Subverting "Trifles" To Control Men
Mrs. Hale hands Mrs. Peters a jar of fruit. “Tell her [her fruit] is all right. Take this to prove it to her. (441)” After being convicted of murder and hauled off to prison, Mrs. Wright expresses her worry that her jars of fruit would freeze and burst. In order to shield her from the unhappy truth, Mrs. Hale takes one sample of the fruit jars to subvert and contain Mrs. Wright’s hopes for her fruit. Stephen Greeblatt talked about “the act of subversion sewing as the precise mechanism by which subversion is contained.” This means that one’s ideas will keep their ideas to be true as they look for only the things that support their ideas.
In Susan Glasell’s short story, “Trifles,” the men and women see the items in the household differently based on their ideas of the murder which can they be contained by their thinking of “who penetrated what crime. (Bendel-Simso)”
Louis Althusser observed that there are two apparatuses of the state, one of which is the “repressive state apparatus” (RSA). This includes the government, the police, and the military which all “use force to enforce the will of the state. (Althusser)” The women remark on the way the men are “trying to get her own house to turn against her. (436)” The men in “Trifles” represent the RSA as a sheriff, prosecutor, and a witness. Working for the state, the men look for objects that will reinforce their belief in Mrs. Wright’s guiltiness.
“Believing that Minnie is [the] killer, they seek the motive necessary to convince [the jury] that Mrs. Wright is guilty of the murder of her husband. (Bendel-Simso)” The men examine the area where Mr. Wright’s dead body was found, the farm, and the window: all of these areas are places where they believe they can find evidence for the murder. They fell to see anything in the kitchen that would help them see the woman’s side of the murder. Literary critic Bendel-Simso said that the “[men] react to an action and look for the evidence to justify the retribution they wish to enact.”
On the other hand, Mrs. Hales and Mrs. Peters look at the kitchen and make their verdict based on their own observations and experiences. They see the trifles in the kitchen and front room and assume the emotions behind the things out of the ordinary. Mrs. Peters tells Mrs. Hales that “we all go through the same things- it’s all just a different kind of the same thing. If it weren’t- why do you and I understand? Why do we know what we know at this moment?” Mrs. Hales notes that the women in the area all live similar lives and therefore are capable of understanding things that happen.
In Susan Glasell’s short story, “Trifles,” the men and women see the items in the household differently based on their ideas of the murder which can they be contained by their thinking of “who penetrated what crime. (Bendel-Simso)”
Louis Althusser observed that there are two apparatuses of the state, one of which is the “repressive state apparatus” (RSA). This includes the government, the police, and the military which all “use force to enforce the will of the state. (Althusser)” The women remark on the way the men are “trying to get her own house to turn against her. (436)” The men in “Trifles” represent the RSA as a sheriff, prosecutor, and a witness. Working for the state, the men look for objects that will reinforce their belief in Mrs. Wright’s guiltiness.
“Believing that Minnie is [the] killer, they seek the motive necessary to convince [the jury] that Mrs. Wright is guilty of the murder of her husband. (Bendel-Simso)” The men examine the area where Mr. Wright’s dead body was found, the farm, and the window: all of these areas are places where they believe they can find evidence for the murder. They fell to see anything in the kitchen that would help them see the woman’s side of the murder. Literary critic Bendel-Simso said that the “[men] react to an action and look for the evidence to justify the retribution they wish to enact.”
On the other hand, Mrs. Hales and Mrs. Peters look at the kitchen and make their verdict based on their own observations and experiences. They see the trifles in the kitchen and front room and assume the emotions behind the things out of the ordinary. Mrs. Peters tells Mrs. Hales that “we all go through the same things- it’s all just a different kind of the same thing. If it weren’t- why do you and I understand? Why do we know what we know at this moment?” Mrs. Hales notes that the women in the area all live similar lives and therefore are capable of understanding things that happen.
One example of this occurs when Mrs. Peters relays her story of watching the boy kill her kitten with a hatchet. She tells Mrs. Hales that she was upset enough to hurt the boy (440). These feelings help the women come to the conclusion that Mrs. Wright killer her husband by strangling him as he strangled her beloved pet. Mrs. Hales also observes that the Wrights had no children, and Mrs. Wright was alone all day while her husband worked. She says that she must have been very lonely since her husband didn’t seem to be much “company when he did come in. (439)” She states that Mrs. Wright “didn’t belong to the Ladies Aid… [and] she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively… [she] was one of the town girls singing in the choir. (435)”
The women use their experiences and observations to make judgments about Mrs. Wright’s situation and her suppose guiltiness. On the other hand, they realize that there could be possible other explanations for these trifles. Mrs. Peters sees the bad stitching on the quilt and tells Mrs. Hales, “I don’t know as she was nervous. I sometimes sew awful queer when I’m just tired. (438)”
The “women uncover and then suppress evidence that would convict Mrs. Wright. (Bendel-Simso)” The women subvert the idea of Mrs. Wright being guilty for killing her husband as they see the trifles that they can relate to and create their own ideas of what took place. Then, the women contain their conclusions by hiding the bird so the men will not figure it out. The women do not know anything for sure, but their experiences tell them that they are right about their ideas.
At first, Mrs. Peters is also a part of the RSA since “a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. (442)” She tells Mrs. Hales that “the law is the law (436)” and “the law has got to punish crime. (441)” As she relates her experiences to the plight of Minnie Wright, she shows compassion for her that forces her to change her thinking and side with Mrs. Wright.
The men and women in “Trifles” make their conclusions through experience and observation or by creating their own ideas to justify their point of view. “[That] is how human beings understand, and how they believe they understand one another and their stories. (Smith)” The men and women in the story subvert their ideas by looking for the things that fit their ideas or by using their own experiences and observations to draw conclusions. The women then contain their ideas by hiding the evidence that they believe would prove Minnie Wright’s guiltiness.
The women use their experiences and observations to make judgments about Mrs. Wright’s situation and her suppose guiltiness. On the other hand, they realize that there could be possible other explanations for these trifles. Mrs. Peters sees the bad stitching on the quilt and tells Mrs. Hales, “I don’t know as she was nervous. I sometimes sew awful queer when I’m just tired. (438)”
The “women uncover and then suppress evidence that would convict Mrs. Wright. (Bendel-Simso)” The women subvert the idea of Mrs. Wright being guilty for killing her husband as they see the trifles that they can relate to and create their own ideas of what took place. Then, the women contain their conclusions by hiding the bird so the men will not figure it out. The women do not know anything for sure, but their experiences tell them that they are right about their ideas.
At first, Mrs. Peters is also a part of the RSA since “a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. (442)” She tells Mrs. Hales that “the law is the law (436)” and “the law has got to punish crime. (441)” As she relates her experiences to the plight of Minnie Wright, she shows compassion for her that forces her to change her thinking and side with Mrs. Wright.
The men and women in “Trifles” make their conclusions through experience and observation or by creating their own ideas to justify their point of view. “[That] is how human beings understand, and how they believe they understand one another and their stories. (Smith)” The men and women in the story subvert their ideas by looking for the things that fit their ideas or by using their own experiences and observations to draw conclusions. The women then contain their ideas by hiding the evidence that they believe would prove Minnie Wright’s guiltiness.
