Domestic Abuse Statistics
http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet%28National%29.pdf
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Blog #3
I decided to do my 3rd response on the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell for a number of different reasons. First, I have always had a love for reading mysteries or suspense novels because I enjoy trying to figure out whatever it is the reader is supposed to uncover. Trifles like many other popular stories or movies deal with a very heart wrenching topic such as the unhappy, abusive marriage. In my experience with these sorts of stories the point of view is generally from the woman. In addition, these unhappy marriage stories commonly deal with abusive husbands whether that abuse is verbal or physical. According to statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 85% of domestic violence is against women which means it is not surprising that there is an overwhelming number of stories on the issue. While I understand that Trifles does not conclude that there was necessarily an abusive relationship, I feel like it is a common theme among women as far as a motive in killing their husbands. When I read Trifles it reminded me of these novels I have read including the most recent novel I read over Thanksgiving break titled Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. Safe Haven is a novel about a women named Katie who escapes from her abusive husband and constructs a new life across the United States. Katie originally ran away from her husband because he would physically and verbally abuse her for being the house wife that he had forced her to be by taking away any means in which she would be able to be independent for herself. Then, he would beat her for practically no reason at all and degrade her for being a "helpless" woman. Trifles reminded me of this because of a couple of lines that the men in the play stated such as "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles." This line made me pretty angry because society has created social norms which keep women busy with home issues such as cooking, cleaning, mothering, etc, and those social norms were essentially created by men, the leaders of society. Therefore, men have put women in this role and then criticize them for worrying about petty things. However, if you would like to read a good, quick read, I would suggest Safe Haven because it deals directly with gender norms that are correlated with women and it is extremely intriguing. Furthermore, this book is being turned into a movie which is coming out soon and deals with a topic that is way more common then we all may think.
Official Trailer for Safe Haven
Domestic Abuse Statistics
http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet%28National%29.pdf
Domestic Abuse Statistics
http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet%28National%29.pdf
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Comment #2: I am a criminal justice major and we often talk about abuse. When this play was written, men were allowed to “keep their wife in check.” They were allowed to abuse them as long as it does not cause any serious damage/ bodily harm. When thinking about the laws back then, it makes no sense. Women were owned by men, they did not have their own rights. Once married, they were to act appropriate, act in a way that their husbands want them to act and if they did not they we be “punished.” They did not take into consideration that even being mentally abused is still harm to your body, mentally not physically. They just shoved that aside and did not listen to the wife. You were not allowed to get a divorce, you were stuck. Just as in this play they just pushed all the facts aside, making it her fault. I’m not saying that it is right to kill your husband but back then, she was stuck.
ReplyDeleteI loved Trifles as well and completely agree with your conclusion that the woman was being abused in the play. The part that really convinced me was when they found the dead bird and Mrs. Hale said, "No, Wright wouldn't like the bird-a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too." Even though he didn't physically kill her, he emotionally killed her by taking away everything she loved. I really liked your connection to the book Safe Haven too. I actually read this book as well and loved it. I didn't even think of this connection, but it is really accurate.
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