Women's Wrights vs. Men's Wrights

     When reading Trifles, one thing I noticed that stuck with me was the battle of the sexes. As the men roamed the house looking for motives and evidence, the County attorney makes several sexists comments.  The first comment he makes that startles me is when he refers to the dirty towels in the house. He says, "Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?" I was startled by this because he referred to Mrs. Wright as a housekeeper, rather than a wife. I believe there is a difference in that. Being a housekeeper is a job, one that is being paid of and usually is done at someone else's home. However, a wife has many duties that one may think goes without pay. A wife gets paid in love and appreciation. She is more than a housekeeper, she's a companion, a partner. I loved Mrs. Hale's response to him. She said, "Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men's hands aren't always as clean as they might be." Mrs. Hale threw that one back in the county attorney's face so quick, it was golden. Another aspect of the play that seemed to throw focus on women was taunt on the discussion of Mrs. Wright's knitting. The ladies found a quilt she was making and wondered if she was going to quilt it or knot it. The men walked in on their discussion and marked them as if they had nothing better to discuss besides knitting. It was funny that the ladies used that to reference that she was going to knot which means she put a knot in the rope that she used to kill her husband. I loved the irony in that.