Trifles Feminist Analysis

In the play, “Trifles,” Susan Glaspell demonstrates the inequality that occurs between men and women during the 20th century. From the opening scene, the two women are not given much attention unlike the men, until they are separated from them and become the main characters. Although the women are seen as inferior to men, they prove that they are much more capable as they are the ones who solve the case by thinking outside the box. They find the real motive behind Mrs. Wright’s action and are able to understand her doing because of the way women were treated back then. Even though both women decide to defend Mrs. Wright by hiding the evidence, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters sympathize with her, but for different reasons. Since the very beginning of the play, you can easily tell that the women do not hold the same authority as the men. The men immediately walk into Mr. Wright’s residence and make their way towards the stove to warm themselves up, while the women stand close together by the door. Even though the weather dropped below zero, the women insist they are not cold. It is through the body language of the women that we
Hale and Mrs. Peters become the two main characters during their investigation, Mrs. Hale recalls the good times of Mrs. Wright’s life. There was once a time when she was known as Minnie Foster. Minnie “used to wear pretty clothes and be lively-singing in the choir (778).” Before marriage, Minnie was an upbeat girl who took part in her community, but now, she does not even take part of the Ladies Aid. Unfortunately, once she committed to a marriage with Mr. Wright, Minnie changed her way of being, and it was not a good change for her persona. Her house was disheveled with unwashed things and she was not properly kept herself which shows to prove that she is not the lively girl she once was. She became a more reserved woman and seemed to not care about anything, though she was trying her best to survive by keeping busying with her