Philippine Normal University

College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND LITERATURE
Taft Avenue, Manila

In Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Course G-Lit (02)

World Literature

BIRD CAGE: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

A Humanistic Psychoanalytical Approach to Minnie Foster Wright and the rest of the
characters of Susan Glaspells Trifles

Submitted to:
Professor Erhwin Clarin

Submitted by:
Mharlotte O. Ilagan
IV-9 BS Psychology

October 12, 2015

BIRD CAGE: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE

by Mharlotte O. Ilagan
aruilagan@yahoo.com

The bone of contention for feminism is centered at the treatment of women

living in a patriarchal society.
-

McClure

Introduction

Susan Glaspells story depicts the plight of women and their subordination while
subversively commenting on the negative effects this had on the female psyche. This
reflects the authors preoccupation with culture-bound notions of gender and sex roles
(Smith, 2011). As the title of the play suggests, the concerns of women are often
considered to be mere whatnots comprised with unimportant issues that bear little or no
importance to the true work of society, which is being carried out by the ones
considered to be the most superior in the form of status and intellect men.
Glaspell questions the relative value of both men and womens perspectives and
work by setting up a tension-filled drama that unfolds through the development of two
distinct narratives, one male and one female. Peplau et al., describes the lives of
women and men as being shaped in crucial ways by the social and cultural worlds they
inhabit.
This can be considered by the behavior of both men and women in two very
different environments in the story.
The bird cage symbolizes the human dilemma.