'Trifles'

Introduction

The word trifles indicates insignificance. The feminist Susan Glaspell points out the forcibly insignificant role women have been shunned into by a male dominated society. Ironically it is these very men who laugh at their insignificant observations when faced with a heinous murder.

The backdrop; John Wright is dead. Murdered in his own home. Strangled in bed by a rope, the chief suspect is his wife the gloomy woman Mrs. Wright who conveniently did not even wake up as her husband was killed right beside her. She slept through the murder. A black and white case according to the sheriff and county attorney, men. Crime scene investigation is a standard thing where they rule out all other suspects as it was clearly an inside job. They cleverly conclude the criminal must have been Mrs. Wright. To the men the crime is in the act not in the motive. Would they have been as concerned if it was the other way round, and Mr. Wright had murdered Mrs. Wright? Would they really have made a heartfelt effort by organizing such a party which did prove pivotal in finding the murderer?

Throughout the play the men mock the women and look down upon their observations. Initially when they enter the house, the men see a drab house which has not been taken care of. They comment on how Mrs. Wright was an incompetent housekeeper. The women however, immediately sympathize with her as they realize how tough managing an entire farmhouse is. We see that the men have been demeaning the work that women are expected to do. However, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters can both relate with Mrs. Wright. The housework becomes the factor which brings the women together as a group in the play. Even later on in the play when the women realize and discover the evidence that is the bird and the box, the fact that they are willing to conceal it and bring the incomplete quilt to Mrs. Wright in the prison to preoccupy her solitary prison life shows that they find her to be the victim despite the fact that she is the murderer. They even conceal the fact that her fruit had now gone bad form her as she was worried about it. They do not see her worries as 'trifles.'

Literary Elements in 'Trifles'

Mr. Hale says, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.” A few lines later, the County Attorney finds dirty towels and Mrs. Hale defends Minnie saying, “Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men's hands aren't always as clean as they might be.” The County Attorney then shoots back with, “Ah, loyal to your sex, I see...” (Gioia, p. 650-62). This proves that the women were aware but always chose to ignore the fact they were being put down by the men, until cornered or facing such a situation where they knew that 'justice' would not prevail for a fellow woman.

Another example would be when Mrs. Hale finds an incomplete quilt and wonders, 'I wonder ...