Stereotypes and Stereotyping in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles

Trifles play by Susan Glaspell is a greatly based on stereotypes. The peculiar one is the inferiority of women as opposed to men. The play also uncovers gender differences in society. The author fundamentally examines the repression of women in early days particularly in the 1900s.The female gender is highly looked down by the male gender. Women are portrayed as housewives whose work is to cook and to bear children. However, women in the Glaspell's play completely rebel against male domination. They have actually proved that it is wrong. Men in the story are sent to discover more about the murder, while women follow to correct some things for Mrs. Wright; no more than their duty rather than defend Mrs. Wright's poor housekeeping (Glaspell 1050). She was accused for murdering her husband. In the entire play men mock and rebuke women (Glaspell, 79).They treat them with contempt. Patriarchy is a term that describes a social structure in which men have control and domination over their female counterparts. The concept of patriarchy has a central to many feminist debates. The society that we live today is characterized with patriarchs.

The current nature of society is informed by past discrimination of women and unequal distribution of power between men and females. Women in patriarchal societies are underrepresented in the social, economic and political spheres. Gender-based violence is common in this kind of communities. Theories of feminism have expanded the description of a patriarchy society to encompass an institutionalized bias against women. Socialization is the driver of gender bias (Glaspell, 69). The author elucidates the ingrained social norms for both men and women. For example, Snow White who plays the role of a woman in the play is depicted as clueless, childlike, emotional dependent on people. A real woman according to the tale is the one who is submissive to a man and also who respects the authority of me; Well, women are used to worrying over trifles (Glaspell 1049). The tale is consequential in advancing the gender agenda. It critiques positively the patriarchy system, which they accuse of demeaning the status of women in the society Changes in Women's Role Participation, Even with all the hard work a woman would do, it was not uncommon for the hard work to be taken for granted. Glaspell shows this when the County Attorney says, Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies? (Glaspell 1049).

From these essays, it is clear that the patriarchy system is subjective in nature and it judges women harshly i.e. women are expected to be beautiful and to have a pretty face, so as to please their husbands (Glaspell, 47). Women's face is more regarded than their intellect. Consistent with the patriarchy ideas, the essays introduce the concept of a Good and bad a girl. Good girls, unlike bad ones, are expected to submit themselves to the societal roles of the day without any deviation. Women are supposed to be motherly for them to be considered as good wives. The story argues that a woman should be equal to the male counterparts and should be independent. They claim that Women should not be subordinate to men, to them, these acts to deny women their right to participate in the social and economic development (Glaspell, 102). It believes that women can play a major in the social, economic and political development of a nation.

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