Mr. and Mrs. Wright’s relationship is connected in both Trifles and Jury of Her Peers by relating to the overall theme of motive. Mr. Hale was the first outside witness to know about Mr. Wright’s death. He decided to make his way to their dark home thinking, “maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” (Glaspell. pg. 980. 1916). Mr. Hale being a male in this time period is seen as one who sees women as just home caretakers. Even with this gender role he notices that something is wrong within the Wright’s relationship. Jury of Her Peers mentions what comes into Mrs. Hale’s mind as she looks at the furniture as another way to
Susan Glaspell’s play, “Trifles,” is an ominous glance into the vastly differing perceptions between the lives of men and women. In the play, there are several objects found in Mrs. Wright’s kitchen that point to the differences between what men and women find important, among which are dirty towels, a quilt that hasn’t been completed, and an empty bird cage. One of the first objects that the county attorney notes is that the towels are very dirty, commenting that Mrs. Wright obviously was not much of a house keeper. Mrs. Hale remarks that men’s hands are not always clean and they get dirty from men using them. The women find a quilt Mrs. Wright was working on and marvel at the fabric and wonder at its finishing, which the men laugh at in a
In the dram “Trifles” Glaspell uses symbolism and irony to prove how men’s lack of empathy toward women cause their downfall. This is the investigation drama where some officers are investigating a crime scene where a woman, Mrs. Wright, reportedly murdered her husband and while the officers were investigating they
- Because it shows that Mrs. Wright knows how to knot a rope its ironic that she uses that term as mrs. Wright used a knot to kill her husband .
Trifles Trifles, written in the early 1900’s by Susan Glaspell, is a one-act play illustrating how women can overreact to their own emotions, allowing these emotions to cloud their judgment. This is shown by describing the feelings of two women who are willing to defend a suspect, blame the victim, and go so far as to hide evidence, to protect another woman from being charged with murdering her husband. Mrs. Wright is the suspect in the murder of her husband, who was strangled in his sleep, found with the rope still around his neck. The sheriff and an attorney are examining Mrs. Wrights home for evidence. Mr. Henderson, the attorney, speaking of Mrs. Wright says, “Here’s a nice mess, ..Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper,
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters both understand and get to know each other by piecing together the crime scene and also looking at Mrs. Wright’s empty house. By the women noticing details and Mrs. Wright’s living conditions, they can see how sad and what little enjoyment Mrs. Wright had in her home. Mrs. Hale says, “It never seemed a very cheerful place," and later on she says, "But I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuller for John Wright's bein' in it.", she is revealing the atmosphere that the home had (Glaspell 5). The home was certainly not cheerful, but not
The Feminist Message in Susan Glaspell's Trifles Susan Glaspell's Trifles can be regarded as a work of feminist literature. The play depicts the life of a woman who has been suppressed, oppressed, and subjugated by a patronizing, patriarchal husband. Mrs. Wright is eventually driven to kill her "hard" (1178) husband who has stifled every last twitch of her identity. Trifles dramatizes the hypocrisy and ingrained discrimination of male-dominated society while simultaneously speaking to the dangers for women who succumb to such hierarchies. Because Mrs. Wright follows the role mapped by her husband and is directed by society's patriarchal expectations, her identity is lost somewhere along the way. However, Mrs. Hale and Mrs.
County attorney: No—it's not cheerful. I shouldn't say she had the homemaking instincts Mrs. Hale: Well, I don't know as Wright had, either. County attorney: You mean that they didn't get on very well? Mrs. Hale: (looking about) It never seemed a very cheerful place. COUNTY ATTORNEY: You mean that they didn't get on very well? Mrs. Hale: No, I don't mean anything. But I don't think a place'd be any cheerfuller for John Wright being in it.
People seen that “she use to wear pretty clothes and be lively- when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls and [sung] in the choir” (A Jury). It was noticeable to others that she had hanged after getting married. People in the town knew about Mr. Wright's character. They said that he was a good but cold man. He liked to keep his personal life and house quite, giving off a unhappy feeling to others. Mrs. Hale said, “Yes- good; he didn't drink…kept his word…and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to [spend] the day with him (Shivers.) Like a raw wind that gets to the bone” (Trifles 1417). They did not have any children or pets and that also added to Mrs. Wright loneliness. He was also gone off to work for most of the day, leaving Mrs. Wright at home by herself.
Mrs. Wright is referred to when Mrs. Hale speaks of her by using her maiden name, when saying ?I wish you?d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang.? The old rocking chair symbolizes Mrs. Wright as she has allowed herself to depreciate, just as the rocking chair has depreciated. ?The chair sagged to one side,? Mrs. Hale stated that the chair was not anything like she remembered, referring to the fact that Mrs. Wright has also changed since she
In the As the women walk through the house, they begin to get a feel for what Mrs. Wright’s life is like. They notice things like the limited kitchen space, the broken stove, and the broken jars of fruit and begin to realize the day-to-day struggles that Mrs. Wright endured. The entire house has a solemn, depressing atmosphere. Mrs. Hale regretfully comments that, for this reason and the fact that Mr. Wright is a difficult man to be around, she never came to visit her old friend, Mrs. Wright.
As the ladies examine the house, while the men are other places, picking clothes and an apron up for Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale gains sympathy for her until finally she starts to take action. When they find the block of quilting that has stitching askew, she starts to fix it, perhaps to cover for Mrs. Wright?s distraught state of mind. While Mrs. Hale is finding sympathy for Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Peters offers a counterpoint that tries to justifies the men?s viewpoints and actions. Her comments to Mrs. Hale?s resentful musings on Mrs. Wright?s unhappy life and on the actions of men in regards to women in general all seem to be rote answers programmed into her by society and a desire not to cause any trouble. This all changes as soon as Mrs. Peters finds the bird.
Women’s rights were a significant issue in the nineteenth century, and in “A Jury of Her Peers.” The men overlooked the rights and problems that the women in “A Jury of Her Peers” were enduring. Women, however, through these issues, have been able to come together. In “A Jury
When Lewis Hale, the neighboring farmer, was describing his encounter with Mrs. Wright he described her as “queer” and “laughing.” So right from there you can tell that she is doesn’t
Hale as he makes conversation with the county attorney about a party telephone stating, “I spoke to Wright about it once before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet.” This shows, Mr. Wright had the friendliness of a grizzly bear, the attitude of an Indian chief and the intentions of a crab. It seems as though everyone in the town understood Mr. Wright and how he preferred to keep things quiet and simple. So quiet in fact that he moved his wife “down in a hollow were you can’t see the road,” and chose not to have any children because it was less work without them and less noise too. Mrs. Wright lived her entire marriage alone confined to a tiny house in the middle of nowhere with her only true companion a bird who sung to her who she loved like a child. Upon inspection of the home the bird was gone, and the cage was broken making one wonder its whereabouts. Finding her bird either missing or dead could have been enough to make her become enraged with pathos. Mrs. Wright blamed her husband for her loneliness his silence each day along with her not allowing her to sing anymore in the choir or have friends over. Mr. Wright trusted his wife just like everyone in the small town were the Wrights have always lived also trusted her.