service, please see our website. By obtaining these materials you agree to abide by the terms herein, by our Terms of Service as posted on the website and any and all alterations, revisions and amendments thereto. |
ith P4 they make way better speed ones. way better andn way faster Go with P4 they make way better speed ones. way better andn way faster Go with P4 they make way better speed ones. way better andn way faster Go with P4 they make way better speed ones. way better andn way faster Go with P4 they make... by attempting to preserve democracy. Franklin D Roosevelt began the lend-lease agreement in 1941. This allowed America to sell, lease or lend materials to a country that was considered important to the U.S. The understanding was that after the war was over the materials or it's equivalent would...n overdose of a potentially lethal drug has been confirmed, the drug should be removed from the patient, attempting to prevent absorption and to expedite excretion; symptomatic treatment to keep the patient alive should be started; and any known antidote should be given if the specific drug can be i...nand Marcos who has seated as the president of the Republic of the Philippines for over a 20-year regime. One way, this led to the subsequent episode of the unforgettable People Power rally following the fatal shot received by the highly-regarded senator. People from all over the Philippines uni...