In this deeper look into ‘Trifles,’ Karen goes through the plot and discusses what you should pay more attention too. She describes the symbolism in some of the objects as well as explain the scenes and their little details. Karen finds the difference between male and female perceptions of judgment to be central to the play. She explains that you need to follow the storyline of the women to help solve the case and discusses the differences between a man and a womans world in this time period.
Karen shares that she believes the women are going about the case better than the men and she explains the meaning behind their findings.
This article helped explain some of the scenes better and did a good job summarizing the play. I think she pointed out some important details in the evidence the women find and that helped explain some of the symbolism better.
She shows a strong distinction between the two worlds of men and women which is the reason behind the difference in their approaches to the case. She points out that understanding the relationships and people is very important. Karen included many quotes from the play to support her opinions which were very close to mine so this article was very helpful. She goes through the entire play which is more than needed but while reading through I could find the most important details she points out to help with my paper.
In Veronica Makowskys book, she discusses the many works by Susan Glaspell and the history she made for female journalists. She takes a deep look into the symbolism in Glaspells works and the relationships between the characters. The feministic writing style of Glaspell inspired many women and made a huge impact in the writing society. Makowsky takes each of her works and shows her perspective on a century of American women. Its a good introduction to the issues of the play.
Although there wasn’t much specific material for me to use from this book, I did find it helpful to read what was included about ‘Trifles.’ I had a better understanding of Glaspells writing technique and her use of symbolism. Makowskys critical interpretation helped show how Glaspell placed women’s concerns out in the open and by understanding the time period for women, I could better understand the symbolism in the play. She discusses how the symbolism and thematic aspects are what made the play so strong. Even though there wasn’t anything I could really use from this source to put in my paper, I think it made a difference in my understanding of what point Glaspell was trying to get across in her play.
Beverly Smith points out that the same aspects of life which the male characters in Trifles see as ordinary and insignificant are in truth vital parts of the female experience shared by the female characters. She also discusses the symbolisms that Glaspell uses throughout the play an how their meanings relate to the crime. Another important topic that Smith explains is how the women seem less acquainted and never call each other by their first names but as soon as the men make disparaging remarks about Minnie’s housekeeping and women ‘worrying over triffles’ the women come closer together and unite.
The most important pieces that I took from this study was the way Smith described some of the most important symbols in the play. The bond between the women is like a knot just like the knot tied around Mr. Wrights neck when he was strangled and also how the women will ‘knot’ tell even through they solved the murder. This theme of the knot is crucial to the plot of the play. The other helpful explaination was of the preservative jars. I thought of the obvious symbolism behind it but Smith discusses how there is one jar left like the remaining secret of the motive. The specific pages I listed for this work were definitely the most helpful.
Linda Ben-Zvi takes on a different approach to Glaspell’s play. She asserts that Trifles is less a comment on standard gender disparities than on assigned gender roles. Suggesting that “their common erasure” provides the incentive for women’s actions, not “women’s natures,” she believes the question of guilt or innocence are irrelevant. She focuses more on Minnie’s cruelties rather than seeing her as a victim.
I felt differently about the play than Ben-Zvi did for certain topics so it wasn’t much help for writing my paper, but I think that hearing an opinion from the opposite side did have an impact on my thoughts. However, I did find some of her findings interesting. I thought that the last name Wright was kind of ironic when I first read the play. Ben-Zvi pointed out the pun intended because Minnie had a lack of rights and implying her right to free herself against her husbands control that society believes he has a right to do. She also discussed the pun of the preservatives that they exploded from the cold as a reminder of the relationship between isolation and violence. This part of the article was insightful for me to read and even though I had a hard time understanding some of the points Ben-Zvi was making.
In “Trifles: The Path to Sisterhood,” Phyllis Mael argues that the evolution of the women’s relationships illustrates the female code. Mael feels that the play’s “moral dilemma” highlights the innate differences between male adherence to principles of morality and female empathetic ethical sense which considers moral problems as problems of responsibility in relationship. She comments that Glaspell uses abstract rules and rights and that ethical solidarity comes only after Mrs. Peters moves from a typically male to a more typically female mode of judgment. This switch allows them to formulate a redefinition of the crime.
Mael did a good job explaining her opinion and showing the changes throughout the play that bring the women together. Reading this journal was very helpful because if the women had not come together and pieced the symbolic evidence together then the truth behind the murder might not have been discovered. Their relationship is crucial to the play and understanding the development in that relationship is equally as important. While the journal may not be exactly what I’m writing about, it certainly helped me acknowledge the importance of the relationships and not just the symbolism.
In this book, Gainor also discusses the life works of Susan Glaspell, especially ‘Trifles.’ She points out that Glaspell asks the audience to “learn to see as women do, to become feminist spectators,” which in this case proves to be superior to the men’s perspective. Gainor really explains how to interpret the play from Glaspells perspective and how she meant for the audience to understand everything. She discussed a lot of the background information which was helpful to understand some of the symbolism. The roles of men and women have dramatically changed since the time of the play so you have to try to understand from that perspective. This work was similar to Veronica Makowksys book so it didn’t really have a lot to help specifically for the symbolism that I didn’t already know, but it did help me get a better understanding. This book is a great introduction to the play and gave a lot of background information. However, it wasn’t as detailed in the aspects that I was looking for to help with my paper.
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