Oppression in the Early 20th Century - 1578 Words

Feminism means the belief that women should be treated as equals to men. In the early 20th century, women faced adversity in the sense that it was a struggle living at that time because they had a specific role to live up to, and that role was being housewives to the men. The early 20th Century was a male dominated society. Glaspell uses character names, Irony in the title, and symbolism in the play, â€Å"Trifles† to reveal the roles in which women play, and the harm it brings to women and also men in the early 20th Century. In the play, there are two characters that are never seen, Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Mr. Wright plays off the social stereotype that women always seek for â€Å"Mr. Right†. Mr. Wright, â€Å"an Iowa farmer† (Leon Hilton, 147) has been†¦show more content†¦Before she married John, she used to sing in the choir, she was always very active in her community. After she got married, she never interacted with her community; she was always â€Å"lonely†. Minnie was a housewife alone all day while John was away at work. Minnie and John never had any children, Not having children makes less work—but it makes a quiet house (Susan Glaspell, 21). Mrs. Hale says, â€Å"Just to pass the time of day with him [John]†¦ [Was] Like a raw wind that gets to the bone. (Susan Glaspell, 22). Minnie must have been miserable living with John, so she took up the bird. She possibly treated the bird as her child, singing to it and caring for it. She was devastated to have see n the birds’ neck wrung the way it was. She must have mourned the death of the bird the same as the death of a child. Mrs. Hale describes Minnie Foster as, â€Å"kind of like a bird herself -- real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery†(Susan Glaspell, 22). When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find Minnies birdcage in the cupboard, they do not realize the importance of it until they find the dead bird with its neck â€Å"wrung† (Susan Glaspell, 23). Mrs. Hale says to Mrs. Peters, â€Å"No, Wright wouldnt like the bird -- a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too† (Glaspell, 25). Mr. Wright’s presumed killing is a â€Å"symbolic attack† (Brian Sutton, 172) on his wife, andShow MoreRelatedA Marxist Evaluation Of Feminism And Gender Equality Essay1572 Words   |  7 Pagescapitalistic model. Feminism, since the 1970s, has become a subjective and distorted version of what it was meant to be—a system that soug ht to raise the rights of women out of the home (as domestic servants) and into the workplace. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the idea of Marxism as a system of economic analysis for women to dissect the inequalities of patriarchal capitalism has also become diluted and co-opted by the ruling classes as a â€Å"political phenomenon:† In this sense, then, rather thanRead MoreAnalysis Of A Room Of Ones Own By Virginia Woolf1691 Words   |  7 Pageswriter. 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