Gender Roles In Susan Glaspells Trifles - 935 Words

Allya Henry Professor Hopkins ENC1102/CRN10807 4 October 2017 Gender Roles in â€Å"Trifles† Early twentieth century America is shaped by World War I , the effects of industrial growth, and a beginning of a new age in literature. Despite movements for progressive reforms like the prohibition of alcohol and the movement for women’s suffrage women’s rights were still limited by traditional gender roles. Women are a â€Å"detached portion† of their husbands and expected to submit to his every demand. As result of women being viewed as flighty and emotionally unstable, men must take the dominant role and every decision made in the family is approved by them. Moreover, the purpose of a woman’s life is to maintain a household and birth and care for her†¦show more content†¦Additionally, gender roles affect Mrs. Wright’s (also known as Minnie) reaction to oppressive marriage. Before marriage, Minnie was a carefree independent woman who was active in her community. She always dressed in pretty clothes and was one of the town girls singing in the choir (Glaspell 1111). After marriage, Minnie’s life became sad and lonely due to the lack of children and the lack of empathy and warmth from her husband. Glaspell provides the reader glimpse of Mr. Wright’s character through Mrs. Hale’s description of him being honest and upright, but he was a â€Å"hard man† and not very amiable (1114). The Wright’s marriage is a perfect example of the effects of traditional gender roles. Mr. Wright represents the traditional role of male dominance in marriage by controlling Minnie’s life through isolation and removing anything that would bring her happiness. Although Minnie became submissive in order to conform to the demands of her husband, she took back control when she murdered her husband in the same fashion as he did to her pet canary (1116). Furthermore, the men’s dismissal of the women’s opinions prevents them from finding evidence of a mo tive to convict Mrs. Wright. The men claim that the women’s concerns are trivial and could not possibly help them find evidence. As articulated by Greg Beatty, â€Å"All the male characters are blind to what is going on and are even condescending to the women. 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