The setting of this one-act play is a farmhouse kitchen in the Midwest. Instead of modern appliances, there is a hand pump at the sink for water, and a wood-burning stove for warmth and for cooking. From the kitchen, there are three doors: one to the parlor, one to the upstairs, and one to the shed and then on to the outdoors. In the middle of the room is a rustic dining table and chairs. The room has not been cleaned up and looks as if someone was interrupted in the midst of cooking a meal. Dirty pans are stacked under the sink, a loaf of bread is sitting outside the breadbox and a dishtowel is sitting on the table. The door to the shed opens and Sheriff Peters, County Attorney Henderson and Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer, enter the kitchen followed by the sheriff's wife and the neighbor's wife. The sheriff and the county attorney begin questioning Mr. Hale about events that occurred on the previous day. Mr. Hale told them he was on his way into town and decided to stop and ask John Wright to go together with him for the cost of a party telephone line. He had asked him in the past but he said no, so Mr. Hale wanted to talk to him about it in front of his wife with the hope that she might have some influence. When Mr. Hale knocked on the Wrights' door, there was no answer. It was after eight o'clock, so he knew they were up. When he knocked a second time, he thought he heard an answer, so he went in. He found Mrs. Wright rocking in a rocking chair and pleating her apron in her hands. He asked to speak to her husband, but she told him no because he was dead. She indicated that he was upstairs and that he had been strangled with a rope. When he asked her who had done that to her husband, she said she did not know because ... ... middle of paper ... ...ving the bird singing in the house, the stillness would be overwhelming. Mrs. Peters could relate to stillness, reminiscing about being on a homestead alone after the death of her first child. Mrs. Hale again expresses regret that she did not visit Mrs. Wright, and an understanding of the way things are for women. The women agree that Mrs. Wright should not be told about the shattered fruit jars just as the men return downstairs. The county attorney comments that the case is pretty clear except that they have not found any hard evidence. He briefly looks over the belongings that the women have gathered to take to Mrs. Wright and approves them. Mrs. Hale hides the pretty box with the dead bird in her jacket pocket to dispose of it later. The last bit of conversation is made up of the men questioning the women again about the quilting, one of many women's trifles.
Wright also ultimately loses control over her destiny after gaining it for a moment when she kills Mr. Wright. The drugs take control of Sonny, while Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are the ones who take on this role and in a sense sway the path of Mrs. Wright’s life. The dead bird is an important aspect of this. It is the main component of evidence against her that the men are looking for, and is what shows her motive for the murder that she committed. Being abused and controlled throughout her marriage with no say in anything and finally having this pet bird that she could connect to and saw herself in meant a great deal to her, and when her husband took that away from her it was the last straw and brought her to end what was controlling her so that she could take on that role herself. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters realize this, and they end up protecting Mrs. Wright from the men. They know that she was abused and they pity her and believe that she had a right to kill her husband, and they feel sorry for her and do not want her to go to prison for it, so they hide the evidence from the men. This is the women playing the part of what the heroin is to Sonny and being the ones who start to control Mrs. Wright’s destiny and to keep her out of jail so she can live her life in
The strange thing about this woman is that she appears to be married. She secretly dates the knight and becomes fascinated by his charms. She falls head over hills in love with the knight. The husband suspects the wife of being unfaithful in the marriage. So, he becomes jealous and obsessive which eventually leads him to monitor her every movement. Due to the fact, she is observed attentively; she is unable to date her secret lover. So, every night the woman would go to the window and secretly lays eyes on the man who she loves. The husband wanted to know why she spent so much time at the window every night. The wife explains to her husband the reason she goes to the window is to listen to “the beautiful sound of the nightingale.” (Sutton171) The husband suspects the wife is dishonest and he not oblivious to the fact that she continues to see the knight. The husband ordered his servant to set out traps to capture the bird. So, his servant catches the bird and return it back to him. “The husband takes the bird to his wife and before her eyes he killed it out of spite breaking its neck with his hands.” (Sutton 171) The blood from the bird splatters over her chest (Sutton 172). The woman is immensely saddening and depressed over her husband actions. She takes the slaughtered bird, wraps it up and sends it to the knight. The knight receives the bird and places it
The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states, Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold. The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but now she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic, I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year. Then she goes on to explain, I liked her well enough. Farmers wives have their hands full, it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.
The women discover their first clue when they find a quilt that Mrs. Wright was sewing. The men make disparaging comments when they are questioning whether or not Mrs. Wright was going to ?quilt it or just knot it...
One of the most important tools that an author uses to convey his message to the reader throughout the text is his language. It plays a vital role in setting the overall tone of the text and helps in foreshadowing with crumbs of symbols and imagery. This essay focuses on the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, first performed on August 8th, 1916.
