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Although Susan Glaspell’s drama, “Trifles”, and Claire Kemp’s short story, “Keeping Company” were written long before the modern women’s movement began, each story reveals how the institution of marriage can control and oppress women and how that can bring harm to men as well. Both writers make pointed use of symbolism to highlight the inequity of the relationship between the genders and how characters think and respond based on their place in the social structure. Susan Glaspell uses the bird and birdcage as a representation of the role women are forced into in society, the bird being women and the cage being the male dominated society. Claire Kemp has William’s wall to characterize the male dominated society that defines the woman’s role and keeps her in her place. The title figures prominently in the respective authors’ main themes for both works. In the case of “Trifles”, it is the trivial, trifling details of life that reveal the abusive nature of the husband-wife relationship, which ultimately let to murder. For Kemp’s short story, “Keeping Company” with the next-door neighbors is the way in which the dominating and controlling nature of the husband becomes clear and the ensuing lies of omission by the wife are revealed. Gender and gender relations are fundamental to all social life, including the lives of men and women.
Approximate Word count = 868
Approximate Pages = 3.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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