Essay On Susan Glaspell's 'Caged Birds Without A Song'
Caged Birds Without A Song
Written within the nineteenth century, both Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, use symbolism within the play to illustrate how different the roles were between men and women during this time. Reputation and public appearance were viewed as intrinsic forms of value within nineteenth century marriages, as though they were solely the backbone of the marriage’s success. Women were viewed as subordinates, mere extensions of their husbands, creating a strong theme of male dominance that echoes equally throughout both plays. Incidentally, in direct correlation to their false presumptions and patronizing mannerisms toward women, in the end, the men are ultimately responsible for their own fall. …show more content…
The play opens at the Wrights’ home a day after Minnie Wright either did or did not killed her husband. The sheriff, Mr. Peters and his wife, the county attorney, and Mr. Hale with his wife have arrived at Wrights’ the home to find evidence proving Minnie’s guilt or innocence, while she’s being held in prison for the murder. Then men repeatedly comment on the unkempt conditions of the Wrights’ home, particularly the kitchen, implying Mrs. Wright must have been unstable because a home is such disarray is outside their perception what a women’s role entails. It’s during this scene Mrs. Peters calls attention to the exploded jars of fruit preserves, understanding the hard work involved in canning preserves, and Mrs. Wright’s concern that the cold weather would cause her jars of fruit to freeze and burst. “She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break” (Glaspell 322). The Sheriff’s response is, “Well can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 322). The men view her concern as trivial and unimportant in comparison to the trouble Mrs. Wright is
Written within the nineteenth century, both Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, use symbolism within the play to illustrate how different the roles were between men and women during this time. Reputation and public appearance were viewed as intrinsic forms of value within nineteenth century marriages, as though they were solely the backbone of the marriage’s success. Women were viewed as subordinates, mere extensions of their husbands, creating a strong theme of male dominance that echoes equally throughout both plays. Incidentally, in direct correlation to their false presumptions and patronizing mannerisms toward women, in the end, the men are ultimately responsible for their own fall. …show more content…
The play opens at the Wrights’ home a day after Minnie Wright either did or did not killed her husband. The sheriff, Mr. Peters and his wife, the county attorney, and Mr. Hale with his wife have arrived at Wrights’ the home to find evidence proving Minnie’s guilt or innocence, while she’s being held in prison for the murder. Then men repeatedly comment on the unkempt conditions of the Wrights’ home, particularly the kitchen, implying Mrs. Wright must have been unstable because a home is such disarray is outside their perception what a women’s role entails. It’s during this scene Mrs. Peters calls attention to the exploded jars of fruit preserves, understanding the hard work involved in canning preserves, and Mrs. Wright’s concern that the cold weather would cause her jars of fruit to freeze and burst. “She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break” (Glaspell 322). The Sheriff’s response is, “Well can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 322). The men view her concern as trivial and unimportant in comparison to the trouble Mrs. Wright is