Trifles: Women's Suffrage and Women
Cold Revenge
During the early twentieth century there were some elements which include what the women’s suffrage movement was all about. Life in the rural Midwest of the century was a lonely, difficult, and depressing way of life……..
The twentieth century was difficult for women. Bailey L. McDaniel states, “The isolation and despondency with which Glaspell characterizes Minnie Wright 's existence is not far from the reality that many farmers would have experienced, with no telephones or televisions, miles between the nearest neighbor, and backbreaking work a necessity just to survive” (1). Women would suffer in silence; they will stay home the entire time taking care of the family, raising their children, and do housework. Women would see this as an obligation. Even if a woman did have the courage to leave an abusive situation, earning a living would be a difficult challenge to overcome (McDaniel 1).
Women 's "unofficial" role as the subordinate sex in the private sphere was not the only facet of gendered inequality at the turn of the century. Officially and publicly, adult women were denied the right to exercise their voice in political elections. Although at the time of "Trifles '" writing, women 's suffrage was already a powerful political movement across the Atlantic in England — and had gained a strong foothold in the United States throughout the nineteenth century thanks to suffragists such as Frances Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott — American women would not be granted the right to vote in federal elections until the passing of the nineteenth amendment in 1920. (In 1915 a bill legislating women 's suffrage was presented to the US House of Representatives but failed to pass because of insufficient votes.)
Male domination in 1916, when Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles was written, was the way of life. Men controlled most women and women were not very outspoken during that time period. Mr. Wright in her play was no different from the rest,
During the early twentieth century there were some elements which include what the women’s suffrage movement was all about. Life in the rural Midwest of the century was a lonely, difficult, and depressing way of life……..
The twentieth century was difficult for women. Bailey L. McDaniel states, “The isolation and despondency with which Glaspell characterizes Minnie Wright 's existence is not far from the reality that many farmers would have experienced, with no telephones or televisions, miles between the nearest neighbor, and backbreaking work a necessity just to survive” (1). Women would suffer in silence; they will stay home the entire time taking care of the family, raising their children, and do housework. Women would see this as an obligation. Even if a woman did have the courage to leave an abusive situation, earning a living would be a difficult challenge to overcome (McDaniel 1).
Women 's "unofficial" role as the subordinate sex in the private sphere was not the only facet of gendered inequality at the turn of the century. Officially and publicly, adult women were denied the right to exercise their voice in political elections. Although at the time of "Trifles '" writing, women 's suffrage was already a powerful political movement across the Atlantic in England — and had gained a strong foothold in the United States throughout the nineteenth century thanks to suffragists such as Frances Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott — American women would not be granted the right to vote in federal elections until the passing of the nineteenth amendment in 1920. (In 1915 a bill legislating women 's suffrage was presented to the US House of Representatives but failed to pass because of insufficient votes.)
Male domination in 1916, when Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles was written, was the way of life. Men controlled most women and women were not very outspoken during that time period. Mr. Wright in her play was no different from the rest,
Cited: Ben-Zvi, Linda. Susan Glaspell: Her Life and Times: Her Life and Times. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Bryan, Patricia L., and Thomas Wolf. Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America 's Heartland. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005. Print. Burke, Sally. “The Second Wave: A Multiplicity of Concerns.” American Feminist Playwrights: A Critical History (1996): 139-190. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. One-act-plays.com. One-Act-Plays. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 6th ed. Ed. NinaBaym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. 1893-1903. Grose, L. Janet. “Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and ‘A Jury of Her Peers’: Feminine Reading and Communication” Short Story Criticism 132 (1999): 37-48. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. Holstein, Suzy Clarkson. “Silent justice in a different key: Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’.” The Midwest Quarterly 44.3 (2003): 282. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Mar.2013. Makowsky, Veronica. Susan Glaspell’s Century of American Women: A Critical Interpretation of Her Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print. McDaniel, Bailey L. “Literacy Context In Plays: Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles.” Literary Context In Plays: Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ (2006): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. Mustazza, Leonard. “Generic Translation and Thematic Shift in Susan Glaspell ‘Trifles’ and Jury of Her Peers.” Short Story Criticism 26.4 (1989): 489-496. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. Noe, Marcia. “Susan Glaspell.” Contemporary Authors Online 9. (2003): 1. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2013. Ozieblo, Barbara. “About Susan Glaspell.” 2010. International Susan Glaspell Society. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Wiedeman, Barbara. "Susan Glaspell." Critical Survey Of Drama, Second Revised Edition (2003): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.