Freedom And Confinement In Minnie Wright's Trifles

On the surface, the play Trifles, is about a woman suspected of murder. The setting of the play is within the woman's home, in which an attorney, a sheriff, and two wives are inspecting the home for evidence. However, below the surface, this play is about much more than a murder – it's about the concept of freedom and confinement. This play shows the day-to-day confinement women face imposed upon them by men. Not only is Minnie Wright, the woman suspected of murder, confined, so are the two wives accompanying their husbands.
Minnie, who is physically confined to a man-made jail, is also confined in ways not readily apparent. When the two wives, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, are gathering items to take to Minnie in jail, they discover a bird

cage and the related bird dead within a box. This bird is highly representative of Minnie's confinement. Minnie was confined to the standard of not being able to sing or be herself, and so was the bird. The following line from the play exemplifies this confinement: Minnie's husband “wouldn't like the bird – a thing that sang. [Minnie] used to sing. He killed that too” (Glaspell 734). Likewise, the bird was also kept in a cage, which represents how Minnie was feeling within – confined to her husband's standards. Finally, the bird being dead, also shows that the confinement that Minnie was feeling caused her to feel dead inside.
Moreover, the two wives in the play are merely coming together as just that, two wives – bound by the confinement of their husband's titles. Near the end of the play, the attorney makes a comment about the sheriff's wife, Mrs. Peters, being “married to the law,” insinuating that she is nothing more than an extension of her husband's achievements (Glaspell 735). Not only does this bind a women to her husband's accomplishments, it also confines her to a feeling of inferiority by imposing power over her by her husband.
Lastly, this play also reflects the confinement women face by the stereotypes men place on them. One such example can be examined when Hale comments “women are used to worrying over trifles” (Glaspell 728). This line shows that the men confined women to the stereotype of not having larger things to worry about other than the small things. Moreover, the attorney shames Minnie for “not [being] much of a housekeeper” (Glaspell 728). This statement also confines women to the stereotype that they are always meant to be immaculate cleaners, regardless of circumstances.
Overall, this play depicts the overwhelming confinement men impose on women. Whether it be men expecting women to meet their standards, and abandon their own hobbies, or even to exceed the stereotypes of being a fantastic cleaner and worrywart, this play is a prime example of freedom and confinement. By showing men as feeling superior, and portraying women as inferior to men, this play also shows the confinements sexism creates on genders.