Susan Glaspell’s 1916 play, Trifles was about an abusive relationship between a husband and wife, John and Minnie Wright. Minnie finally breaks down and kills her husband because he took away from her the only thing that brought joy to her miserable life, her canary. The Sheriff, County Attorney, and the neighbor, were walking around the farmhouse searching for evidence to hold against Minnie. I believe the evidence would be the fact that no other person was found to enter the house; Minnie was the only person in the house. Minnie was said to be in bed while John was strangled with a rope, making it hard to believe she slept through him struggling. And the rope used as the murder weapon was John’s own personal rope. They couldn’t find a motive to the killing. They needed something that would connect the strange way to kill someone since there was a gun in the house. The neighbor, Lewis Hale, stops by the farmhouse to see John Wright but finds Minnie setting in her rocking chair almost like she was in shock pleading her apron. There were no emotions in Minnie when she told Mr. Hale that John …show more content…
was dead, she just continued to rock in her rocking chair. Mr. Hale wanted to know how he died, she told him by a rope. It was discovered that Minnie never called anyone for help or the police. This would be hearsay, because he is a third party making statements of what he saw. Other hearsay is when Mrs. Hale spoke of how Minnie used to be cheerful, dressed nice, and sung in the town chore until she married John. It was Mrs.
Peters and Mrs. Hale that discovered most of the circumstantial evidence while they waited on their husbands in the kitchen. It was more than kitchen stuff in the kitchen. It was disarray, normally not the way a kitchen is kept. There was bread setting on the table that needed to go in the bread box, the bread box was open, and table was half wiped off. Minnie was in the kitchen in the middle of making bread when John grabbed the bird cage breaking the door as he reached in for the bird and rung it’s neck killing it for possibly singing. Even Mr. Hale stated that John just wanted peace and quiet. The ladies found the bird wrapped up in silk and was placed in a decorative box. They believed Minnie was going to bury the bird in the box. The ladies hid the dead bird from the Sheriff and County Attorney, leaving them with no physical evidence; that is all they
needed. As I made my case to the court, I would present all evidence but without any physical evidence it hard for the jury to find Minnie guilty.
Minnie Wright, John’s wife, is the main suspect. This time, Sheriff Peters asked to bring his wife Mrs. Peters, the county attorney George Henderson, and his neighbors Martha and Lewis Hale to the crime scene. He intended for Lewis Hale, Mr. Henderson and him to solve the case. While Lewis Hale tells the group the details of how John Wright was found, Mrs. Peters and Martha Hale begin looking around the house to judge the state of the crime scene. Before even looking for evidence, Lewis Hale says “Oh, well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (160) to the dismay of Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters. Martha Hale notices that the Wrights’ house was unkempt and sad-looking, which was strange because Minnie Wright used to be a cheerful and meticulous homemaker. Again, Lewis Hale dismisses this as an inconsequential detail, stating that Minnie was just not a good homemaker, even though his wife Martha already told Mr. Henderson that “farmers’ wives have their hands full” (160). A few moments later, the men explore the house, but not before Mr. Hale ironically questions “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (161). The women began to
Mr. Hale describes Mrs. Foster as being “queer” or strange. It is know that people in highly stressful situations can behave in a manner that is considered inappropriate such as laughing at a funeral and perhaps Minnie Foster is in such a situation that mental she is struggling to believe what has happened. She may also be in a state of shock causing peculiar behavior and a lack of judgement. Furthermore, the possible motive that Minnie Foster killed her husband over him killing her bird is weak. Mrs. Hale remembers Mrs. Foster as being a normal girl who people adored and yet how could such a normal person commit murder over the death of a bird. Perhaps the bird had died and she simply had not had time to bury the bird. Minnie Foster’s behavior suggest she was in shock over the death of her husband causing her to act strange not because she killed her husband and further the weakness of the suggested motive that she killed Mr. Foster because he killed her bird jumps to a conclusion without clear
One significant symbol is that of the bird and bird-cage. When the two women come across the empty, broken bird-cage, they ponder the reason for the broken door and the fate of the canary who occupied it. Later they discover the dead bird wrapped in silk with its neck broke, presumably by the hands of Mr. Wright. The bird symbolizes Minnie Foster, the young choir girl. The dead bird symbolizes Minnie after marriage, and the cage symbolizes her husband whom mistreat and isolate her. While describing Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale compares her to the bird when she says to Mrs. Peters, " She used to sing real pretty herself”. ( ) Literary critic Candace Wade states," Only as a picture emerges of the way in which Minnie Foster has been changed by her marriage to John Wright, is a process of identification between the two women
