Trifles

In "Trifles", Glaspell provides characters who serve as what she would have us believe to be the epitomized representatives of their genders. Within the setting of the play and the conext in which the actions take place, Mr. Hale, Mr. Peters, and the County Attorney are used to expemplify maleness- strong, confident, and honorable. The women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, by contrast, serve as the stereotypical woman- docile, unassuming, and domestic.
To these stereotypical characters however, Glaspell adds another element. The men, although they seem to be the dominant and wiser sex, are in a way, rather stupid. They simply cannot figure out the motive for Mrs. Wright's crime. The women meanwhile, while underestimated and considered simple by the men (who, for some reason, seem to think that all the women are capable of doing is sewing), are of course, posess knowledge and insight that the men do not (the reason why Mrs. Wright killed her husband) and, protecting their own kind, fail to share this information with their husbands.
In Glaspell's oversimplified world, gender roles are clearly delineated. Not only are the character's meant to exemplify their gender, but none of them seem to have personalities beyond that gender. The three men don't seem to differ very much from one another, they all seem to have the same exact "masculine" personality. The women as well, are exactly alike. All either one of them can talk about are domestic issues. Within a gender, none of the character's really have any personality of their own. Even Mrs. Wright, although she is not an active character in the play, when referenced, seems to be exactly like the other two women. In prison, all she can think to ask for is her apron.
It seems that Glaspell could have written the play with only one character of each gender. Having more than one man and more than one woman seems superfluous. The characters are supposed to represent the gender roles designated for them by the time and place in which they live. So, the men are overtly the wise, superior type, and the women seem dumb, when in reality, implies Glaspell, it's the opposite. OK, we get it.
Glaspell seems to want to prove that while society values the male, it's really the female that is superior. In the story, the women symbolize the entire female population, and the men the male population. The wives posess knowledge the men do not and will not share it with them. Due to lack of evidence, Mrs. Wright will ultimately go free. Woman is ultimately superior to man. Thanks to Susan Glaspell for providing an oversimplified version of everything and clarifying that point... Seems like a pretty cheap shot to me.