Morality and Ethics essay

In the three stories, there are moral and ethical issues that each leave the readers with different experiences yet they all sympathize with the virtuous characters who are imprisoned by societal ethics. Delia stays in an abusive marriage with Sykes despite being the sole breadwinner in the family. “Anything like flowers had long ago been drowned in the salty stream that had been pressed from her heart. Her tears, her sweat, her blood. She had brought love to the union and he had brought a longing after the flesh. Hale says of Mr. Wright, “Yes--good; he didn't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him.

Hale says of the plight of women in “Trifles”, ” I tell you, it's queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things--it's all just a different kind of the same thing. ” (Glaspell, 26). However, Alcee returns to his wife Clarisse as this is the only socially acceptable relationship. Sykes has no morals or ethics which would otherwise guide him. He constantly beats his wife and even has a mistress. “Bertha had been in town three months now. Sykes was still paying her room rent at Della Lewis'- -the only house in town that would have taken her in. It is the tool which frees her from years of an abusive marriage in the hands of an amorous man.

Even within the society in which they lived, physical abuse was considered wrong. This can be illustrated by the fact that Sykes backs of whenever Delia threatens to report him to the Whites within the community after he beats her. In “Sweat,” there is use of Biblical allegory to depict the sufferings that Delia undergoes due to her moral convictions. “Delia's work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up the rocks of Calvary many, many times during these months. “And the first free breath since her marriage seemed to restore the pleasant liberty of her maiden days. So the storm passed, and every one was happy. " (Chopin, 94). Religion is depicted as being restrictive on issues of gender and sexuality based on cultural constructs which were in place at that time.

The ethical obligations placed on the society at that time are prohibitive confining people to unhappiness in marriage. "( Hurston, 2). She needs to make a living as she is the sole provider for her family. Her moral values place hard work above religious adherence since failure to go to work would translate into her being fired. Even when the weather is oppressive, she still goes to work in strict adherence to her work ethic. Delia is virtuous woman who is God fearing and as such can be said to be guided by Christian ethics and morals. The prospect of her being dead is attractive to him which is contrary to the values of humanity that all people subscribe to. In the end, however, Delia’s Christian ethics are called to question.

When Sykes runs into the house expecting Delia to have been bitten by the snake, he finds her gone and is instead the victim of the rattlesnake. Delia comes down from the tree and finds Sykes bloodied from the snakebites and crying out for help. "Mah Gawd!" She heard him moan, "Mah Gawd fum Heben!" She heard him stumbling about and got up from her flower-bed. Delia seeks revenge. She therefore fails to live up to her Christian ethics and is culpable in Sykes’ death. The final act can also be interpreted the female revenge. She therefore lives with the guilt of the knowledge that she let another human being die and she did nothing to help him, instead willing for his death.