The play “Trifles”, written by Susan Glaspell, is about the murder of a husband named John Wright. The Play starts out at the scene of the crime. A middleman named Hale who had dropped by to see if Mr. Wright wanted to install a telephone found him dead in his bed. Once the sheriffs arrive they comb through the crime scene looking for any evidence to prove the suspect, Wrights wife, guilty of the murder. The sheriffs brings along his wife, Mrs. Peters, and Mr. Hales wife to gather objects for Mrs. Wright while she waits in jail. As the men continue to search the gloomy old farmhouse, the ladies begin to gossip about Mrs. Wright and as to why she might have killed her husband. While shuffling through Mrs. Wrights things they find an empty bent birdcage and soon after find the bird that belonged to it dead,
Mrs. Hale remembered the lively, happy girl Minnie was twenty years ago before she married the cold hearted Mr. Wright. She, like Minnie, was also a farmer’s wife and spent her days working hard. However, she had children so she did not suffer the loneliness that Minnie had to endure. Also, she avoided visiting her because Mr. Wright did not welcome visitors. He was the typical abuser who wanted to keep his victim isolated. Because she did not visit Minnie, she felt partially responsible for Minnie murdering her husband. Unlike Mrs. Peterson, she knew Minnie and understood what drove her to the breaking point of murder.
Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles." Plays by Susan Glaspell. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., 1920. Reprinted in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia Eds. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 2004.
Within the first few lines it becomes apparent that John Wright is not the most friendly man, preferring to isolate himself. Mr. Hale states how John did not want to contribute towards a neighborhood party line, and that he felt people talked too much, “I spoke to Wright about it once before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet”. As the men go upstairs to investigate, the women go to gather things Minnie had requested. The women look around the kitchen and notice a loaf of bread not in the bread box. They assume that she was in the middle of placing it there, until she was abruptly interrupted. Mrs. Hale mentions how Minnie was more social, happy, and well-kept before she married John. When Mrs. Hale says this, it becomes clear to the reader that John didn’t care for Minnie when they were married, and how he was too cheap to buy her nice clothes. As the ladies continue to talk, they reveal a gun is kept in the house, and how it was strange Mr. Wright was by murdered by being tied up instead of shot. The women then notice Minnie’s quilt she was in the process of making. They comment on how odd it is that most of it is nice and evenly stitched until the last line, which is messy and
Mrs. Hale describes Minnie as formerly singing “real pretty herself” (Glaspell p666). The connection between Minnie and the canary is established here, and in the bird’s physical death parallels Minnie’s emotional death (Russell). Mrs. Hale’s keen wit and patience contributes to her embodiment of The Fate sister named Clotho the Spinner, which even more evident in her correcting of Minnie Wright’s improper stitching (Russell). Mrs. Peters begins the process of investigation deeply devoted to keeping the law. She doesn 't want any disruption in the house saying, “I don 't think we ought to touch things” (Glaspell p 666) when Mrs. Hale began searching for clues. Upon finding the dead canary, Mrs. Peters view on the situation changes drastically, and she decides with Mrs. Hale to hide the tiny dead bird from the men. They both figure that if the dead canary was discovered, Mrs. Wright would be thought to be a mad woman, though it was likely Mr. Wright who killed it. Mrs. Peters sympathizes with Minnie remembering back to an old memory of her childhood, where a menacing boy killed her small kitten with a hatchet (Russell). Mrs. Peters then realizes that the justice to be served is to conceal evidence and find the answers for themselves. These
Mary M. Bendel-Simso also appears to agree with this theme when she states, “The men, all representatives of the Law (the sheriff, the prosecutor, and a witness” (292). This coincides with the imagery of judge, jury, and execution, during the time period when women were not allowed to sit on a jury. Another form of imagery in the story is when Karen Alkalay-Gut suggests that the mental image of the strangled bird is representation of Minnie having the life strangled out of her by her domineering husband (6). Glaspell uses Mrs. Hale to visualize the young Minnie Foster Wright as a lively girl, and more recently a much subdued woman, and the unsaid cause is that of the formidable Mr.
