Lady Justice By Daniel Winchester Faculty Mentor: Dr. Nicholas E. Miller, Department of English
Article Abstract What plays a more active part in women’s power during 1916: silence or action? This article seeks to examine the connection between silence, action, and power in Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles. The story follows two women who wander the home of a woman charged with murder, while the two women’s husbands (the local sheriff and neighbor) investigate the crime scene upstairs for clues on the murder. The two women eventually discover the dead body of a bird, but decide to hide this potential evidence from their husbands. Through the seemingly invincible act of hiding evidence away from the men in power, the women are able to use their own form of power. This article argues that the women utilize both silence and action to unite and achieve justice for the wronged suspect. This union creates a new social justice, a lady justice figure.
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