Justice In Trifles By Susan Glaspell

In conclusion, men and men suppress women in “Trifles” this theory can be proven by the other women and the three major symbols, The KItchen, The quilt, and The canary. By using those thing the author creates a expression of

The title of the play “Trifles” is a major symbol of how men viewed women in the early nineteen hundreds, something small, and of little value or importance. One of the examples of trifles within the play is the bird in the cage which symbolized Mrs. Wright and the life not only she had to live, but other women faced during this time as well. Women, as well as Mrs. Wright, felt caged in her own homes, and some were not able to associate with their friends. Women had no right to vote, or have a say so as to anything except what went on inside the home as far as cleaning, cooking, sewing, and tending to their children.

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 brought their wives to collect some clothing for her. By what they were saying, the officers were laughing at their wives because they thought they were paying attention to unimportant things, thus ‘trifles’. Where all the wives solved the case and the men did not.There is an obvious segregation between the men and the women, social, psychological, and physical.“Nothing here but kitchen things”.This was the first belittling comment

Judith Kay Russell, Middle Tennessee State University, writes about symbolism between the three women in Trifles, by Susan Glaspell—Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters and the three women of the Mythical Fates—Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos. Russell’s comparison between the two stories are pretty impressive. Russell compares Mrs. Peters to Lachesis—disposer of lots—because “she moves to hide the bird and thus denies the men;” (89) therefore, choosing to pull the string from the string of life and chooses in Mrs. Wrights favor. Russell compares Mrs. Hale to Clotho—the Spinner—because she “spins the thread of life” (88) which was indicated by her idea that Mrs. Wright was not completely guilty, because Mr. Wright was a “harsh man.” (Glaspell)

Symbols are important, especially in literature. They have been known to inspire hope and life, in turn inspiring some of the most profound actions in the history of the world. Yet, humanity’s statement to symbols goes beyond us finding meaning in innominate or non-human objects. People assign humanity into objects, almost a part of themselves. This concept is clearly demonstrated in Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles. The work contains many element of symbolism that make important and relieving comments on the characters of the play and the themes of the story.

While each proses a serve of justice and determination to do the right thing; the men approach the crime scene emotionless, indifferent and determined to go in and get to the bottom of the mystery as quick as possible, and push aside the little details. Little do they know that the things they are putting off could be very essential to their case? For example, in a conversation between the attorney and Mr. Hale who remarks, “..I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made such a difference to John..” who was interrupted by the attorney in mid conversation and interjects, “Let’s talk about that later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house.” (1127) Meanwhile, while the men are out on their hunt for clues, the women stay in the kitchen to look through Mrs. Wright’s things and discuss a motive for why she killed her husband. Glaspell proposes a plan that by looking deeper into circumstances, you may in turn fully understand its true meaning; leaving no stone left unturned.

As the readers understand that the women then find the proof (being the canary and the birdcage) in the kitchen. In this manner, the point in time of the setting sets up all the activity for the upcoming characters in the play. Overall, the author discusses the activities within the play adversely with the gender- specific beliefs along with the mood/perspective. Alongside the time of the play, another component of the play is the season. Trifles takes place in the cold weathers of winter. In the play the sheriff says, “SITE”. Also mentioned, “SITE”. Glaspell cautiously expressed the setting to help distinguish the emotions of the characters in the play. It’s stated that, “SITE”. The destroyed containers/ bottles is in comparison with Mrs. Wrights mindset. The mentioning of “cold” suggests that Mr. Wrights attendance creeped in the house. The isolation that was brought about generated absolute burdens on Mrs. Wright. As mentioned in the play, Mrs. Wright, “SITE”. Which is represented by the damaged containers. All of which sums up the emotional place that Mrs. Wright is

Susan Glaspell's play Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. It also talks about the stereotypes that women faced. 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. The attorney, with the intensions of proving that Mrs. Wright choked the husband to death, was interviewing Mr. Hale on what he saw when he came in to the house. The women, on the other hand, were just there to get some clothing for the wife who was in jail for suspected murder of her husband. However, the clues which would lead them to the answer

In Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles, written in 1916, two female characters are left in the kitchen of a house where a murder has been committed, while the menfolk search around for clues. The men largely ignore the women and are mocking of them and their petty concerns on the occasions that they do speak to them. While the men are about looking for the “cold hard facts” of the murder, the women are in the kitchen bothering with “trifles” that display all of the details about the wife’s life and, most probably, her motivation for the murder. In this play, Susan Glaspell has written male characters that clearly display the “Ethics of Justice”, a sort of right is right and wrong is wrong view; while the women clearly embody the “Ethics of Care”, a view that takes relationships and feelings into account when judging the morality of actions.

The single act play “Trifles” is loosely based on the murder of a farmer in the state of Iowa in the early nineteenth century, which Glaspell reported on while working as a journalist. The farmer’s wife was accused of the murder, and was initially convicted, but later acquitted. Literary analysts note that Glaspell “approached the case like a detective” (Bryan and Wolf). More than a decade after that incident, when she was a career writer, analysts describe, “in a span of ten days, Glaspell composed a one-act play” being inspired from that real life murder event (Bryan and Wolf). In “Trifles,” while the county attorney and sheriff, along with Mr. Hale are investigating the murder of Mr. Wright, the female companions Mrs. Hale and Mrs.

In the end Susan Glaspell uses many objects in the setting to add symbolic meaning to the story. Glaspell uses the dead canary, the broken bird cage, and the dirty kitchen all to give hidden insight to the story if read correctly and deciphered with an open mind. Trifles was written to show the struggles of women in this day and age and uses the stereotypical assumption that women stick to the kitchen and making quilts when really and truly the woman solve the case without even having to try while the men are searching for clues in all of the wrong

The play Trifles takes place in a rural area and centers around a woman, Mrs. Wright, who has been accused of killing her husband by strangling him. The act starts off in Mr. and Mrs. Wright’s home on a cold, winter morning the day after Mr. Wright’s body was discovered by the neighbor; the county attorney, the sheriff and his wife and the neighboring farmer and his wife are all inside the

A trifle is something that has little value or importance, and there are many seeming "trifles" in Susan Glaspell's one-act play "Trifles." The irony is that these "trifles" carry more weight and significance than first seems to be the case. Just as Glaspell's play ultimately reveals a sympathetic nature in Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, the evidence that the men investigators fail to observe, because they are blind to the things that have importance to a woman, reveals the identity of the murderer and are, therefore, not really "trifles," after all. Thus, the title of the play has a double-meaning: it refers, satirically, to the way "trifling" way some men perceive women, and it also acts as an ironic gesture to the fact that women are not as "trifling" as these men make them out to be. This paper will analyze setting, characters, plot, stage directions, symbolism, themes and genre to show how Glaspell's "Trifles" is an ironic indictment not of a murderess but rather of the men who push women to such acts.

A Symbol can be specified as an experience, from both a perceptive point of view as well as a creative one. The specific use of the term “Symbolism” relates to the cultured movement; of different styles of writing, that began in the nineteenth century which has a major role in literary arts. Susan Glaspell uses symbolism in Trifles as a literary device to highlight the theme of feminine identity. Here, Glaspell provides women with a numerous amount of symbols to justify their feelings and making it easy for them to hinder the investigation. In this drama, details are thoroughly thought out and selectively placed to give the reader more ambition to find their own explanation of the symbols. Glaspell’s symbolism helps paint a picture that is

In Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles,” it is assumed that Minnie Wright murdered her husband, John Wright, due to his unkind act of killing her bird. To see it as a justifiable homicide or prosecuted is where we cannot seem to the draw the line. If focusing on the primary value of the law and murder, Minnie Wright should be prosecuted. Through Minnie Wright’s psychological state, the hints of their female neighbors, and revenge for Mr. Wright killing her bird are all factors that explain her murder of Mr. Wright as intentional. These actions do not justify the murderous act of Minnie Wright, therefore she should be charged guilty of murder.