Susan Glaspell's play, Trifles, reflects her fixation with culture-bound notions of gender roles and the complexities of inequality prevalent in the home and public sphere in 1916. The competing roles and perspectives of men and women contribute to a social divide by confining women to the home where their contributions go unnoticed and undervalued. Glaspell's use of symbolism in Trifles serves to represent how false assumptions about women lead to a dysfunctional society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The symbolism of the setting represents the isolation of women in society, as well as highlighting the kitchen as the domain of women. The initial description of the kitchen as “gloomy” and “left without having been tidied up” denotes a sense of desperation (73). The coldness and isolation of the region also play an important role. When the group first enters the house, they notice the cold and the men huddle near the fire. As Hale recalls his conversation with Minnie, he asks her, "How do you do it, Mrs. Wright, it's cold, isn't it?" and she replies, “Is it?” (74). Coldness is related to John Wright's callous actions towards Minnie, and Minnie's failure to recognize coldness foreshadows her husband's death as she no longer feels his coldness. Furthermore, Mrs. Hale describes the house as joyless, saying, “I never liked this place. Maybe because it's down in a valley and you can't see the road. I don't know what it is, but it's a lonely place and always has been” (79). The fact that the house is “down in a hollow” highlights how isolated Minnie Wright's house is, making it a desolate place to live. Furthermore, this play is about the male-dominated society, where women are delegated to the kitchens. In "The Cult of True Femininity" there is a passage that states: "A wife should do 'only the household chores - wait until your husband tells you about those of great importance - and not give you advice until he asks you for it.' for this'” (Welter 161). This further exemplifies the fact that women belong to a domestic environment, they do not express their opinion until invited to do so by their husbands. Men judge women based on their domestic skills and are dismissive of the hard work a woman goes through to maintain a home. For example, when the county attorney asks the sheriff if there is anything significant about the crime that occurred on the first floor, the sheriff responds, “Nothing but kitchen stuff here” (75). Knowing that the kitchen is a woman's domain, men ignore it, rejecting the idea that anything of value can be found in the kitchen. Men's disdain for women's role in the kitchen reflects the way women were treated at the time. They remain on the fringes of society and lose themselves in the care they give to others, being dismissed as inferior beings. The characterization is symbolic throughout the work because it represents a patriarchal society, manifested in law and citizenship, as well as the effects it produces. has on women. At the beginning of the play, the list of characters is significant in supporting the status of men above women: George Henderson, county attorney Henry Peters, Sheriff Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer, Mrs. Peters, the Mrs. Hale (73) Not only are the names of the men added while those of the women omitted, but the occupations of each man are listed; this represents how women's identities are irrelevant, reducing them toproperty owned by their husbands. The character descriptions are also significant. In the captions, the men are depicted as entering first, bundled up and running to the fire, while Mrs. Peters is described as a "thin, thin woman" with "a thin, nervous face" and Mrs. Hale is "larger and bigger." normally one would say she looks more comfortable, but now she is disturbed and looks around fearfully when she enters” (73). The illustrations of the women depict opposing personalities and are consistent throughout the work. Although Mrs. Peters is less outspoken than Mrs. Hale, they each know their place under men. Instead of going to the fire with the men, they “stand close by the door,” signifying the social divide between men and women (73). Men arriving first represent their highest position in society, while women are seen as secondary, arriving after them. The women do not follow the men to the fire because they were not asked, indicating the men's authority and how women are dependent on their husbands. Throughout the show, men's condescending attitudes try to overpower women, demonstrating how men subjugate women in society on a social level. that time. After Mrs. Peters finds Minne's jars of frozen fruit and expresses her concern, Mr. Hale comments that "women are accustomed to worry about trifles" (75). Immediately thereafter, the captions tell us that "[t]he two women grow a little closer," demonstrating that Mr. Hale's words have negatively affected them (75). Another key example of the men's contempt involves the quilt that Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find. Mrs. Hale says this of the quilt: “It's a log cabin model. Cute, isn't she? Who knows if she would have quilted it or just knotted