-
Comment on “trifles”
from the perspective of Structuralism
Abstract:
From
the
perspective
of
Structuralism,
this
paper
analyses
the
major
binary
oppositions
in
Susan
Glaspell
?
s
one-act
play
“
trifles
”
to
reveal
the
main
idea
that
in
the
male-
dominated society, female
?
s
rebellion and challenge toward the traditional
moral standards
and values is an answer
to their loss of freedom and rights.
Key words:
trifles; binary
opposition; structuralism.
摘要
:
本文从结构主义角度出发，通
过对苏珊。格拉斯贝尔的独幕剧《琐事》中主要二
元对立项的分析，
表现了在男性中心社会里，
丧失自由和权利的女性对传统道德标准以及价
值观念的反叛和挑战。
关键词：
琐事；二元对立项；结构主义
Susan
Glaspell
?
s
one-act
play
“
trifles
”
centers
on
the
investigation
of
John
Wright
?
s murder
and takes place entirely within the walls of
farmhouse kitchen. Only
five characters
command the stage. Three are men, consisting of
George Henderson,
the country attorney;
Henry Peters, the Sheriff, and Lewis Hale. a
neighboring farmer.
The men have come
to Wright
?
s house to look
for evidence incriminating to Minnie
Wright, held in jail for the murder of
her husband. Along with them come two of their
wives, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, to
collect everyday items needed by Minnie during
her
imprisonment.
Ironically,
the
women,
through
noticing
the
“
trifles
”
of
Mrs.
Wright
?
s life
common to their own, stumble onto
the
material
searched for by their
husband. A dead canary with a twisted
neck found in a pretty bow awaiting burial tells
them that John Wright killed the only
thing of joy in his wife
?
s
life. His cruel action
spurs Mrs.
Wright to kill him, and the knotting on a quilt
shows them the method she
employed.
Mocking and Scoffing at the
women
?
s interest in minor
details such as the quilt,
the men
overlook the canary
and the knotting,
and Mrs.
Hale and Mrs. Peters keep
their
discoveries
to
themselves.
They
protect
Minnie
because
they
sympathize
with
her, sharing the bond
of oppression placed over them by their husbands.
Though they
are horrified at Mrs.
Wright
?
s gross act, they
respect the woman who put an end to her
oppressor, something they do not have
the courage to do themselves.
Such an
analysis of the play reveals three complex binary
oppositions on which
the above
interpretation is built, with each binary
opposition being connected to and
interwoven with the others. The most
obvious of the three centers on the relationship
between women and men, Men stereotype
women as they think women are used to
worry about trifles while
men
?
s job is to snob and
criticize. To the two parties, they
rarely communicate with each other and
they never are open to each other--- in this
case, how Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale
interact with each other as opposed to how they
do so with their husbands.
Part
of
the
way
they
relate
rests
heavily
on
the
second
binary
opposition,
the
concept of freedom versus oppression
that provides a motive both for Mrs. Wright
?
s
murder and for
the protection the two ladies lend. The evidence
falls into the women
?
s
hands
because
male
and
female
?
s
opinion
differ
in
what
each
gender
does
as
noteworthy,
thus
revealing
the
third
opposition---trivial
versus
important.
The
men,
for
example,
consider
their
wives
?
interest
in
fruit
preserves
and
quilts
as
merely
“
trifles
”
< br>. Yet it is by paying attention to these small things that Mrs. Hale and Mrs.
Peters
stumble across the material sought by the men.
The first stage establish the first
tension between male and female by the
men
?
s
entering
first instead of demonstrating respect by
following the
“
ladies
first
”
rule of
that era. The nonchalant manner of men
seems to reflect that they take their wives for
granted, and Mr. Hale attests to this
fact when he speaks of Mr. Wright late:
“
I
didn
?
t
know
as
what
his
wife
wanted
made
much
difference
to
John.
”
(Glaspell
545)
The
implication is that the husband has
commanded in what goes on in his household.
Shortly
afterwards,
the
Sheriff,
Mr.
Peters,
verbally
acknowledges
a
difference
between genders,
though he doesn
?
t articulate
the thought completely.
“
well, can you
beat the
women!
”
(543) he exclaims,
referring to one woman but using the plural form,
“
held
for
murder
and
worrying
about
her
preserves.
”
(543)
Obviously,
Mr.
Peters
thinks
that
if
a
man
were
incarcerated
for
such
a
crime,
he
would
not
worry
about
trivial
matter
but
would
concern
himself
with
the
logistics
of
his
imprisonment.
In
association
with
Mrs.
Wright
?
s
worrying
over
her
preserves,
women
in
general,
according
to
Mr.
Hale,
“
are
used
to
worry
about
trifles
”
(543).
Such
a
statement
degrades female concerns and is an
insult to Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, whether or
not Mr. Hale meant it as one.
Another characteristic of women is
loyalty to their gender, as observed when Mrs.
Hale
defends
Mrs.
Wright
?
s
seemingly
lack
of
housekeeping.
Stage
directions
reinforce this
idea: the two women stand physically close
together until the men exit
to
go
upstairs.
After
they
have
gone,
Mrs.
Hale
says
that
she
?
d
“
hate
to
have
men
coming
into
my
kitchen,
snooping
and
crit
icizing.
”
(544)
Mrs.
Peters,
though
understanding,
merely
labels
the
invasion
of
privacy
as
“
their
duty
”
(544),
but
both
women
imply
that
their
husbands
are
insensitive
to
Mrs.
Wright
?
s
plight.
They
sympathize with her because they know
the physical labor it takes to keep up a farm
house and because she
didn
?
t have time to clean up
before she was put into jail.
Other
tensions between genders are revealed through the
characters
? interaction.
Every
time
the
men
enter
the
stage,
for
example,
they
dominate
the
conversation,
moving
boldly
and
decisively
from
one
place
to
another.
Conversely,
the
women