A comparative analysis of the short story Wakefield by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell demonstrate that both works have similar theme and the key approach to the plot although they are different in genre and subject matter. First, the works are different because of a genre because Wakefield is a fiction, short story, and Trifles is a dramatic play. The difference in genre leads to a diverse approach to the characters’ presentation used by the authors. Hawthorne discusses the mindset of his protagonist using a first-person brief narration and the speaker’s opinion, while Glaspell discloses her characters through the dialogues between them. Another important difference is the works’ subject matter because the play is about female oppression, while the short story is about a paradox and a specific mindset that make the protagonist leave his wife for twenty years.
Despite these differences, the works demonstrate meaningful similarities since both are about family relationships. Hawthorne discusses a complicated situation that occurs to Wakefield’s family as the protagonist “absented himself for a long time from his wife” (Hawthorne 1). Glaspell presents the consequences of a harsh oppression experienced by a woman that leads to a murder. While most of men think that “women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell 20), Mrs. Minnie Wright gets tired of her husband’s tortures and finally kills him. The second similarity is that both authors start with a key event that leads to a family catastrophe. While the key event of the short story is Mr. Wakefield’s “naughty and nonsensical” (Hawthorne 1) absence, the play introduces “held for murder” (Glaspell 20) that remains unsolved due to a female solidarity. Both works, therefore, are more similar than it may seem to be because the differences in subject matter and genre could not prevent the authors from demonstration the ambiguity of family relationships.
- Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Los Angeles: L.A. Theatre Works, 2012. Print.
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Wakefield. New York: Booklassic, 2015. Print.
