How does Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter′s relationship change throughout the play?
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are two women in the play who are acquaintances united by their husbands. The men in the play are investigators investigating a crime scene where Mr. Wright was murdered, and the chief suspect is the wife. The two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are tasked with gathering items for Mrs. Wright who was in jail at the time. Throughout the play, Glaspell explores the topic of the male-female relationship. The “Trifles” is a very deceptive play just like the title suggests. However, the play presents two conflicts glued on two models of behavior and perception. The exploration of the entire play reveals the fundamental difference between the two women grounded on various understandings of the situation at hand of gathering items for Mrs. White. The culmination of the differences between the two women reveals the outgrowth of personal differences and thus, the change in their relationship. The gender roles caused the change in the relationship between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter in the play.
The gender role of feminism causes a change in the relationship between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter. In the beginning, the two women began making inquiries into Wright’s murder. They gathered various households, which would have been pertinent in giving some evidence on the murder case. However, the two women began to reconstruct Wright’s life (Holstein, 2003). They change into feminists who eve after gathering important information about the accused; they decided to keep quiet about the accidental turn up of the evidence the men were looking for in the investigations (Holstein, 2003). They begin to empathize with Wright as a woman. For Mrs. Peter, the law is the law and operates without favor. Mrs. Hale, on the other hand, feels that the men’s violation is imposing several injustices on women. This is the point where the differences between the two women began to illuminate in the play (Goldberg, 1995). They hold different thoughts due to their shift in gender into feminism. Nevertheless, Mrs. Hale is become an ardent feminist compared to Mrs. Peters who believes the law will judge Wright fairly even though she is a feminist.
The gender roles the two women played in the storyline made them more concerned with relationships than rules. In the beginning, the two women worked together as investigators in the case against Wright who was in jail. They empathize with the missing woman, and together, they decide to hide the potentially incriminating evidence on the case (Mael, 1989). In this decision, the two women seemingly reached an argument to hide the evidence because both of them sympathized with Wright because she was a fellow woman. In the story, the concept of gender roles is also evident in the case of Minnie Wright and her husband. Mrs. Hale responds within the context in a close case of the dirty towels and says that men’s hands are not always clean or there were heavy tasks to be done by Wright in the farms. Nevertheless, men in the investigation made disparaging remarks about Minnie’s housekeeping (Holstein, 2003). Mrs. Hale reproaches men about these remarks. Mrs. Peters, on the other hand, responds timidly and says women have to keep the house clean. On this approach, the relationship between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters changed based on their views on the gender roles between a man and a woman.
The concept of the gender roles in the play made the two men have different views of the abstract laws. On the contrary, Mrs. Hale supports Minnie from the outset. She responds to Mrs. Peter’s comment that “the law is the law” by saying “a bad stove equally is a bad stove.” The relationship weakens by the different desires to have a section of the abstract laws amended in some specific contexts. While Mrs. Hale urges the redefinition of the notion of crime, Mrs. Peters says the law has got to punish every crime (Goldberg, 1995). Only until Mrs. Peters shared the ordeals when her pet was brutally murdered that she came into a connection with the other women in the world. She was able to move from a more a typically male to a typically female mode of judgment.
The identification of gender roles in the lead investigation strengthened the relationship between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Mrs. Hale was asked to keep along Mrs. Peters as her companion when headed to the investigation alongside men (Mael, 1989). They did not know each other at this time. Even though Mrs. Peters was sheriff’s wife, on the common ground of gender balances and feminism, both women collaborated to conceal the evidence found in Minnie’s house. Mrs. Hale regrets not having protected Minnie from solitude and isolation. She now vows to help her. Together, the bond between the two women was strengthened by the decision to include all of them in the investigations (Holstein, 2003). They found a common for feminism arguments as opposed to if Mrs. Hale was alone.
On the theme of gender roles, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale grew closer to one another. The two are partners in crime, which is an unlikely role for a sheriff’s wife (Goldberg, 1995). When we first meet Mrs. Peters, we would not imagine that she would be so much glued to Mrs. Hale. Nevertheless, a web of sisterhood is woven among three women. Their different but similar life encounters enable the two detective women to counter the patriarchal law. The decision was however weighty for Mrs. Peters who was married to the law.
In conclusion, the theme of gender roles plays a pivotal role in explaining how the relationship between Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale grew throughout the play. Based on the concept of gender roles, the aspect of feminism made the two women engage in making the inquiries into the murder of Minnie’s husband. However, even after making important discoveries that would lead to incarcerations for Mrs. Wright, they collaborated to hide the evidence in empathy with Minnie. The two women were more concerned with relationships than rules. As a result, Mrs. Hale had too much empathy for Minnie, and this led to different views about the abstract laws with Mrs. Peters. The two women, however, grew closer to one another on the spirit feminism and empathy. Glaspell in this play reminded the readers on the importance and the value for life. The author further wanted to reveal the importance of feminism in the society; that men would end up judging women unfairly because they do not relate with the pertinent issues women face in the society however small or insignificant they appear. This literature added to the many blueprints of feminism at the time it was created. The society was undergoing evolutions to place women in significant roles and reduce male dominance. This piece of art has shaped the various character plays in various arts and has earned women a better spot in the inclusion of public literature and plays.
References
Goldberg, I. (1995). The Drama of Transition: Native and Exotic Playcraft. Stewart Kidd Company.
Holstein, S. C. (2003). Silent justice in a different key: Glaspell’s” trifles”. The Midwest Quarterly, 44(3), 282.
Mael, P. (1989). Trifles: The Path to Sisterhood. Literature/Film Quarterly, 17(4), 281.