Violence In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

What happens when the murderer of a story is actually the victim? Trifles by Susan Glaspell executes this idea. This drama is about Minnie Wright being accused of murdering her husband, John Wright. It takes place in the early 1900's in North America, in the kitchen of the Wright farmhouse. In this story it is implied that there are two victims and not just John Wright. There are many signs of Minnie’s unhappiness and exposure to violence that may have put her survival and happiness in front of her morals. There are also many things said about Minnie by men that show the bias they have in their beliefs. Contrasting to that, Minnie’s actions and expressions show that she did not plan on killing her husband but needed to for her own safety.

While Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are exploring they come across a horrifying image of a dead bird as Mrs. Peters continues to say, “Somebody--wrung--its--neck” (987) explaining that it was violently killed by someone. Mrs. Hale explains that John Wright may have killed the bird by saying, “No, Wright wouldn't like the bird-a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too.” (988) Mrs. Hale points out that Mr. Wright in general wasn’t a very easy person to get along with when she says, “He was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him… like raw wind that gets to the bone” (986) Overall, Minnie showed signs of living in a household was raw and

The first action, or inaction, that shows she did not plan the killing was how she did not run after killing John. Minnie was simply on her rocking chair explained by Mr. Hale when he says, “She was rockin’ back and forth. She had her apron in her hand and was kind of--pleating it… she looked queer… as if she didn't know what she was going to do next.” (980) Mr. Hale saying she looked queer shows that she truly did not plan for this to happen and was a spontaneous act from possibly fear.. It is also told by Mrs. Hale that Minnie was nervous by saying, “... look at the sewing! It's all over the place! Why, it looks like she didn't know what she was about!” (985) The sewing shows that Minnie was nervous about what would happen next, she did not know how to handle herself. Another clue was that Minnie did not use the smartest weapon but the closest because Mrs. Hale says, “That’s just what Mr. Hale said. There was a gun in the house. That’s what he can’t understand.” (984) This quote illustrates that she could have easily killed John Wright with a gun and having a guarantee of killing him if shot in the heart. Minnie used a rope which could have the chance of John waking up and stopping her before she even had the chance. Overall, these signs all add up to Minnie not planning to kill John Wright but a spontaneous action of maybe fear or