Susan Glaspell’s story “Trifles” does not explicitly show that Mrs. Wright killed Mr. Wright. However, the story is filled with symbolisms indicating that she was the murderer. Mrs. Wright was physically absent in the play so the conversation between the two female characters reveal information regarding Minnie. The story is set on a early 20th century household mirroring the life of women around that period. Early then divorce was uncommon and often looked down upon by many. Mrs. Wright kill her husband because she was exhausted from her husband’s oppression and lost control over herself when her husband killed her bird.
Mrs. Hale has memories of Mrs. Wright and the way she used to be before her marriage to Mr. Wright. She feels ashamed that she did not help Mrs. Wright and says, "I might have known she needed help! I k...
Wright’s abuse is indecisive, Mrs. Hale also shows sign of abuse and when her and Mrs. Peters find the dead bird they decide to hide it from the Sheriff because they fear it will incriminate Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright were childhood friends who participated in the community youth choir together. Mrs. Hale feels guilty for never visiting Mrs. Wright much. She admits that she didn't because the place was not "cheerful"(Glaspell). She describes the house as a "lonesome place"(Glaspell) but admits that that is more reason that she should have visited her childhood friend sooner. She feels if they could have been closer and talked to each other they both would be in better places, which hints that Mrs. Hale may also be abused? This is strengthened when she says that she, “hates men snooping and criticizing in her kitchen." (Glaspell) Mrs. Hale's making this statement lets the reader know that she has had men verbally criticize her which can be labeled as verbal abuse. This is all important for the reader to understand because it explains why Mrs. Hale helped hide evidence from the Sheriff. She sympathizes with Mrs.
Mrs. Hale believes that Mrs. Wright kills her husband due to revenge because he kills the one thing that makes her happy and that reminds her of the person she use to be.
If the reader pays no mind to his character, they will think that John is merely a staple of the ideal Victorian husband. Although this is true, John’s character is a representation of the practice of paternal benevolence in a marriage. In the first entry of the short story, the narrator brings up instances of John’s irritating reassurances over subtle yet eerie instincts the narrator seems to have. For example, when they first get to the house, the narrator tells John, “...there is something strange about the house — I can feel it” (Gilman 809). John simply tells her it must be a drought and he closes the window. In the next paragraph, the narrator admits that she does get angry at John sometimes and blames her own nervous system. It seems as though John has waxed over all of her situations and instead of blaming John, she blames herself in true Victorian fashion. In this era, women were to believe that there could be nothing wrong with their husbands. The man was superior and the woman was inferior. When John dismisses the narrator’s instincts and problems, he is belittling her like a parent belittles a child’s instincts and problems. This is further supported later on in the story when the narrator gets up to see the wallpaper move. John says, “What is it, little girl? Don’t go walking about like that -- you’ll get cold”(Gilman 814). Later on, when John tells the narrator that she is getting better and she disapproves, he sits
“Trifles”, a play written by Susan Glaspell, is based on the bloody murder of John Hossack, a farmer from Des Moines, Iowa. According to Iowa Cold Cases, Glaspell is featured in the book, Midnight Assassin, which tells all the gory details of the Iowa cold case. At the time of the murder, Glaspell was a journalist for the Des Moines Daily News. Glaspell created a very connectable character, Mrs. Wright. She is accused of murdering her husband by strangulating him with a rope. Glaspell’s use of symbolism in “Trifles” is based on one feminine perspective. Her use of symbolism focuses on trifles, things of little value or importance, that normal male readers as well as the male characters in the play would not normally understand. This domestic