Trifles by Susan Glaspell Analyzed as Feminist Drama

Susan Glaspell and the Playwright's Theatre

American drama studies often neglect the influence of female writers and focus primarily on playwrights such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. However, women often worked in collaboration with their male playwright counterparts and, in fact, helped to establish and propagate various dramatic movements in the United States. Among these influential women playwrights was Susan Glaspell, who along with Eugene O'Neill, George "Jig" Cram Cook, John Reed and Louise Bryant, Max Eastman and Ida Rauh, and Edna St. Vincent Millay helped to establish the Playwright's Theatre in Cape Cod (Reuben, 2011). The Playwright's Theatre produced and presented 16 of O'Neill's plays, 11 of Glaspell's plays, and a total of 93 works by more than 50 writers during six seasons spanning from 1916 to 1921–1922 (Reuben, 2011). One of Glaspell's plays performed during this time was Trifles (1916), which is not only based on a murder trial Glaspell covered as a journalist, but is also a prime example of feminist literature.

Defining Feminist Drama: Competing Frameworks

In "American Drama, Feminist Discourse, and Dramatic Form: In Defense of Critical Pluralism," Patricia R. Schroeder (1993) analyzes women within the context of modern American drama and examines the different approaches to what can be defined as feminist drama. Schroeder (1993) points to several characteristics of drama that allow a play to be classified as feminist. She argues that for some, a play's content and subject matter are sufficient for it to be considered feminist (p. 105). Schroeder (1993) cites Megan Terry and argues that feminist literature arises from "the creation of powerful, autonomous women" (p. 105). Other writers, such as Karen Malpede, argue that feminist literature is about "women surviving and creating new and human communities out of the wreckage of the past" (Schroeder, 1993, p. 105).

However, these two definitions of feminist literature are not fully applicable to Trifles (1916), because Glaspell does not create a play about women overcoming social constraints, nor does she demonstrate how women create new communities and relationships out of the past. On the contrary, Trifles (1916) demonstrates the consequences of being unable to overcome the obstacles created by social conventions. While Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are the only vocal female characters in the play, the plot does not center on them but rather on Mrs. Minnie Wright, who was seemingly driven to murder her husband. Furthermore, the play focuses on Mrs. Peters's and Mrs. Hale's failure to create a new and human community that was inclusive of Mrs. Wright — one that could have served as an outlet for her frustrations and potentially prevented Mr. John Wright's murder.

Minnie Wright's Struggle for Autonomy

Schroeder (1993) offers a third possible definition of feminist literature as it relates to autonomous women — a definition that is the most applicable to Glaspell's Trifles (1916). Schroeder (1993) cites Janet Brown, who argues, "When woman's struggle for autonomy is a play's central rhetorical motive, that play can be considered a feminist drama" (p. 105). Because the central theme of Trifles (1916) is Minnie Wright's murder of her husband, it can be argued that John Wright's death is a consequence of Minnie's struggle for autonomy and that the action taking place onstage is a reaction to that struggle.

Furthermore, this struggle is mirrored through the symbolism of Minnie's pet canary. Mrs. Hale comments, "come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself — real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and — fluttery. How — she — did — change" (Glaspell, 1916). Like the caged canary in the play, Minnie felt trapped in her home and believed that her only escape would come through death — which can explain why Minnie killed the canary and why she murdered her husband.

Gendered Perspectives and the Male–Female Divide

The reaction to Minnie's struggle is further complicated by Glaspell's depiction of dual perspectives divided along gender lines. George Henderson (the County Attorney), Henry Peters (the Sheriff), and Lewis Hale hold perceptions that differ greatly from those of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, who sympathize with Minnie and the social and familial pressures they believe she was experiencing. These reactions can be classified as either male-centric or female-centric — parallel perceptions that nonetheless demonstrate two unique points of view and two unique understandings of women and their role in society.

The men in the play — Mr. Henderson, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale — appear to notice only Minnie's failure to fulfill her wifely and homemaking duties, focusing on the superficial aspects of the case. For instance, Mr. Hale comments, "Well, she looked queer…as if she didn't know what she was going to do next. And kind of done up," to describe Minnie's psychological state when Mr. Wright's body was discovered. Mr. Henderson similarly focuses on superficial aspects of the investigation, commenting, "You're convinced that there was nothing important here — nothing that would point to any motive," to which Mr. Peters answers, "Nothing here but kitchen things" (Glaspell, 1916).

On the other hand, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale recognize the insurmountable pressure exerted on Minnie and on other wives, and quickly defend Minnie's lack of housekeeping. When Mr. Henderson comments, "Dirty towels!…Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?" Mrs. Hale retorts, "There's a great deal of work to be done on a farm…towels get dirty awful. Men's hands aren't always as clean as they might be" (Glaspell, 1916). This exchange emphasizes men's expectations and demonstrates how those expectations are shattered by reality. Paradoxically, Mr. Hale had previously commented that "women are used to worrying over trifles," implying that women focus only on insignificant issues — yet he fails to recognize that scrutinizing Minnie's housekeeping is itself a "trifle" (Glaspell, 1916).

While the men focus on Minnie's failure to keep a clean kitchen, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters focus on Minnie's psychological state and recognize their own failure to provide a support system for her. Mrs. Hale laments, "Oh, I wish I'd come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who's going to punish that?" (Glaspell, 1916). She continues: "I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be — for women. I tell you, it's queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things — it's all just a different kind of the same thing" (Glaspell, 1916). This passage allows the reader to understand the universality of women's struggles during this period and provides insight into the fragile psychological conditions of the female experience.

Conclusion

Feminist literature within the context of American drama is defined based on a variety of elements that include authorship, subject matter and content, and literary form and structure. Glaspell embraces all of these elements to create a work that not only comments on women and society, but is rooted in a distinctive dimension of the female experience — one that extends beyond domesticity to encompass her experience as a woman in a man's world.

Glaspell, S. (1916). Trifles.

Reinhardt, N. S. (1981). New directions for feminist criticism in theatre and the related arts. In E. Langland & W. Gove (Eds.), A feminist perspective in the academy: The difference it makes (pp. 25–51). University of Chicago Press.

Schroeder, P. R. (1993, Spring). American drama, feminist discourse, and dramatic form: In defense of critical pluralism. Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, 103–118.