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Naive Indoctrination

The classic series Leave It to Beaver follows a typical family of the 1950s as they

navigate through the ups and downs of middle-class suburban life. In the provided clip, Ward

Cleaver, the patriarch of the family, explains to his son Wally, the expectations and roles women

are required to manage in a typical family as they prep for their family dinner, “it’s traditional I

guess…they say a women’s place is in the home…she might as well be in the kitchen.” This

blatant sexist comment would not pass by today’s standards, however, during the episode’s airing

in 1958, this was normalized in later years as the nuclear family, a double entendre to the

paranoia of nuclear warfare of the Cold War and a representation of the explosive toxic behavior

that presents itself within an artificial family of the 1950s. Throughout decades, gender roles

have been deeply implemented and placed in which the wife of the family fell into the

“stay-at-home mom” role, while the dad was normally crowned the “breadwinner.” Like Leave It

to Beaver, Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles establishes a deeply engrained society in which gender

roles and expectations were seen as unbalanced. By applying a Freudian lens, specifically in

terms of the character’s id, Ego, and Superego, to Glaspell’s play Trifles, the reader can grasp the

disparity in the treatment of men and women in the early 20th century and infer the effects of

gender roles have on society.

The male characters of the play display a level of sexism that is instantaneously alarming

for the audience revealing a disturbing attitude that has seemingly been normalized. The concept

of the id can be associated with the men of the story to highlight the strict enforcement and

stereotypes placed on women. Within the story, the majority of the men’s lines are either

intrusive thoughts or blatant offensive comments stemming from the id part of the brain. Defined

in Freud: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Storr, Storr defines id as “primitive,

unorganized and emotional: ‘the realm of the illogical’ most of that is of a negative character…”

(Storr). Storr notes the primitive aspect of the id stemming from the traditional gender roles and

the structured power dynamic between men and women. This is seen through the commentary of

the county attorney as he immediately judges the role of the housewife, “Dirty towels! Not much

of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?... I know there are some Dickson farmhouses that do

not have such roller towels” (Glaspell). To the average reader, the comment made by the county

attorney was uncalled for and outdated, however, in the historical context of the time it was

deemed “normal.” In typical fashion, these thoughts remain in the mind, yet the instinctive need

for the attorney to compare the exhaustive role of a housewife stems from the indoctrinated

belief to shame women, and the id kicking in, disregarding the consequences of his actions in a

“primitive and unorganized fashion” (Storr). In another instance, while investigating the crime

scene the sheriff made an instinctive insensitive comment, “ Well, can you beat the women! Held

the murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell). This comment was an uncalled-for

attack on women and is clear to the audience that the gap in respect between the enforced gender

roles remains divided. This remark provides the audience with a reminder of the difference in

time this story is placed in and from contemporary standards. The important thing to note about

the id is that “the unconscious [id] knows no time but the present” (Thurswell). By understanding

that, the audience can quickly infer that these comments made by the male characters are

unaware of the consequences of their verbal actions. The id does not consider the ramifications

of their words and how they can hurt others because they are only in consideration of themselves

and fitting in with societal standards. As aforementioned, these types of comments seem

outdated but yet remain relevant in today’s time, stressing the disparity between men and women

that has been apparent in society for centuries. Glaspell’s indirect connection with the id and her
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male characters reminds the audience that instinctive comments are not okay and must always be

challenged with the hope to mend the gap between man and woman.

By associating the male characters' instinctive thoughts as part of the id, the readers can

interpret the female characters as the counterpart to their male characters fueled by the ego,

utilized to provide a lens into the minds of women who have been mistreated through enforced

gender roles. Within psychoanalysis, the ego is recognized as the “individual’s image of himself

as a self-conscious being, his sense of himself as separate from the world which surrounds him”

(Thurshwell). The disassociation between the individual and the society that surrounds them is

imminent within the character of Mrs. Hale. Throughout the play, Mrs. Hale is actively seen

revolting against the restrictions that society and gender roles have placed on women. In a verbal

rant, Mrs. Hale complains, “[resentfully] I don’t know as there’s anything so strange, our takin’

up our time with little things while we’re waiting for them to get the evidence…I don’t see as it’s

anything to laugh about” (Glaspell). Mrs. Hale’s deep understanding of herself and her

contributions to her passions seems to be in opposition to the confines of her society. With the

constant beratement of men and suffering with impossible expectations, Mrs. Hale becomes

aware that the maltreatment of her and other women are wrong and unjust. Mrs. Hale’s ego kicks

in and actively revolts, questioning the engrained aspects of her society that fueled the male

character’s id. As aforementioned, the ego is typically paired against the id which contributes to

“the conscious in the person, that which experiences and senses the outside world and which

represents reality to the self” (Thurswell). Thurswell’s explanation of ego provides the audience

with a deeper understanding of the character of Ms. Hale. The ego in itself can be described as

