The play Trifles by Susan Glaspell and the movie A Jury of Her Peers by Robert Florey, which is based on it, tell a story of a woman named Millie Wright, who killed her husband. The significance of these works is conveyed through the main theme they explore, justice for women in a male-dominated society. The play was written in 1917, the time when men occupied all the places of power in society and did not treat women as equals. The play and movie demonstrate this situation through the behavior of the male characters who dismiss details that catch the female characters’ attention as “trifles,” which ultimately leads men to miss the major evidence. Women in this play, on the other hand, are shown as able to analyze the crime scene more thoroughly, which allows them to discover that Mrs. Wright was a victim of abuse.
Eventually, women decide to conceal the evidence to save Mrs. Wright from going to jail. They understand that men will not be able to relate to a woman and her struggles since they are not interested in her feelings and experiences. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale believe that the fact that Mrs. Wright was subject to systemic abuse from her husband will not be considered relevant to the case. In a patriarchal society, the position of women is recognized as inferior to men, and subsequently, their lives do not have the same value. The decision of the two female characters is motivated by their desire to at least partially restore justice and counter inequality. The theme of the play and movie remain relevant even today, especially in the light of the MeToo movement, since many men still intentionally dismiss the traumatic experiences of women as unimportant.
References
Glaspell, S. (n.d.). Trifles by Susan Glaspell Plot Summary. LitCharts. Web.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents – A Jury of Her Peers – The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. (n.d.). The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. Web.
