The theme of the play,”Trifles,”by Susan Glaspell, is demonstrated through the situation of a woman revolting in a society dominated by males. The situation presented in,”Trifles,”is a woman, Mrs.Wright, who was belittled by her husband, and was pushed to the point that she murdered him. Mrs.Wright was in gruesome state of mind due to neglect. The county attorney, George Henderson, and the sheriff, Henry Peters go to Mrs. Wright’s house to scavenge for evidence. Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, as well as Mrs. Hale, a neighbor, go to the house to be of assistance in the search of pining Mrs.Wright guilty. When the group entered the farm-house their perspective of the event that occurred was inflicted. “She- come to think of it, she was kind …show more content…
George, Henry, and Mr.Hale have no remorse for Mrs.Wright and poke fun of the cleanliness of the house. The men lose interest in the kitchen and venture upstairs in hope of discovering evidence. The women want to put a basket together to give Mrs.Wright, so they stay in the kitchen. While searching for items that might bring her comfort the two stubble across a broken birdcage. Mrs.Hale made a connection that the birdcage cage resembled Mr.Wright’s anger. It became surreal, what Mrs.Wright endured for many years alone. Then they found lost freedom, a dead canary. Mrs.Wright loved to sing, but her husband did not appreciate this passion. Unable to do what she loved, Mrs.Wright bought a canary, something that would sing, but Mr.wright was disgusted with it and twisted the canary’s neck. Everything fell into place and the women knew they had to protect Mrs.Wright, they were done with being quiet. “I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be-for women. I tell you, it’s queer, Mrs.Peters. We live close together and we live far apart”(Johnson, ARP, 1141). It was this moment they knew they were going to help Mrs.Wright even if it meant hiding evidence. These three women revolted in a male-dominated
Trifles” is a play written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell. The play’s audience consists of young adults to those in their late 50’s. Mrs. Glaspell takes a serious matter of domestic violence and uses her platform as an author to raise awareness about the issue. In the play “Trifles” a neighbor went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wright only to find Mr. Wright dead in his bed. He had been strangled to death by a rope. The neighbor questioned Mrs. Wright about the matter and her response was odd and suspicious. Mrs. Wright was taken to jail while the home is being investigated for further evidence. Mrs. Glaspell’s play “Trifles” effectively achieves the goal in raising awareness on domestic violence by the evidence of the crime and through pathos.
The farmhouse in Trifles was accessed by several individuals between the time of the murder and law enforcement arriving. The sheriff even sent Frank over that morning to start a fire for warmth, instructing him “not to touch anything except the stove – and you know Frank.” The men in the play are only interested in observing the areas where John would have been within the home, deeming the kitchen as unimportant. If they had only taken a few moments to consider the mindset and life of Mrs. Wright they would have discovered all the information they sought. Minnie’s obligation once married was to provide John with children, the fact they were childless helps to show her “failure” in this role in the men’s eyes, yet the women see the detached relationship she shared with John and the profound silence of a home without little ones. Mrs. Hale discovers an unfinished quilt with some very erratic stitching where Mrs. Wright has left off and begins to remove the stitches, as if trying to undo what has already happened. When the quilting method of Mrs. Wright is discovered the women link her method with the knot used around John’s neck. Without ever seeing
In the play Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, a small number of people are at the Wright house trying to figure out why and how Mr. Wright was murdered. Mrs. Wright is already the suspect, and all that is needed for the case is evidence for a motive. The jury needs something to show anger or sudden feeling so that they can convict her for murder. The men, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale are there to find the evidence. The women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, are there to pick up a select few items for Mrs. Wright. While the men are going about business and looking for evidence to build a case against Mrs. Wright, the women are looking over what Mrs. Wright left behind and intuitively trying to understand what happened. They are also trying to fathom why Mrs. Wright would be compelled to perform such an act of violence. As the story goes on, it constructs each of the characters in slightly different means. Susan Glaspell presents Mr. Wright and Mrs. Hale as having contrasting and comparable characteristics. While Mrs. Hale and Mr. Wright differ in terms of emotions, they are similar in their cleanliness and are well respected by others.
