Week 6 discussion topics and themes

Trifles

In Susan Glaspell's play, "Trifles," a main theme is that of gender's roles in society. The women had to take care of the household, while the men's role was as public figure.

The canary is one of the most important symbols in the play, because it represents the freedom of Mrs. Minnie Wright, before and after the marriage. The author describes her as being full of life "She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir." After 30 years of marriage with John Wright, who made her life miserable, she lost her vivaciousness, and became like a bird trapped in a cage.

The murder itself may be considered a symbol. When Mr. Wright kills the canary, he destroys, in fact, his wife's spirit and joy to live. Then Mrs. Wright murders her husband, to revenge all the unhappy years of marriage.

The quilt pieces are also an important symbol in the play. The differences between men and women are once again illustrated by the way they perceive the quilt. The men see it as trifles that women are occupied with daily "They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it!

[The men laugh, the women look abashed.]," but the women realize that it is an important piece of the puzzle, that helps them in the end to solve the murder.

2. The setting in which the action takes place is an untidy kitchen from John and Minnie Wright's farm, on a cold day of winter. The characters investigate the violent murder of John Wright, the owner of the farm, supposedly killed by his wife Minnie. The first to enter the farmhouse is sheriff Henry Peters, followed by the attorney prosecutor George Henderson. Then neighbor Hale, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale then enter the farmhouse.

The setting has the role to illustrate the differences between men and women. The men tend to be rough and analytical, only focusing on obvious clues of that suggest the motive of the murder, while the women are sensitive and intuitive and these features helps them to solve the murder by putting pieces together.

Men considered wives as household keepers and mother for their children, thinking of unimportant things and that is why when Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. Hale try to help their husbands, they didn't take them seriously. Being tired of not be taken into consideration and also of their mocking attitude "Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves," they help Minnie get away with murder, by hiding some evidence.

3. The definition of the noun "trifle" is "a matter or item of little value or importance." So the title of the play suggests that the action is superficial or unimportant, but the truth is that is quite the opposite. In the play, the wives of Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters are brought to the scene of the crime to retrieve some clothes for the suspect of the murder, Mrs. Wright. They end up finding evidence of the fact that Minnie Wright killed her husband, in things considered useless by the men.

The title also refers to the way that men saw women at that time, as simple housewives concerned by things of little value "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles," while they had important things to handle. The title is ironic and it reveals the differences in thinking between men and women. The broken jars, the pieces of quilt and the empty cage are simple trifles to the men, but it helps the women to find out about who Minnie was as a person and also what drove her to murder her husband.

Antigone

4. The action in "Antigone" took place Ancient Greece, a period during which the Greeks did not believe in the existence of heaven or hell. So regardless of what a person did in his life, they had to be buried with a complicated ritual or their soul was doomed to never be at rest. So by denying burial to a person the soul was damned for all time.

Another important aspect of the burial ritual was that it was one of a few things that women were allowed to do in that period, especially mourning the dead. So this gave women the chance to do something important allowed in society.

When Creon, the new king of Thebes, denies the burial of Polynices, he takes away the right of Antigone to honor her deceased brother by performing the ritual.

By burring her brother Polynices, Antigone is not only paying him the respect he deserved but she is also breaking her uncle's command. This is considered to be an act of rebellion against the rules of society at that time, when women should have been afraid of the men and should have listen to them "You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger, to obedience in this and even more painful matters."

The gesture of Antigone proves that she was a person that believed in divine laws and wanted to keep the tradition, no matter the costs, but it also proves that she wanted to surpass her position in society by not obeying her uncle.

5. Tiresias has in important role in the play of Sophocles: he symbolizes the messenger of the gods and trough him they make their will known.

Tiresias, the blind prophet has the role to warn Creon about the repercussions that the double sacrileges will have on him and his family. By not allowing Polynices to be buried as it is customary and by entombing Antigone alive, he will attract the fury of the gods that will punish him.

At first, Creon insults the prophet, accusing him of being a traitor, not wanting to believe the warnings he has made. But when Tiresias predicts the death of his son, Haemon "And you must realize that you will not outlive many cycles more of this swift sun before you give in exchange one of your own loins bred, a corpse for a corpse" and the despise of the Greeks "All the cities will stir in hatred against you, because their sons in mangled shreds received their burial rites from dogs, from wild beasts or when some bird of the air brought a vile stink to each city that contained the hearths of the dead.," the king realizes that the prophet was speaking the truth.

Tiresias has also the role to make the king to renounce his demand and to realize that he has made a mistake. Being a believer in the written laws, Creon now turns to the divine laws and tries to make what is right for his Polynices and Antigone, so the prophecy won't fulfill.