it?" (78). As she says this, the men come down the stairs and the Sheriff repeats her words, making the men laugh. Their ridicule paints a clear picture of the cruel nature of the men towards women at that time. Although John Wright is not physically present in the play, he is mentioned as a good man who "didn't drink and kept his word like most"; he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to spend the time of the day with him—(Shudders.) Like a violent wind to the bone” (80). has a moral facade, underneath is a hard and harsh man who controlled the family. In dealing with marriage, “The Declaration of Sentiments” states that “[in] the covenant of marriage, she is forced to promise obedience to her husband, he which becomes, in effect, his master – the law that gives him the power to do so.” deprive her of her liberty” (Stanton 3). In Minnie's marriage, John deprives her of contact with society, stifling her voice, and imposes his dominion over her, making her obey his orders. The indifferent treatment of men towards women extinguishes any possibility of equality in society, asserting itself above subordinate women. Women's actions as a result of men's callous treatment of them reflect the different stages of rebellion made by women in society. When the county attorney comments on the dirty towels in the Wrights' kitchen and how Minnie is "not much of a housekeeper," Mrs. Hale responds "stiffly" with "There's a lot of work to be done on a farm" (76) ). Clearly, men have no respect for what women do in the kitchen, and Mrs. Hale makes sure to challenge the lawyer, proving that she's not afraid toexpress his opinion by insulting the men who dare to intrude into the kitchen where they believe they have no business. While Mrs. Hale sees no problem in being crude, Mrs. Peters refuses to join Mrs. Hale in making derisive statements. Instead, she tells Mrs. Hale that “it is nothing but [men's] duty,” indicating her obedience to her husband (76). Mrs. Hale resents the way men think they can come in and meddle in things, "trying to get [Minine's] house to turn against her"; however, Mrs. Peters disagrees with Mrs. Hale, saying that "the law is the law" (78). Mrs. Peters upholds the law and serves to represent women's blind obedience to their husbands, while Mrs. Hale represents the rebellious side of women at the time, not backing down from patriarchal society. Interestingly, towards the end of the play, Mrs. Peters goes through an internal conflict that serves as a turning point for her. After the women discover the bird and hide it from the approaching men, it is Mrs. Peters who disobeys their questions about where the bird went. After this exchange, the captions say that “[t]he two women sit there without looking at each other, but as if they are scrutinizing something and at the same time holding themselves back. When they speak now it's as if they're groping on unknown terrain, as if they're afraid of what they say, but as if they can't help but say it,” which represents the tension they feel because women know they've just lied (81). Women's ways of knowing lead them not simply to knowledge, but also to decisions about how to act on that knowledge. As a result of adopting this way of knowing, women are able to become empowered and devalued, as their low status allows them to remain silent. Minnie Foster's life spirals downward after her marriage to John Wright, clearly evident in the lack of support. in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale appears to have fond memories of Minnie singing in the choir wearing a "white dress with blue ribbons," noting that she was well known among the other girls at the time (81). The color white symbolizes purity and innocence, while blue indicates truth; Minnie's dress represents her holding on to the truth of the innocence she had before marriage. Mrs. Hale also remembers Minnie's activity in the community, evident when she says, "I heard she wore nice clothes and was lively, when she was Minnie Foster" (77). From this information it can be deduced that Minnie got married automatically and without thinking too much. As Mrs. Hale later points out about the women in her society: “We live close and we live far. We all go through the same things: it's just a different kind of the same thing” (81). Minnie perhaps got married because, like other women, any other chance of doing anything else was nil. Shortly after her marriage, Minnie adopted the attitude of a battered woman. John Wright takes control over Minnie, signaled by Mrs. Hale who says, “Wright was close. I think maybe that's why he kept so much to himself. He didn't even belong to the Ladies' Aid. I suppose he felt he couldn't do his part, and then you don't like things when you feel unkempt” (77). The women find evidence of this in Minne's unfinished housework, which represents Minnie's incomplete life in her marriage. Upon further examination of the kitchen, the women find all but one of the jars of cherry jam broken. The cherries symbolize protection and the only jar that hasn't frozen represents Minnie's hope of escape. After Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters realize what he has done,.