Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Susan Glaspell's 'Trifles' / Feminist Symbolism. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
An 8 page paper that argues that Glaspell uses name, bird/birdcage and quilt symbolism to delineate opposing identities between men and women, and freedom of the bird based on what men perceive as 'trifles' and women consider a part of their identity. The paper posits that Glaspell's overall goal was a call to arms for the suffrage movement of her times, but also a wake-up call for men to the plight of women. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Trifles.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
abusive relationships. While other authors had written stories of women escaping abusive relationships through death, Glaspell was one author who changed that view to murder. Not only did
Glaspells Minnie murder her husband, but her peers hid the evidence. For this reason, the story is not about getting away with murder, it is about changing womens consciousness,
just as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters view changes from housewife to militant within the play. Glaspell makes her point by having the women solve the murder while reviewing
the "trifles" of Minnies life. There are several ways that Glaspell uses this symbolism: to show the differences in power between men and women; that men continue to
believe womens trifles are of no consequence, even though women worrying over trifles solves the mystery the powerful men cannot solve; that womens trifles hold value; and (4) despite the
womens success at identifying the murderer, they band together, despite their socialization, and protect their comrade Minnie. In this respect, women-identified trifles (thinking) has extended value--it is the road
to freedom--not only of Minnie, but of womens consciousness. The purpose of Glaspells suffrage play is to point out that men need to take women seriously, but also
that women need to learn to take themselves seriously, and women, through a new viewpoint they need to come together in order to claim what is rightfully theirs.
Cathy N. Davidson and Linda Wagner-Martin write that: "...the protagonists tacitly agree to conceal what they have learned, thereby protecting
the farm wife who has strangled her husband. Trifles is thus a compelling example of the way in which . . . a complex alliance between women, effectively subvert[s]
...