Susan Glaspell's Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. The play takes place in Wright's country farmhouse as the men of the play, the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale, search for evidence as to the identity and, most importantly, the motive of the murderer. However, the clues which would lead them to such are never found by the men. Instead it is their female counterparts who discover the evidence needed, and who are able to do so because of their gender.
In Susan Glaspell’s short Trifles, Mrs. Wright is being accused of murdering her former husband Mr. Wright. While their house is being investigated, there are a lot of clues that suggest what could’ve happened between Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Susan Glaspell uses many literal techniques throughout the story to give readers a depiction of what’s going on. Glaspell uses irony, symbolism, and themes to distinguish Mrs. Wright’s role in the murder and her character in the story.
“Trifles” is a one act play written by Susan Glaspell about a woman named Minnie Foster, who is accused of murdering her husband John Wright. Glaspell uses conflict between the characters, symbolism, and suspense to provide the reader with how different the men and women see the crime scene. Throughout this play, the men tend to assert their patriarchal dominance by leaving the women in the kitchen while they go upstairs to investigate the crime scene. As the play unfolds, the women begin to discover pieces of evidence among the mess in the kitchen which the men look over because; each of the items tends to be associated with that of a woman. The men focus on where the crime took place, rather than searching for evidence which could provide a motive behind the murder itself. Through the character’s actions, the use of symbolism, and suspense throughout the play, Glaspell is able to provide the reader with how men had superiority during this time period and how it creates a problem with solving the crime that takes place in the Wright household.
The definition of “trifles” is something that does not have much value or importance. In the play “Trifles”, Susan Glaspell illustrates the differences between men and women by the details that they notice and the things that each person considers to be important or necessary. In the play, Mrs. Wright is the main suspect for her husband’s murder. Mr. Henderson, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale are the three men in the play that are searching the entire house for physical evidence to prove Mrs. Wright as guilty. The two other women in the play are Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale and their behaviors are completely opposite from the men’s. Since the women are more focused on the small details of Mrs. Wright’s everyday life, they are able to find the most important piece of evidence that the men would never find on their own. By observing the key behaviors of the men and women and their roles, Glaspell illustrates the real meaning and attitude of “trifles” within the play.
“Susan Glaspell, however; sought to represent the lives and hardships of the simple rural women residing in various regions in America and forgotten by society (Al-Khalil, 132). The first major theme of ‘Trifles” is female identity. During the play, the men make agreements in which females get their identity from their husbands, which is the dominating gender. To give an illustration, the County Attorney states, “No, Mrs. Peters doesn’t need supervising. For that matter, a sheriff’s wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way Mrs. Peters?” (Booth, 758). Meanwhile, Mrs. Peters says, “Not---just that way” (Booth, 758). Her statement suggests that as the play continues, she finds an alternate view of her individuality that relates more to her womanhood, than her marriage to her husband Henry Peters. Furthermore, Mrs. Hale concludes that the murder of Mr. Wright was a way for Mrs. Wright to leave her husband’s shadow and have an identity of her own, since women only received one from their husbands. The point of the matter is women want to have their own identity instead of receiving one through another person.
The strong women characters in Trifles allow for feminist discussion, but also question the classic gender roles present at any point in time. Through the crime committed by Minnie Wright, three women grow together and establish that justice for all is deeper than finding the culprit. Justice occurs in all things, in hiding the clues by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, in the quiet dignity they both have by helping their friend, and by proving that women are capable of anything they are determined to
Reading a play like Trifles helps people get a glimpse into the life of a distressed woman in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. Although not very specific, with the banter between the men it is not hard to see that they have little to no respect for women. They complain about a dirty house when the woman that lived there was removed unexpectedly by the police. The wives that are there are teased and belittled because of what the men thought were their simple minds. Little do they know that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters had just participated in a cover up that would prevent a solid case from being formed against Mrs. Wright.
Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, seems to describe the ultimate women’s suffrage story. No longer will men have an upper hand against women after reading this story. Cleverness will be the key to retaining power from the men in this story. The one thing that woman are criticized for, the idea that women tend to look at the ‘little picture’ instead of the ‘whole picture’, will be there path to victory. Two stories of revenge are told in this story, the revenge of suppression and revenge of being portrayed as ‘unsophisticated, unintelligent’ women. First we have the story of Mrs. Wright and the struggles with her husband, John. Married women throughout history have been portrayed and played the role as being inferior to the husband in marriage. This seems to be the case with Mrs. Wright. Even though John’s public image was somewhat respectable, it was obvious that behind close doors the story was different. There is evidence of abuse in this marriage. First, the discovery of the broken door leads me to conclude that John was very physical and anguished. Second, it is assumed that Mrs. Wrights husband had broke her canary’s neck. The canary, which of course had to be caged, was represented as the old Minnie Foster herself. The canary is a beautiful, free spirited bird that had a sweet voice, as Minnie had at one time. This was the end of the line and ‘Minnie Foster’ was about to be reborn. She would stand up for all those abused and suppressed house wives across the world and makes the first ‘final’ decision she had ever been allowed to make. The bird’s cage was her jail. The bird’s death was her freedom for the fate of the bird was the fate of her husband. John was discovered with a rope tied around his neck, the freedom of a women who could no longer be held down. This was the first implementation of women’s power in the story. The women at Mrs. Wright’s home played an important role in the story as well. The ‘professional’ detectives were busy about the house finding clues to indict Mrs. Wright in the murder case. They ridiculed the women in the house by ‘putting them in their place’ as typical ladies, so worried about small things and useless ordeals. Mrs. Hale noted the stitches in the quilt to be erratically stitched as if something were wrong.
The play Trifles is a murder mystery that investigates the oppression women experienced during the twenties. The main characters in this play is the Sheriff, his wife, the County Attorney, and Mr.& Mrs. Hale. The characters in this play are attempting to obtain evidence and motive to the murder mystery of Mr. Wright. It becomes understandable throughout the play that the women observe things that
Most of the actions take place in the kitchen setting which demonstrates the author’s deliberate move to show the important details about the wifely role. The women hold their conversation in the unkempt kitchen, a domestic sphere that reveals everything about the lives of women. While the men were busy searching for clues around the farmhouse, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale see some evidence in the trifle that Mrs. Wright had left in the kitchen. The women can deduce that the messy kitchen with dirty pans gives a signal of incomplete work. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter spend most of their time in the messy kitchen that significantly reveal Mrs. Wright’s state of confusion (Manuel 61). Mrs. Hale understands Mrs. Wright’s experiences of loneliness and desperation from the male-dominated circumstances. The female characters sympathize with her situation by acknowledging the forces in her life that made her take the roles including that of murdering her husband. The men overlook the evidence that the women can trace in the house, and their dialogue suggests lack of sympathy towards women as noted from their humiliation and sarcasm towards women. For example, the women can relate the death of the canary to the murder scene. The attorney shows how woman’s concerns are unimportant, instead of sympathizing with Mrs. Wright for what has befallen her, they portray their women
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
The one-act play ‘Trifles’, by Susan Glaspell has quite the compelling drama plot. In the beginning, the character Lewis Hale goes over to visit the neighboring Wright’s farmhouse, looking for John Wright. At the house, he learns from Mrs. Wright, in a much understated and subtle fashion, that John Wright is dead. Mrs. Wright impassively explains that someone had strangled him with a rope while he was sleeping in bed, where she was also sleeping. Then Mr. Hale contacts the sheriff and county attorney, whom subsequently put Mrs. Wright in custody for her bizarre and suspicious behavior. When the police begin to do their investigation, it is then when the plot turns to more complexity. The police allow the women – Mrs. Hale, a neighbor and acquaintance