In "Trifles," Susan Glaspell
describes ordinary people living ordinary lives. This serves as a basis for
defining "Trifles" as a work of realism. To further define her work
in “Trifles” I would say it stands out as an early example of feminist
literature, because it depicts the plight of women and their subordination.
In the nineteenth century, Susan
Glaspell was witness to the Women’s Right Movement and in 1920 she lived amidst
the Nineteenth Amendment passage which gives women the right to vote. Yet, even
the passage does not immediately give women the universal right to serve on
juries. (Ritter , 143) So, Susan lives through this era using her voice in “Trifles”
to get the attention of her readers of the unjust world around her.
By Glaspell participating in the canon
of literature and bringing attention to the female issue of subordination, she
is challenging and demanding to speak in “masculine” terms, as literature was
dominated by males in this era. According to Judith Fetterley, “American
Literature is male. Our literature neither leaves women alone nor allows them
to participate” (Fetterley, 561). Glaspell shatters this. She is participating
in a genre of art that was viewed as predominantly male. Also, she not only
gave her female characters a participatory role, they had the most important
role, while the men were secondary and almost needless.
In some ways, the title of the short
story better indicates Glaspell’s point.
The title of the story is a symbol itself. Trifle: Something of little importance
or value. (Bolander, 245) Many items are referred to as "trifles" in
this story. Trifles symbolize to the men everything that women think are
important. In essence, women are "trifles." Glaspell accomplishes her
goal when she writes this story to dispel this atrocity and shed light to the injustice that women live through in the 19th Century. To this day, “Trifles”
is a well-known story being read by millions of women and men worldwide and is
considered to be the opposite of its title’s meaning.
Works Cited:
Ritter, Gretchen.
“Jury Service and Women’s Citizenship before and after the Nineteenth Amendment”. Law and History Review 20.3 (2002): 75 pars. 4 Mar.
2010.
Fetterley, Judith. "On the Politics of
Literature."Literary Theory: An Anthology. 2nd ed. Ed. Julie Rivkin and
Michael Ryan. Malden: Blackwell, 2004. 561-579.
Bolander, Donald. “The New Webster’s Dictionary.” Connecticut:
Lexicon Publications, Inc. 1993. Print.
