Trifles - Susan Glaspell (1916) - Setting

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[...] Trifles - Susan Glaspell (1916) - Setting Introduction Setting can be an important element in creating a story and developing the themes within a literary work. For instance, a setting may be used to reveal more about a character, or perhaps it is just a backdrop and setting where a character finds him or herself. This paper examines how Glaspell uses setting elements to create a background of rich and layered details for her story. Looking at the setting's temporal, physical, and symbolic aspects will take us closer to the subtleties of Glaspell's construction of a narrative world. [...]

[...] (Priceless Audiobooks min 7). II. Physical Setting: The Significance of the Farmhouse The farmhouse in "Trifles" seems to represent a microcosm of the play's larger social and cultural backdrop. The dramatic conflict that appears to be unfolding within the house plays out in a rural, isolated setting, thus dramatizing issues of confinement and entrapment, especially for the female characters. It does so through careful description of the farmhouse and the surrounding environment, creating a sense of suffocation and stasis in the reader: "The farmhouse with its insistent detail and atmosphere of claustrophobia threatens to overwhelm its inhabitants just as the enforced domesticity of the women readers' lives does" (Manuel 3). [...]

[...] A world that, in a way, leads the reader to question the social, cultural, and gender relations. By reading the primary text excerpts and some scholarly secondary sources, we have gleaned an overall understanding of the role that the setting plays in "Trifles" and its impact on the play's overarching message. - Works Cited Manuel, Carme. SUSAN GLASPELL'S TRIPLES (1916): WOMEN' S CONSPIRACY of SILENCE beyond the MELODRAMA of BESET WOMANHOOD institucional.us.es/revistas/estudios/7/art_05.pdf. Priceless Audiobooks. "Trifles Susan Glaspell Drama Sound Book English." YouTube Nov www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-3b_GYbplo. [...]

[...] Through such a juxtaposition, Glaspell gently demonstrates the incompatibility of Mrs Wright's outer world with her inner longings, implying an acutely profound chasm between her inner world and the world that is real to her. Therefore, the scantiness of the farmhouse is dramatically opposed to the richness of the imagery of Mrs. Wright's birdcage as a powerful symbol of imprisonment versus liberty. It is such a stark contrast that brings out just how oppressive gender roles and societal expectations are, trapping women in a prison-like Mrs. [...]

[...] In the use of the setting, Glaspell emphasizes the women's tales and perspectives, critiquing the patriarchal frames that lock and sideline them. The kitchen symbolizes the women's resistance as they collectively move around the investigation purposefully and cleverly. It is the space where their voices are heard and respected, transcending those forces that control them, and they rise for a society where they are part and parcel of being recognized as equal by society. Glaspell uses this domestic sphere to highlight the element of female agency in conjunction with solidarity in resisting oppressive structures. [...]