Trifles was written by Susan Glaspell and was first played in theater in 1916. It is based on a true story of John Hossack, whom Glaspell worked for that placed his wife a suspect. The play is set in a house, Mrs. Wright’s house, where an investigation is carryout the murder of Mr. Wright. Though the County Attorney and the Sherriff do adequate investigation, they ignore the little things that points out the murdered as his wife. The women on the other hand, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find out from these trifles that the murder was Mrs. Wright. Poof! is a play written Lynn Nottage that premiered in theaters in 1993. The play is based on Nottage’s research on the role women as voice, particularly the voice of the African American. The play is set in a house, Loreen’s house where they are contemplating on the murder of Samuel, Loreen’s husband. The discussion takes the direction that the murder was rather supernatural and Loreen just uttered the words “Go to Hell” to him.In this paper we shall discuss the use of plot and dialogue in Trifles and how to brings out the main aspects of the play. In addition, we shall study the elements of plot and dialogue and how they are working to bring out basic themes in Poof!
Trifles! Utilizes plot to give a smooth outline of the story. The play It is set in a crime scene where the characters investigating a murder that was carefully planned and undertaken without a trace of solid evidence. The appearance of Mrs. Wright’s house gives an evidence of a disturbed woman, who is not settled but anxious and nervous evidenced by misplacement of items for instance, the fact that the bread is not placed in the bread box. Mrs. Hale also notices that her stitches were badly done, showing an incredible evidence of a nervous woman. The cage that the two women find, is discovered to house a bird that shows a significant amount of struggle when getting out of the cage. That reflects that, Mrs. Wright had finally set herself free but not without struggle. the indication that the house that the house that is being investigated is cold and disorganized points out that Mrs. Wright was suffering in silence, and that there was cold inside her. She did not have friends and the only thing that she had was the caged bird. The bird symbolizes her life in a caged relationship which she has no place to breath nor freedom. The cheerful lady that Mrs. Wright was, is no longer evident in her.
In Poof! The play is set in a crime scene where two women, Loreen and Florence are discussing the murder of Samuel that happened supernaturally by bursting into flames when Loreen just utters the words “Go to Hell”. The house seemed organized and orderly, and by careful examination of it, it is warm and welcoming. That gives an evidences of an organized wife, who understands her roles in the society. The freedom that Florence has in that house, when she is seen moving up and down, and even going upstairs indicates that the couple has no children and that they are less responsible. It also indicates that Loreen as a wife was warm and welcoming to anyone, and it is possible that with his husband around, she could not have anyone to come over her house, including her friends. That could be a contributing factor why Loreen could murder her husband and get away with it easily and without trace. The fact that the ash is swept under the carpet gives an indication that Samuel was less significant to Loreen’s life and therefore she had no respect left for him.
In both plays, the central characters: Samuel of POOF! and Mrs. Wright in TRIFLES are referred through the dialogues that take place between characters. Dialogues in both plays give an outline of events that eventually reveals the cause of death of the two murder victims, Samuel and Mr. Wright. Dialogue conveys very important themes in the society for instance when County Attorney says that “Minnie Wright was not much of a housekeeper,” and when Florence tells Loreen “you got a broom and a dustpan.” That already portrays the role of women as house makers in the society. From the dialogues of the characters, we can tell the qualities of Samuel and Minnie. Samuel was mean, abusive, and arrogant fellow while Minnie was a cheerful, charming, and beautiful before he married Mr. Wright (Critique of Susan Glaspell’S Play, 4). The dialogue that goes on between Florence and Loreen in Poof! points out that Loreen was in an abusive relationship, the same way Mrs. Hale described the change in behavior and character in Minnie when she got married. According to Critique Of Lynn Nottage’S, Play, when Loreen says that authorities do not care about women who are in abusive relationships almost the reflect the same way County General views women’s ideologies as “trifles (5).
Loreen admits to Florence that what was burning was Samuel, and from the word go we already know who Samuel’s Murderer is in Poof. In Trifles, the men have to collect evidence by interviewing witnesses and observing, but that strategy does not yield fruit, and the Country Attorney points out they would come the following day (Zelaya 3). From the dialogues, we can see that Loreen in Poof! was rather out of control because Florence had already told her to seek her advice before making rash decisions like that. In Trifles it seems Minnie had no one to seek advice from, and he had to take matters into her hands eventually. From the description of Samuel in the Poof! he seemed a man who had not responsibilities because Florence says that when he is gone, no one would care, and Loreen says that perhaps only his mother would. On the other hand, Mr. Wright in Trifles is described by Mrs. Hale as a man who played his debts, did not drink, honest but hard (Zelaya 6).
Today’s Perception of the Theme of Domestic Abuse in Comparison to How It May Have Been Perceived in 1916 And 1993
Domestic abuse is one of the social problems that women have learned to live it for generations. Today’s perception on the issue is not much different that it was back in the early and late 20th century. Women of today still suffer like women of those days but only in silence. Very few individuals who fall, victims of this abuses, are willing to open up to others, just as it was then. From both plays, we have analyzed we see an element of suffering in silence, something that is not strange in our current society either. Women undergo physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, yet they do not open up about it to others, but they choose to keep it on themselves. People still perceive domestic abuse as a family affair and that they do not have any right to get into the middle of it at any cost. Therefore, people do not stand for what they believe in, but in what the society wants. The perception that women are to blame for such abuses is still evident. Women still do not want to recognize that they have to stand on their feet and fight against it. They still believe that their men are right when they batter them, and the society still upholds the fact that a woman should submit to their men for better or for worse, violence included.
WorksCited
Bradford, Wade. "What To Know About 'Trifles' By Susan Glaspell".About.com Education. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 July 2016.
"Critique Of Lynn Nottage’S, Play “Poof!!”". Never Buy A Honda. N.p., 2010. Web. 9 July 2016.
"Critique Of Susan Glaspell’S Play, “Trifles.”" Never Buy A Honda. N.p., 2010. Web. 9 July
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Plays And Playwrights: POOF! By Lynn Nottage. Print. 1560-1567.
Zelaya, Leticia. "A Reflection Of Dialogue And Setting In Trifles By Susan Glaspell | Literature Uncovered." Commons.marymount.edu. N.p., 2013. Web. 9 July 2016.