“replacing the reign of the pleasure principle with that of the reality principle, imposing the

constraints of the social environment” (De Mijolla 464). With the id replaced, the ego comes in
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and begins to question the rooted implications set by society. This is seen through Ms. Hale’s

comment on the investigation, “You know, it seems kind of sneaking. Locking her up in town

and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her” (Glaspell). The

active questioning of the processes in the government’s investigation is Mrs. Hale's active ego

kicking in. Mrs. Hale is just one of the many voices that society chooses to suppress. An

individual’s ego proves to be the part of the mind that acts on the individual while understanding

the processes in their environment. Mrs. Hales’ opposition to “consciously defy the laws laid

down by the patriarchal order and thus declare their rights as individuals and women” can be

seen as a call to action (Brown). Glaspell’s criticism of gender roles being represented through

Mrs. Hale’s verbal objection allows for inspiration for the audience to speak out against their

oppression. By understanding the operations of ego in an individual, the reader can begin to

dissect and recognize the constraints of societal’s gender roles and their negative effects in their

world with the hopes of reaching a level of parity.

By pinpointing Mrs. Hale as the characterization of the ego, Mrs. Peters can be

interpreted as a representation of the superego to indirectly display the contortion women

experience due to a deeply implemented disparity between societal's gender roles. The superego

is interpreted as the “conscience [that] develops as parents insist that children conform to the

values of society” (Berk 15). The superego acts as a balancing act between the ego and the id. On

one hand, the id of an individual acts on impulses while the ego provides context that such

impulses might not be right. The superego then kicks in and takes into account both stances and

begins to act morally or what they perceive to be correct. The conflicted moral ambiguity Mrs.

Peters presents is without a doubt engrained from childhood. Berk explains the superego as

“[steming from] identifying with the same-sex parent, whose moral standards they
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adopt…children obey the superego to avoid guilt…that arises each time they are tempted to

misbehave” (372). Taking influence from our society, Glaspell indirectly critiques the

conventions of gender roles that wrongfully become normalized. During a rant, Mrs. Hale’s

venting is extinguished by Mrs. Peters as she assures her, “Of course, it’s only no more than their

duty” (Glaspell). The nature that Mrs. Peters exhibits to take on the mediator role reveals to the

audience that her superego has taken effect. Her need to satisfy and apologetically defend the

misogynistic jokes of the male characters stems from the consistent conformity many females

endured before her time. Mrs. Peters likely took influence from the female figures of her early

life to replicate how they interacted with and accepted the wrongdoings of society, succumbing

to indoctrination and accepting the notion that the indifferent treatment of women will never be

resolved. Through another sexist comment, Mrs. Hale expresses her disbelief and exhaustion

which is once again smothered by Mrs. Peters when she says, “[apologetically] Of course

they’ve got awful important things on their minds” (Glaspell). As we know, the superego

originates from the acts and roles of the same-sex parent, however, this [Superego] is then

powered and heightened “as the product of repeated conditioning by criticism” (Storr). Mrs.

Peters can be interpreted as a prime example of this concept. Throughout the play, she is seen as

apologetic and understanding, playing between the lines of what is considered right by her

standards, or how the audience’s society interprets it, and what is right by the readers. The

readers understand that these comments are troublesome and should not be accepted, yet Mrs.

Peters's instantaneous acceptance of these remarks are deeply concerning. By setting this up, the

readers can interpret that within the confines of the play’s society, sexist remarks and gender

roles have been deeply ingrained in the lives of the characters that it stems before the lifetime of
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Mrs. Peters understanding, that acceptance of the repetitiveness proves to be naivety of

entrapment.

Through these characters, Glaspell’s play creates a society that informs the audience of

the enforced gender roles that have been deeply ingrained to allow the readers to juxtapose the

play’s society with our own. Although Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis are outdated, the

disparity between men and women is still apparent in contemporary society. It is important to

comprehend the timeline of gender roles to create a level of sympathy with the hopes of mending

and improving gender roles until a level of uniformity is reached.

Works Cited

Berk, Laura E., and Adena Beth Meyers. Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Pearson, 2016.

Brown, Elke. “Gender in Trifles.” Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature, Facts On File, 2020.

Bloom's Literature,

online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=257473&itemid=WE54&articleId=38805.

Accessed 29 Oct. 2022.

Brown, Elke. “Justice in Trifles.” Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature, Facts On File, 2020.

Bloom's Literature,

online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=257473&itemid=WE54&articleId=38807.

Accessed 29 Oct. 2022.

De Mijolla, Alain. “Ego.” International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, vol. 1, Macmillan

Reference USA, 2005, pp. 461-468. Gale eBooks,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3435300407/GVRL?u=oran78789&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xi

d=39347230.

Lynnlooove. “Leave It to Beaver Clip.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Aug. 2012,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgDA27xjbfU.

Storr, Anthony, 'Ego, super-ego, and id', Freud: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short

Introductions (Oxford, 2001; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Sept. 2013),

https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780192854551.003.0005, accessed 29 Oct. 2022.

Thurschwell, Pamela. Sigmund Freud. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2009.