Male Elitism and the Opposition of the Natural and Godly: Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Birthmark and Susan Glaspells Trifles
Male Elitism and the Opposition of the Natural and Godly At first glance, Nathaniel Hawthorne 's "The Birthmark" and Susan Glaspell 's "Trifles" hardly seem even remotely similar, and do not relate to each other. "The Birthmark" chronicles Aylmer, a skilled alchemist and new husband, and his fascination with beauty and science as it turns to a morbid obsession which ultimately takes the life of his kind and beautiful wife Georgiana. "Trifles" is a passive mystery that relates the murder of John Wright by his wife Minnie in an almost offhand way, and demonstrates the barriers of understanding which exist between stereotypical gender roles. Both stories approach social injustice and oppression in very different ways, but the end result is the acceptance of futility. The strong gender and class distinctions, coupled with the roles of science, nature and silent domination culminated in this acceptance, which showed the inherent power of giving up. In both stories, futility is often highlighted by gender relations; in "Trifles", this relationship is overt. Mr. Hale, the sheriff, and the attorney all undermine the ladies ' observations at the crime scene of John Wright 's murder. Yet Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are able to identify the details of the scene which matter to the female suspect. The men make no attempt to do so, and simply examine the hard, visible, objective science which supports their perspective. The county attorney criticizes Mrs. Wright 's housekeeping, despite the fact that the Wrights never had visitors and that the home was the scene of a suspected homicide. Additionally he repeatedly belittles the wives ' crucial, but to them, disjointed, discoveries. For Mr. Wright to be considered a good man, Mrs. Hale lays out the bare guidelines, which the deceased met, saying that he "didn 't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts" (Glaspell 7). Quite simply, these were the only things that a wife
Cited: Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles". 1916. Pearson My Literature Lab. Aug. 2011 Web. http://www.mylitlab.com Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Birthmark". Pearson My Literature Lab. July 2011 Web. http://www.mylitlab.com