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Power and Justice in Female/ Male Roles in “Trifles”
“Trifles” is a movie written by Susan Glaspell in the year 1916. The main theme of the story is differences in gender and the effects of isolation on an individual. The movie is a story about how the women in the play get away with a murder case. The women in the play are witty; they find clues to the murder and help their fellow woman to cover all the evidence. The men overlook the clues hence they do not find any evidence and the murderer. In the movie, the writer uses symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing to express that the women face a power resist when their legal obligations collide with their empathetic and protectionist feelings for a fellow woman. The movie is more about gender roles, opposed to the repression of females. Gender issues, power and justice are the key highlights in the movies “Trifles” and “ShutterIsland.”
In the movie, a woman’s strength comes from working together; the women in the play act as a group and not as individuals. The idea defines women through masculine beliefs since they used their limited role to challenge the law and achieve justice (Marsh 201). Irony of the mind sets of male and female that was exercised in the 20th century is exemplified in the play. The question of justice is answered at the end of the play. Minnie who murdered her husband justifies her cause by stating that her husband had made her a prisoner. This is because she had cut off all the communications in the house restricting communications to her friends. For his husband, the telephone was more of an expense and it threatened the sense of possession of Minnie, hence he disconnected it. The wife had no choice but to murder the husband since she declared that the worst crime is to deprive one off her rights. The woman defines deprivation of rights as being strangled. She had been isolated for a long time until she murdered the husband to get freedom.
The movie “ShutterIsland” was written by Dennis Lehane in the year 2003. In the year 2010, Martin Scorsese released a movie under the same title. The movie entails an investigation been carried out by two marshals at ShutterIsland. They investigate the disappearance of a patient who was locked in a psychiatric institution where they carry out mind controlling experiments. The people in the movie were trying to help the US marshal accept his identity; they were part of the trick. The trick was played on him because the psychiatrist knew he was quite intelligent and his mind had the power to conceive great things. The woman named Miss Bridget Kearns, an axe murderer, admits to the crime she committed. She had killed her husband because she wanted to be granted freedom. She was enslaved by the husband; she had not seen many of the inventions in her market place due to been locked up (Gut p.200).
This is symbolic in that, the woman wanted to be granted power and the freedom to control her life. She did not deserve to be imprisoned by the husband. The woman justified her case by stating that the husband deprived her social life from her youth to her maturity that was the worst thing. Justice was served to the US marshal; he was not imprisoned in jail but was imprisoned in his thoughts. Silent justice was served to all characters. The psychiatrist in the movie “ShutterIsland” exercises power. He invents a drug that can erase people’s thoughts and tests it on his patients. The man had authority over his patients and exercised it by conducting experiments on the patients. Teddy is highlighted as powerful as he adopts the position of a marshal; he thinks himself as a superior marshal. The women in the play are expressed as weak. This is because they are not audible instead they are silent; the act of being silent is what saves them. Their silence is a powerful weapon because they hide the details of the murder away from their husbands (Clarkson p.283).
The issue of gender and power in the two movies is highlighted clearly. In the first movie, Mrs. Wright commits murder and justifies the act as worth since her social life had been restricted to the farmhouse. The movie is a deceptive play because it represents a conflict between two models; it finally establishes competition between two ethical paradigms (Clarkson 282). In the second movie, the Miss Bright admits to committing murder too, she justifies the act by stating that the husband locked her in the house for so many years that she never knew about the innovations that took place at the market place. In the issue of group work, in the movie “Trifles” the women ganged up together and supported each other while covering for the act the defendant committed. In both works, the men set about collecting evidence: in “Trifles”, the county attorney, the sheriff and the husbands to the wives. The attorney cannot understand the significance of a loaf of bread left outside the box, the kitchen table half wiped, a quilt in progress and a missing pet canary. The sheriff and attorney are certain they have left nothing out “nothing of importance” (Trifles p.8). The women notice these little details and form opinions though being ridiculed by the men. Similarly, in “ShutterIsland” the US marshal is set to investigate the loss of Rachael who really does not exist. They all used their intelligence in finding the clues to the murder case and the disappearance but eventually find no solution. The men in the movie are highlighted as weaker; they are unable to solve the puzzles to the cases.
Intelligence issue is also highlighted; in both movies the characters are considered as highly intelligent, they can crack passwords and complex clues. In the first movie, the women are crowned as the heroes and the murderer who is a woman is granted justice. The second movie however, acknowledges the man as the hero; he is referred to as very intelligent and quite determined. When he is put into test, he approaches the hospital administration and orders them to give him the staff records of which they decline. This is because they know how manipulative he can get after viewing the records. The last time he had manipulated one worker named Peter Breene after getting hold of his file. Empowerment, both movies highlight this factor. In the first movie, the women work independently and prove to be resourceful. In the second movie however, the main character works with a partner but along the way the partner aborts the mission and leaves the marshal to work alone. The marshal at last ends up not accomplishing any agenda since the mission was not real. The psychiatric was a genius his invention was effective, he showed that he had power over the human body by inventing a drug that would control the mind.
Another common similarity is that in both movies, the characters were guilty of their crimes. In the first movie, Mrs. Wright starts as a lonely figure and remains sympathetic. The second movie Miss Bright Kearns is declared guilty and is sentenced to jail. The U.S marshal is guilty as well; he suffers mental problems due to the actions he had earlier committed. He had murdered his wife and was facing his sentence. The main difference in the two movies, the first movie covered real cases while the second was based on a test to check on the efficiency of the experiments.
Conclusion
The overview conclusion was that justice was served to the guilty persons; they paid for the crimes they committed. Mr. Wright died and freed Mrs. Wright of the stress (Marsh 201). Enforcement was exercised; both genders were highlighted as heroes according to the movie. In our today’s society, women are recognized as social beings unlike in the past where they were restricted by the men. Women can now stand for their rights. However, only a small number is downcast by the men. The issues highlighted in the first movie are a reality. This is because there have been so many cases relating to the issue addressed. The issues in the second movie combine reality with fiction. Men will always be embraced as the strongest and the most intelligent however, this is coming of age.
Works Cited
Gut, Alkaylay. “A Jury of her peers.” Short Stories for Students Vol 3. Detroit: Gale. eNotes.com. January 2006. Web. 5 May 2011. <http://www.enotes.com/jury-her-peers/introduction>.
Marsh, Kelly. “Dead Husbands: the Trifles in Legally Blonde.” The Literature/Film Quarterly 13 (2008): 201-280. Print.
Clarkson Holstein, Suzy. “Silent Justice in a Different Key: Glaspell’s Trifles.” The Midwest Quarterly 44 (2003): 282-290. Print.
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