The action begins when the men leave the women in the kitchen alone. This where Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find out themselves find out who had kill Mr. Wright. For some unknown reason the women were acting like they were profession detectives, they were asking question and making conclusion. They were discussing the way the kitchen was left are the murder. For example, when Mrs. Peters was looking through the cupboard, she finds out that Mrs. Wright had bread set. Mrs. Hale concludes that Mrs. Wright was going to put the loaf of bread beside the breadbox. Another example is when Mrs. Peter notices that Mrs. Wright had been making a quit. They were asking question if Mrs. Wright making quilt or making a knot, like a professional detective. The men come back in the kitchen and overhear th...
In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the men ignore key signifiers that Mrs. Wright is guilty, yet the two women present are able to see these clues. The men shrug these off as mere “trifles, which sets up the story to be a social commentary because the women are able to solve the crime while the men are laughing at their observations. The men first comment on the women worrying over “trifles” when Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale discuss the preserves being ruined (747). The women understand that this is a relevant concern because it symbolizes disrupt in the household, as well as Mrs. Wright’s lack of concern for her husband’s death. This intimation brought upon by the women in the house edifies the fact that they solely understand the motives Mrs. Wright might have for killing her husband.
The women in Susan Glaspell's “Trifles” and Henrik Ibsen's “A Doll's House” creates a complex picture of male-female relationships and their effects on women's views about reality. Nora Helmer, the main character of Ibsen's play, seems totally happy with her family and social life: she is constantly pampered and patronized by her husband and plays the role of a trivial, small girl who cannot take pertinent choices. In a similar manner, Minnie Foster, the central character of Susan Glaspell's “Trifles”, spends her life in separation and rejection, banned by her husband from realizing her purpose and aspirations. Nora and Minnie are two strong females in a male-dominated world, who choose different ways to cope with gender inequalities and protest against gendered standards and expectations of female performance.
In the early 20th century gender expectations and feminism was different. When trifles was written, it was a period when women had no respect, were inferior, and were put in domestic roles. Women did not have power, until World War One where they were put into industrial roles. Although, the women 's movement was changing things, it did not occur until later on. In the book, Trifles also called Jury of Her Peers, Susan Glaspell incorporated the vast differences of both genders in society in her short story.
When the play opens all the characters are in the kitchen of the farm house. The men are discussing a strategy on how to go about gathering evidence, while the women are silently standing together near the door. As the men are speaking, the attorney (one of the investigators) opens a cupboard door and one of the women notices that Mrs. Wright’s fruit has frozen due to the cold. The men immediately ridicule the women for worrying ab...
Mr. Wright was a cruel, cold, and heartless man. He was also a very unsociable man. He abandoned his wife's contentment and paid very little attention to his wife's opinions. He even prevented her from singing. This is revealed about Mr. Wright during the conversations between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters when they find the dead bird with a twisted neck in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket. Mrs. Hale points out, "She- come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery. How-she-did-change" (Glaspell 1267). Mrs. Wright used to be a very high-s...
Mrs. Wright, however, justified killing her husband due to Mr. Wright trapping her inside the house and how Mrs. Wright job is only to be domestic wife. When Mrs. Hale (farmer’s wife) and Mrs. Peters (sheriff’s wife) discovered a dead bird with her neck bruised all over, they start to put the pieces to the puzzle together and ...
Wright’s conflict. With this being said the bird and the preserves are important symbols that represents Mrs. Wright and her marriage. The bird, although caged, similar to how women were “caged” in society was beautiful and vibrant, as Mrs. Wright was before her marriage. As the bird slowly withered and eventually died, the representation of the Wrights’ marriage is shown. In a close reading, once can determine that the bird represents the personality and individuality of Mrs. Wright slowly fading and ultimately disappearing due to the abusiveness of her husband. In response to this, killing her husband proved to be the only way to salvage what was left of her life. The preserves in the play also prove to be important as well. The term preserve, of course means to keep something fresh. For their marriage up to this point the Wrights remained preserved, or functional. As the seal broke on the preserves, it also did on their
Wright was described as a beautiful women filled with such joy and life until she married John Wright. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale feels sorry for her because her husband treated her so bad. Due to female bonding and sympathy, the two women, becoming detectives, finds the truth and hides it from the men. The play shows you that emotions can play a part in your judgement. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale felt sorry that Mrs. Wright had one to keep her company no kids and she was always left alone at home. “yes good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that goes to the bone. I should of think she would have wanted a bird. But what you suppose went with it?” Later on in the play the women find out what happens to the bird. The bird was killed the same way Mrs. Wright husband which leads to the motive of why he was killed. Mrs. Wright was just like the bird beautiful but caged no freedom not being able to live a life of her own. Always stuck in the shadows of her husband being told what to do and