Triffles Case

In "Trifles", Susan Glaspell tells the story of a man who has been strangled to death in his sleep. While the police, sheriff and the county attorney are trying to find evidence to determine who murdered the man, their wives are waiting in the house with them. Surprisingly, the wives are able to put pieces together and solve the case without telling the men. While the wives are solving the case, the men talk negatively about the wives' ability to do anything outside the household. This story touches on the cultural and societal shifts with regards to female identity and power that were taking place in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. In this essay, I will analyze how Glaspell's story is a metaphor for the shifting of female power and identity in the cultural and societal context of the early 20th century.

One of the main cultural shifts highlighted in Glaspell's story is that of the woman's role in a relationship. The story takes places at the beginning of the 20th century, when a woman was expected to focus on pleasing her husband and taking care of the household. During this time, the husband held the power and authority for both members of the couple. Men treated women as if they were less valuable and, in some cases, men considered their wives to be worthless. One example from the story suggesting this is when Hale, one of the two men discussing evidence in the murder case, says: "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles." (Glaspell) Another example is that while the county attorney is searching for evidence, he occasionally throws in irrelevant and negative comments aimed at the wives and directed at women in general. At one point, he points to some towels and tells the ladies, "Dirty Towels. Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?" (Glaspell). Clearly, the identity of women was that of the lesser important half of a couple.

Similarly, women were expected to play a secondary role in society. While they were supposed to stay at home and clean, cook, and take care of children, men were expected to work and make money. Little attention was given to women's feelings or emotional needs. They were stuck in their home all day with little or no contact with other people, and were forced to do what their husbands told them to. This was hard for women to deal with and often made them angry and depressed. To make matters worse, things were even more difficult for women given that they were not expected to share their problems with their husbands or with their friends. An article written by Drew E. VandeCreek, "Women's Experience and Gender Roles", says that during this time "more and more men worked outside the home in workshops, factories or offices. Many women stayed at home and performed domestic labor." VandeCreek goes on to say that "this devaluation of women's labor left women searching for a new understanding of themselves". According to VandeCreek, women were not expected or able to advance, stimulate their intellect or realize who they were and who they wanted to be.

The fact that women were treated so badly resulted in cultural shifts as the women began