The male-dominated society of the early 1900s was thriving during the time Susan Glaspell was writing "Trifles," her one-act play. Women did not have the right to vote and had severely limited professional opportunities. They were expected to remain autonomous, submissive to their husbands, and have children. In many ways, men viewed women as objects without personal goals, interests, original thoughts, or intellectual freedom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the main themes touched by Susan Glaspell in "Trifles" is the legitimacy of a woman's fight for her personal freedom. From the murder of John Wright to the decision to hide information from law enforcement, the actions and dialogues of the play's female characters embody the theme of effective female empowerment. Minnie Wright's decision to kill her husband represents the consequential and unyielding nature of a woman's desire. for liberation. We learn that Minnie, whose maiden name is Foster, was a lively and funny chorus singer who loved her singing canary before her marriage to John Wright. However, her overprotective husband suddenly stops all the activities that made Minnie happy, making her feel trapped in a loveless and oppressive union. Her extreme actions show her ultimate rejection of the lifestyle her husband imposes on her. Minnie's desire to free herself from patriarchal shackles overrides her concern for the consequences of her actions. In Chapter 8 “Writing About Literature,” Edgar Roberts states that “characters and their actions can often be equated with certain ideas and values” (127). This is true in the case of Minnie Wright's fight for her independence. Deciding to take fate into her own hands, she kills her husband the same way he killed her beloved cock: strangulation. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, when talking about Mrs. Wright, reflect on the conditions that may have influenced her drastic decision to kill her husband. MRS. PETER. […] I saw [John Wright] in town. They say he was a good man. MRS. HALE. Yes, good; he didn't drink. And he kept his word like most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to spend the day with him - Like a violent wind that reaches the bones (397-398). It is through this dialogue that the audience gets a real sense of how John Wright's cold and callous character encouraged Minnie's desire for liberation. , turning him into an impressive force. Although Minnie never appears in the show, the audience gets a sense of how utterly unhappy and desperate she was in her marriage after her husband took away her independence and identity. In the character of Mrs. Wright, Glaspell creates a radical and inspired rebellious woman who best exemplifies the theme of the play. The female desire to gain freedom and independence can manifest itself into an unstoppable and, in this case, deadly force, especially if a woman is intensely oppressed. The conversations between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters support the main theme of "Trifles": a woman's struggle for her independence. Throughout the play, these two characters constantly express sympathy towards Minnie Wright. At first they express this sympathy lazily as they carefully examine her belongings and even try to help her sew the quilt. However, the more the two women continue their conversations, the stronger their loyalty to Minnie becomesthey realize the true value of women coming together to achieve independence from men. A conversation occurs shortly after Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover Minnie's birdcage: MRS. HALE. …But I'll tell you what I want, Mrs. Peters. I wish I had come sometime when she was here. I wish I had. LADY. PETER. But obviously she was very busy, Mrs. Hale: her house and her children. HALE. I could have come. I stayed away because he wasn't cheerful, and that's why I should have come. […] I wish I had come to visit Minnie Foster sometime. Now I can see... MADAM. PETER. Well, you needn't blame yourself, Mrs. Hale. Somehow we just don't see how things are with other people until something happens (397). Both women regret not doing enough to help their partner, who was struggling to find peace of mind in her marriage before her. the situation has become irreparable. They feel that they have somehow betrayed their gender by not taking the initiative to liberate themselves, and they also realize that by doing nothing they have succumbed to the male-dominated society. Their marriages are similar to Minne's, which clearly pushed her over the edge. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters regret not being able to save Minnie from her life of oppression and isolation, and decide to atone for their loss by helping her now. To make up for their negligence, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters withhold evidence of the play's central murder mystery from the sheriff and county attorney. This is the ultimate demonstration of female emancipation against a patriarchal society. Throughout the show, the sheriff and county attorney pride themselves on their detection and logical reasoning skills to solve the crime that brought them to the Wright home. However, it is the two women who discover the "smoking gun": a dead canary in a box that the two men had dismissed as an insignificant distraction. From this clue, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters deduce that Minnie Wright was probably fully responsible for her husband's murder, the crime the men are trying to solve. However, because the sheriff and county attorney are consistently disrespectful and misogynistic towards them, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters become reluctant to reveal the crucial evidence they find. MRS. PETER. My God, it's a good thing the men didn't hear us. They wouldn't just laugh! Getting upset over a little thing like a dead canary. As if this could have anything to do with-with-they don't laugh? MRS. HALE. [Softly] Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't (399). Hale realizes that adequate justice in this case would involve punishing all those who neglected and isolated Minnie Wright, including the men of the law. In an era where law and order was crucial to the functioning of 20th century society, withholding information from the authorities would have been quite far-fetched, especially in a case where the culprit was a woman. When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters realize that their alliance with Minnie is more important than the concept of duty and patriarchal justice, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the dead canary in her pocket, hiding the accusatory evidence from the domineering men. The sheriff and county attorney are searching Minnie's house for clues to solve the murder, and without any evidence, they won't be able to serve their precious justice. The decision of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters is the “nail in the coffin” of this case, because Minnie cannot be charged without evidence. Their actions demonstrate power.