Author, playwrights, and poets use their various literary works to convey certain important messages to audiences. As such, these works normally demonstrate confluence about how the literary experts construct certain concepts such as themes. The portrayal of such themes necessitates literary experts to describe certain characters in specific ways. Applying the aforementioned concepts to Susan Glaspell’s Trifles play and Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour narrative enables one to notice certain similarities. For one, the two literary works dwell on the theme of female subordination and the negative consequences of this practice. Through The Story of an Hour, Chopin shows that Louise Mallard is harmfully subordinated by Brently – her husband – through various unkind acts. Likewise, Glaspell uses Trifles to demonstrate that John Wright – Minnie Wright’s husband – oppresses his wife via certain rude acts. The two works are also similar in that they prove that female subordination is not only harmful to women but also oppressive to men. In Trifles, John’s oppressive stance makes the wife so much depressed that she kills the husband. Likewise, Brently’s oppression of Louise makes the wife so cynical that she demonstrates indifference to the husband’s supposed death. As they build the 2 works, the literary experts describe 2 opposing characters who represent either the female or male views in their respective patriarchal chauvinistic societies. In Trifles, Minnie represents the female side of this gender tussle. Louise is representative of the female gender in Chopin’s narrative. In Trifles, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter also come in to support Minnie’s quest to escape John’s chauvinistic bondage. All in all, Chopin’s The Story of an Hour narrative and Glaspell’s Trifles play are similar in that they both describe the negative effects of their female protagonist’s oppression under chauvinistic males.
To illustrate, the theme of female subordination plays out in The Story of an Hour through Louise’s confession that Brently’s supposed death indicates freedom for the wife. Louise demonstrates this disposition when she thinks that thanks to Brently’s supposed demise, she will be able to live her own life. Such weighty thoughts point out that Louise has been suffering under her husband’s yoke of male supremacy. She confirms these premises by indicating that Brently has been imposing his will upon Louise against her wishes. The theme of the oppression of women by me thus clearly plays out.
Likewise, Glaspell’s Trifles play brings the theme of female oppression to the fore through the conversation that Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale have as they stand in Minnie’s kitchen. The 2 women make observations that indicate that Minnie’s life has been bleak owing to her husband’s rude manners. Various things in Minnie’s kitchen are clearly out of order, thus reflecting the depressed woman’s tattered emotional situation. For example, the housewife has left her tabletop half clean, some bread lies outside its holding box, some fruit preserves are spoilt, and the Canary cage is empty. These conditions allude to Minnie’s incomplete life with John. Viewers are made to learn that the husband prefers to spend time outside the home rather than stay with his wife. John is even argued to be bad company. Minnie’s loneliness is compounded by the fact that she is childless. The aforementioned circumstances thus bring the theme of female oppression into sharp focus.
In line with the above-mentioned theme, Glaspell’s Trifles play shows that the habit of men subjecting their female companions to oppression usually harms both the females and the males. This concept is exhibited through the antagonistic stance adopted by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale about attempts by the men to investigate the cause of John’s death. After being irked by the County Attorney’s statement that ‘kitchen things’ amount to nothing, the women decide to side with Minnie. The County Attorney’s chauvinistic viewpoint disparages women and their domestic roles. The women thus decide to hide the discovery of the dead Canary from the men, with Mrs. Hale confiscating the corpse. Should they make the men aware of the bird, the 2 ladies would assist their male counterparts in resolving John’s murder. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are however motivated by their disdain for the men’s self-importance; they thus conceal this significant discovery. These 2 ladies’ standpoint coincides with Minnie’s views which prompt her to murder John by strangling him. The husband thus loses his life on account of his unkindness towards his wife. Female suppression is thus shown to be disadvantageous to both women and men.
Likewise, men’s oppression of women is proven to be detrimental to both genders through Louise’s desperate search for freedom from Brently which eliminates her affection towards her husband. To illustrate, Louise does not show the usual remorse when she learns that her husband is dead. Instead, she behaves as though she has received news of something that should facilitate her relaxation. Her decision of settling in a comfortable chair that overlooks the beautiful scenery through an open window alludes to Louise’s contentment with Brently’s death. The supposedly widowed wife even confesses to feeling a sense of release that indicates a future satisfying life. These sentiments prove that Louise has been so much emotionally and psychologically battered by Brently’s excesses that she covertly rejoices in the husband’s death. In this regard, Brently’s oppressive rudeness towards his wife is shown to have erased any fondness the woman ever had for the husband. As such, Brently is denied the requisite mourning by a beloved wife that he desires after he supposedly dies. Instead, the husband’s alleged death comes as a pleasurable occurrence to the wife. The foregoing events thus confirm that the habit of men oppressing their women is counterproductive as it harms both the females as well as the males.
In addition, Chopin’s narrative shows that Louise is struggling to free herself from the yoke of male oppression that her husband has imposed onto the wife. This concept plays out at the instance when Louise owns up that she does not love her husband. Instead, she merely pretends to adore her husband. She proves her dissatisfaction with Brently’s controlling manners by reasoning that she has found a way to exercise her right to self-assertion now that her husband has died (Chopin, 2000). More importantly, Louise whispers that she is now wholly free, thus proving that Brently has been curtailing her freedom. This desperate quest for freedom confirms the oppression that Louise has endured under Brently.
Similarly, in Glaspell’s Trifles, Minnie makes a desperate attempt to be free from John’s oppressive domination by strangling the husband. The husband has habitually been antagonistic to the wife as is evident through his act of killing the Canary. This bird not only keeps the woman company but is also a sign of her freedom. The husband’s action of getting rid of this precious creature thus prompts Minnie to do the unthinkable – she pounces on a sleeping John and strangles him to death. It can thus be plausibly argued that John’s cruel act motivates Minnie to undertake the ultimate quest for freedom. She kills the husband. The profile of a woman who desperately tries to free herself from the oppressive yoke of her husband thus plays out.
In summary, Glaspell’s Trifles play has several similarities with Chopin’s The Story of an Hour narrative based on certain elements such as characterization and themes. Firstly, the 2 works clearly demonstrate that they explore the themes of female subordination and the related consequences through their description of the female protagonists’ woes. Minnie’s oppression in Trifles causes harm to both John as well as herself. Likewise, Brently’s suppression of Louise in Chopin’s narrative is counterproductive; it harms both genders. In addition, both works create the profiles of female protagonists who determinedly strive to break free from their respective husbands’ oppression. Such protagonists are matched with resolute chauvinist husbands who offend and suppress their wives. Trifles’ John is a representation of an oppressive chauvinist. Ultimately, the oppressed female characters are forced to undertake desperate measures in a bid to be free from the oppression of their husbands. In the Story of an Hour’s Louise chooses to rejoice in Brently’s – her husband’s – demise while Trifles’ Minnie kills John – her husband.
Reference
Chopin, K. (2000). The story of an hour. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning.