Symbolic Illustration of the Power of Relationships in...

Symbolic Illustration of the Power of Relationships in Susan Glaspells Trifles A friend can be a remarkable thing. Unfortunately, many lack the powerful bonds that all humans need to survive and lead healthy, happy lives. In Susan Glaspells play Trifles, Mrs. Wright is starved of the human interaction and relationships she so desperately needs. Consequently, she is never rescued from her loneliness, is brought to the point where she cannot handle any more of lifes saddening struggles, and kills her husband in his sleep. Through powerful and often ironic symbolism, such as Mrs. Wrights kitchen, the names of the characters, and the bird, Susan Glaspell clearly displays the power of human relationships and how truly devastating a†¦show more content†¦Another symbol of Mrs. Wrights lack of human interaction is her preserves in the kitchen. Mrs. Peters explains how Mrs. Wright worried [that] if the fired go out [. . .] her jars would break (Glaspell 1174) and feels sympathy towards her. The men, on the other hand, do not understand how Mrs. Wright can worry over such small trifles (Glaspell 1174) as she sits in jail for possibly murdering her husband. As strange as it is, it is because the preserves, along with any other work she does in her house, is all that she has. It is all that Mrs. Wright can proudly claim as hers. Hence, the broken jars of preserves the women find in her kitchen represent Mrs. Wrights shattered dreams and expectations of a fulfilling life with her husband. Like the jars, Mrs. Wright bursts from the unbearable pressures of her life, and so, Glaspell clearly displays the power and importance of human relationships. Therefore, through Mrs. Wrights kitchen, Glaspell symbolically implies how vital it is to reach out and befriend the lonely and disheartened. Another symbol Glaspell uses to reiterate the importance of human contact and support is the names of the characters in the work. First, the fact that Glaspell never uses the characters first names (except for Mrs. Wrights in one scene) signifies that the problem regarding the lack of human relationships is not only in the rural areas of America, but across the world in everyShow MoreRelatedLangston Hughes and Countee Cullen: Perspective on Religion4176 Words   |  17 PagesAmerican Literature II Authors: Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen: Perspective on Religion Susan Glaspell and Charlotte Gilman: Roles of Women W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T Washington: Political View In the 1920s, the somewhat genteel world of American poetry was shaken to its foundations when the Harlem Renaissance started. During those times, all over the United States, there