The Setting, Characterization, and the Theme of Class Conflict in the Play Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Dramas are pan of a literary genre that is typically represented by a performance Authors of dramas will use several elements of fiction along with literary movements to help with the portrayal of their overall message. Realism is a literary movement that was part of the realist art movement beginning in the mid- nineteenth century in Europe, Authors of this movement often narrated their stories in an unbiased, realistic dialogue and setting close to one of everyday life, to address socioeconomic issues with the faithful representation of reality. In Susan Glaspell‘s play, “Trifles”, the setting, characterization, and the theme of class conflict are heavily influenced by the Realism movement, which brings great significance to the drama. The setting in “Trifles“, is clear evidence that shows how Realism influences the play. Setting in a literary work is the Lime and place of the action. The time period of this story takes place in the early twentieth century.

During this era, women were still seen as the inferior sect of the male dominated society, but they were heavily active in making their voices and opinions heard, This is a common element of realism, as many authors of this particular style depicted the social classes within the community, As stated in a literary criticism on the drama "In the nineteenth century, women were widely considered to be naturally morally superior to men—a condition that did not earn them more rights or privileges but raised expectation of their behavior in domestic settings” (Galens) .The time period can further be marked as a historical event, as women across the nation began to protest, participate in political events, or work in male related industries. This time frame is also marked by the Civil War, a major historical event. This is a realism literature element as authors would set the time frame of their work to that of real events during a particular time. Another aspect of setting within the story is the region and geography.

The play is set in a rural, countryside town in an abandoned farmhouse during the winter months. This location gives readers a realistic setting of a normal middle and lower class society, which makes the setting of the play more relatable, another realism traitt The domain of the setting is the kitchen. Glaspell creatively portrayed an underlying message by making the kitchen the main setting of the initial plot, Realist firmly believed in making their audience aware of the gender roles during this time and how it was perceived. The kitchen setting is the realm for women, as most women were homemakers and would cook numerous meals for their husbands, families, or guests, while the men typically worked outside of the home, thus establishing gender roles, The setting in this play acts as a service of portrayal that is time specific in a growing city with social class limits, bringing importance to the social aspect in the play.

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The setting of the drama is influenced by Realism. Elements of realism are shown in the characterization of the characters in the drama work, Characterization is the presentation of a fictional personage. Each of the individual characters of the story are round, dynamic characters that speak in a common, everyday language, In the play, the characters speak in their regional dialect, this seen when Mrs. Hale states “I s’pose ‘tis”. This is a representation on how the farmer’s local speech is of a lower class regional dialect than the county sheriff and attorney, who are of a higher class. In realism literature, authors tend to use common vernacular style of speech and diction with concrete references to display the simple talk the real people would speak. This is an important part of the play, as it allows for the audience to clearly understand and relate to the diction and to focus on the characters or plot, instead of focusing on an abstract meaning seen in a complex dialogue in previous literary movements.

All of the characters in the drama play an important role in the story, as a whole and individually Realists make their characters impose actions within their environment instead of reacting to it, along with making the characters superior to the initial plot. when the ladies take note of the fruit preserve jars that have exploded, Mr. Hale claims that “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles”. The following quote shows how the women take the initiative within the household environment to find clues for the motive of the crime, while the men find have a negative reaction to the discoveries and complain about the women and their trifles. The quote also displays how the characters are more important than the plot. Within the play, there are two protagonists, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, while the county sheriff and attorney are the antagonists. This creates tension between the male and female characters which makes the focus of the play based on gender relations.

It was the women’s knowledge that was able to piece the clues together, dictating the conflict that ends openly. The features of Realism can be seen in the characterization in the play. One of the several themes seen in the play, philosophy and morality, is a realism quality that possesses a great significance to the literary work. Philosophy is the study of nature of knowledge, reality and existence, while morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, In the play, the idea of misogyny, the great dislike or prejudice against women, is heavily examined. It was ideal for women to not partake in public affairs, and this philosophy became a part of the male and female relationship culture during this time. In the following quote “She said she wanted an apron. Funny thing to want, for there isn‘t much to get you dirty in jail.,,, But I supposejust to make her feel more natural,”  illustrates the philosophy that women were placed in a certain stigma that only appealed to them, as seen and shown by men.

Another philosophical approach seen in the play is feminism. Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men, This concept is seen when the women solve the crime. The men, who are of a higher authority socially, ignore the fact that the women can have the possibility of solving the crime. Ironically, it was through the stigma of women talking to understand the nature of the crime that helped solve the case This shows that women can have a voice and change things even though they are stereotyped by society. It was important for realists to take a concrete subject to represent a position on problems within the universe Another major occurring theme seen in realistic literature is the emphasis on morality. Realists were concerned with ethical issues and would have their characters choose between complex ethical choicest.

After the women solve the murder, they are placed in a moral dilemma of either exposing the truth that Mrs. Wright killed her husband to the men or to keep silence on the issue in order to protect Mrs. Wright, who they see as the victim. The women soon realized that Mrs, Wright encountered numerous emotional and mental abuses from her husband, which they could see in themselves as well. The women found that the murder can be morally validated due to the injustice, gender issues, and misplace in politics that not only Mrst Wright, but all women in society had to face The women came to conclusion that the motive of this crime was to seek personal liberty. Philosophy and mortality are realism traits found in Glaspell’s play. Setting, characterization and the theme of morality and philosophy shows the Realism influence to its highest potential, making the play very important. These elements of literature helped convey various underlying issues during this time. Glaspell was able to execute social, political, and economic issues within the play in a concrete way that can be relatable to the everyday person. The Realism movement plays an essential role in the play.

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