Trifles

- Susan Glaspell
Summary

The play opens on the scene of an abandoned farmhouse. The house is in disarray, with various
activities interrupted, such as dishes left unwashed and bread prepared but not yet baked. Five
people arrive at the house to investigate the scene of a crime, including the county
attorney, George Henderson, the local sheriff, Henry Peters, and the neighbor, Lewis Hale,
who discovered a murdered man, John Wright, strangled with a rope in his bed. The men are
accompanied by two of their wives, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. Mr. Hale describes for the
country attorney the experience of finding John Wright’s dead body the previous day. He
stopped by his neighbors’ house to ask if they’d want to install a party line telephone. He
encountered Minnie Wright sitting in her rocking chair, and she calmly announced that her
husband was dead. Mr. Hale went upstairs to find the body, and left everything in place for the
inspection of the attorney and the sheriff. Minnie claimed that she didn’t wake up when her
husband was strangled in their bed.

Mrs. Wright (Minnie) has been arrested for the crime and is being held until her trial. The men
do not look closely around the kitchen for evidence of a motive, but discover Minnie’s frozen
and broken canning jars of fruits. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale know that Minnie was worried her
canning jars would explode in the cold weather, and the sheriff jokes that a woman would worry
about such things while held for murder. The men criticize Minnie’s poor housekeeping, as
evidenced by the mess in the kitchen and a dirty towel.

The men go upstairs to inspect the bedroom and Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale collect items from the
kitchen that Minnie requested be brought to her at the jail, including clothes and an apron. The
women comment on the strangeness of strangling a man to death when the men had pointed out
that there was a gun in the house. The women admire a quilt that Minnie was working on, and
are wondering if she was going to finish it by “quilting” or "knotting” when the men re-enter ,
overhearing the women talking, joke about the women’s trivial concerns at a time like this. Once
again left alone by the men, the women notice that some of the stitching of the quilt is very poor,
as if Minnie were nervous or upset.

The women then find a birdcage without any bird in it. Mrs. Hale expresses strong regrets having
not come to visit Minnie more often, acknowledging that John Wright was a hard man and that it
must have been very difficult for Minnie to be alone at her house. She recalls Minnie before she
married and how cheerfully she sang in the choir. The women then uncover a beautiful red box,
and in it, the dead bird that was missing from the birdcage, with its neck broken.

When the men return, Mrs. Hale hides the box with the body of the bird. Once the men leave
again, Mrs. Peters remembers a boy who killed her childhood pet kitten, and her certainty that
she would have hurt him in return if she could have. The women hide the box with the body of
the bird. The county attorney jokes that at least they discovered the fate of Minnie’s quilt project,
and Mrs. Hale reminds him that she was planning to finish the quilt by knotting it.

Questions & Answers

Understanding the text

Short question answers

a. Do you believe that Mrs. Wright killed her own husband?

Explain.
➜ Yes, I believe Mrs. Wright murdered her husband. After
reading the entire play, I believe she is a murderer. Mrs.
Hale and Mrs. Peters' thorough investigation into Mrs.
Wright's minor objects like unwashed dishes, unbaked
bread, unfinished quilt , secretly kept bird, birdcage etc. and
her careless behavior revealed all of the evidence against
 her and proved her to be a murderer.

b. Do you think Mr. Wright’s death would have been

uncovered if Mr. Hale hadn’t stopped by the Wrights’ home?
➜ Yes, I think Mr. Wright's death would have been
uncovered if Mr. Hale hadn't stopped by the Wright's
home. Nobody would have known about Mr. Wright's death if
Mr. Hale hadn't stopped by the Wrights' house. The house
was located quite far from the road. Nobody had been to
this lonely house in a long time. Mr. Wright's body would
have decayed in that gloomy house if Mr. Hale hadn't
stopped there to ask for a phone line.

c. Why does Mrs. Hale think that Mrs. Wright’s worries about
her preserves indicate her innocence?
➜ Mrs. Hale thinks that Mrs. Wright's worries about her
preserves indicate her innocence because Mrs. Wright does
not strike her as a murderer who is obsessed with her
housekeeping abilities. According to her, a person who is
overly concerned with her preserves cannot possibly commit
murder. Her attention to detail in her housekeeping skills
demonstrates her innocence.

d. How does Mrs. Peters’ homesteading experience connect

her to Mrs. Wright?
➜ Mrs. Peters' homesteading experience connects her to
Mrs. Wright in the following ways:
 She had a kitten when she was a girl. In front of her eyes,
a boy killed it with a hatchet. She became enraged at the
boy. She felt a sense of vengeance toward the boy. This
encounter connects her to Mrs. Wright's vengeance
against the assassin of her canary.
 She lost her first child when she was two years old. She
had gone through a difficult period without her adorable
child. This experience connects her to Mrs. Wright's
difficult time without her beloved canary.

e. How do the women’s perspectives on men differ in the

play ‘Trifles’ ?

➜ There are both male and female characters in the play. Men's
arrogance and dominance are on display in this play. They
have demonstrated their superiority over women. We think
they're showy and pointless. Most of the time, they make
fun of women. Throughout the investigation, men constantly
mock women's perspectives. All men do not take women's
acts and discussions seriously. Women's perspectives are
taken as trifles by men.

f. What is the main theme of the play ‘Trifles’?

➜ The play's main theme is the status of women in
contemporary American society, as well as male dominance
over women. Aside from that, we find various themes in this
play such as isolation, loss of identity, vengeance and
violence, mystery , crimes , insanity and freedom through
rebellion.
g. Discuss the symbolism used in the play.
➜ Symbolism is a literary device referring to the
representation of a concept through symbols or the
underlying meanings of objects or qualities. In this play, we
 find a variety of objects that represent a variety of hidden
meanings. The following are the symbols used in the play:
1. The Quilt: The quilt is made up of fabric patches that are sewn together to
form an enlarging square. The quilt is not finished in the drama. It represents
Minnie's fate, the patches of fabric represent every piece of information
discovered, and from that, the women deduced the murder.
2. The Birdcage: Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were looking for a piece of paper
and string when they came across a broken birdcage. The birdcage
represents Mr. Wright's treatment of Minnie; his coldness and harshness
prevent Minnie from making friends and socializing with other people.
3. The Rocking Chair: Mrs Wright sits in the rocking chair after murdering her
husband. The rocking chair represents Minnie's attempt to remain calm and
as natural Minnie as possible. It's a place where Minnie can relax and have
fun, allowing her to escape from reality for a while.
4. The Bird: When Mrs. Hale discovered the bird was dead, she noticed that it
died not of natural causes, but because someone broke its neck. The dead
bird was placed in a lovely box and wrapped in silk. It clearly indicates that
the bird is special Pet to the owner Minnie but her husband didn’t like it.

g. Discuss the setting of the play. Does it have an impact on

the theme of the play?
➜ This play is set in Mr. John Wright's abandoned farmhouse. Down
in the hollow, where the road cannot be seen, it is a lonely, gloomy,
and cold place. Yes, it has an effect on the play's theme. This setting
depicted the lives of contemporary American women who used to be
bound by their husbands' obligations. They used to live in isolation
and restriction within the confines of their homes. The house's
setting even suggests male dominance over women.

h. The credibility of a character is determined not only by

the character’s thoughts and actions but also by what other
characters say and think about him or her. Discuss in
relation to the characters of Trifles.
➜ Through on-stage characters such as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters,
we as readers are led to the off-stage main character Mrs. Wright.
These two on-stage characters continue to discuss and inform us
about various aspects of Mrs. Wright's life. While investigating, their
conversation about Mrs. Wright revealed a number of previously
unknown aspects of Mrs. Wright's life. We can learn about Mrs.
Wright's life and sufferings thanks to women's information. Readers
become emotionally invested in learning about her life story. Both
women and their descriptions of Mrs. Wright are incredible. Their
contributions to the play have made all of the readers feel good
about Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Wright has been portrayed positively in the
eyes of all readers thanks to the efforts of these two characters. All
of the readers sympathize with Mrs. Wright.

i. Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or audience

has information that is unknown to the characters in
a play; it creates tension and suspense.

Analyze the play discussing the author’s use of

dramatic irony.
➜ Dramatic irony is a literary device that occurs when the audience
or reader discovers what was previously hidden. The leading
characters in the play are unaware of the facts, but the readers or
audiences are aware of the facts. The crucial information related to
dramatic irony in this play is that Mrs. Wright has murdered her
husband. The readers learn about the facts behind the murder
through Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, but the male characters, who
appear to be preoccupied with finding clues, are unaware of these
facts.
⚫ How does the playwright use this information to create
dramatic irony?
➜ The playwright uses this information very tactfully to create
dramatic irony, creating various twists, suspense, reader interest,
and revelation in a very interesting way. The playwright continues to
present information about murder through predictions and proofs
that the characters make and obtain during the course of the
investigation to find the true murderer.

⚫ What effect does the dramatic irony have on the audience

and on the play?
➜ The playwright manages and presents dramatic irony very well. It
elevates the audience and readers above the play's main male
characters. It has kept the readers' interest, anticipation, hope, fear,
curiosity, and suspense. The readers now have accurate information
about all of the male characters in the play. Dramatic irony has
made this play very interesting and full of twists where facts are
revealed, causing readers to be curious.