Susan Glaspell Themes

In Mrs. Wright’s kitchen tucked away the women find a small little box. In the box they find a dead canary. Mrs. Peters says “‘Somebody wrung its neck,’ Mrs. Peters looked from the dead bird to the broken door of the cage.” Now we know that someone killed the bird. When Mrs. Hale says “No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird,” she reveals the culprit in the bird’s killing. Referring to the bird as “a thing that sang,” she continues that “ [Mrs. Wright] used to sing. He killed that too.’” Mr. Wright killed the bird out of rage because, like his wife’s, its jovial nature annoyed him. Now we know that it was Mr. Wright that snapped the cannary’s neck. The death of the one thing that meant a great deal to her would have been sufficient motive for

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.

I believe Susan Glaspell’s title Trifles refers to the scant attention or importance placed on the thoughts of the female characters, by the male characters, as well as to the inadequate deliberation with which the men attend to the trifles that are actually of import. Not only does Mr. Hale plainly state, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (1283) as the men belittle the thoughtfulness and consideration of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in regards to Mrs. Wright worrying about her stored jars, but Sheriff Peters clearly sees just “kitchen things” (1283), while the women begin to see missing pieces of the murder motive in the everyday items. Similarly, Mr. Henderson sees “a nice mess” (1283) in the kitchen, while the women begin to recognize

The story is the same, Mrs. Hale her neighbor and Mrs. Peter’s the sheriff’s wife decided Mrs. Wright’s fate while in the kitchen, they both decided not to turn in the evidence. They discovered the dead canary, they understood the meaning of the bread outside of the breadbox, and the uneven stitches in the cloth, Mrs. Wright had lost her joy the only thing that held her together was the bird. Mr. Wright robbed her of her joy, her freedom, when he killed the bird. Mr. Wright was stern and reclusive, putting Mrs. Wright in a lonesome place where she couldn’t be herself. The ladies hid the bird and after putting the pieces together they knew the dead bird would solve the question of the motive for Mrs. Wright’s murderous act. At the trial when the bird cage came up and what happened to the bird, Mrs. Hale says, “the cat must have got it” (578). The county attorney asked absently, “Is there a cat?” (578). Mrs. Hales says, “She liked the bird and was going to bury it in a pretty box” (579). She felt Mr. Wright had choked the life out of the bird, robbing Mrs. Wright of the last bit of joy, singing and

Finally, the reader is introduced to the character around whom the story is centered, the accursed murderess, Mrs. Wright. She is depicted to be a person of great life and vitality in her younger years, yet her life as Mrs. Wright is portrayed as one of grim sameness, maintaining a humorless daily grind, devoid of life as one regards it in a normal social sense. Although it is clear to the reader that Mrs. Wright is indeed the culprit, she is portrayed sympathetically because of that very lack of normalcy in her daily routine. Where she was once a girl of fun and laughter, it is clear that over the years she has been forced into a reclusive shell by a marriage to a man who has been singularly oppressive. It is equally clear that she finally was brought to her personal breaking point, dealing with her situation in a manner that was at once final and yet inconclusive, depending on the outcome of the legal investigation. It is notable that regardless of the outcome, Mrs. Wright had finally realized a state of peace within herself, a state which had been denied her for the duration of her relationship with the deceased.

Moreover, the wife of Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale insisted “No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird—a thing that sang. Minnie used to sing. He killed that, too,” ultimately reiterating the powerful control Mr. Wright had over his wife and shared suffering—and that of all married women—in a male-dominated society. Again, throughout the investigation of Mr. Wright’s murder, the women’s resentment with the oppression Mrs. Wright endured was silenced as the men did not find interest in the cruel position she was in, so when Mrs. Hale mentioned the mistreatment of Mr. Wright’s wife she was immediately shot down by the male investigator “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.”

They begin to find clues such as half-finished chores, a broken bird cage, a dead bird, and troubled sewing. The women begin the piece together the story to realize that Mrs. Wright actually was the one to kill her husband. They figure out that she had a hard life living with her husband and feel sympathy for her. Mr. Wright was an awful man so they understood why she couldn't

The protagonist, Mrs. Wright, is trying to keep from being accused of murder and this is why she hides the dead bird. The two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, begin to warm up to what really has happened and throughout the story continue to grow more sympathetic towards Mrs. Wright. The suspense is built up very well trying to figure out whether or not she will get convicted. In the climax, the two women find Mrs. Wright's dead bird and realize what has happened. They are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to turn her in for what they now know she is guilty of. The reader does not find out what happens but is left to assume the best ending. Although the plot of this story is not very exciting, it does achieve its central purpose of showing the women leaving the men out in the cold and uniting together. Throughout the plot and structure they were some instances of irony that were used very well.

Wright's demeanor during the investigation raises suspicions about her guilt. While the men dismiss the women's observations as inconsequential "trifles," Mrs. Wright's seemingly detached and stoic behavior becomes a focal point (Glaspell, Act 3). Her lack of remorse and emotional response to the gravity of the situation suggests a calculated approach to the crime, rather than the actions of an individual pushed to the edge by insanity. The men's refusal to consider the emotional context underscores the pervasive gender bias and societal norms that contribute to their unfair judgment of Mrs. Wright, clouding their ability to empathize with her plight. Additionally, the deliberate attempt to conceal the evidence of the dead canary reveals a level of premeditation on Mrs. Wright's part (Glaspell, Act 2).

Trifles is a play written in 1916 by author Susan Glaspell. It is considered to be one of the earliest pieces of American feminist literature. Feminism is a political movement which seeks to establish equal social and political opportunities for women. In Trifles, the women are looked upon as unimportant and inferior to the men in being able to help solve the case.

Instantly the men begin belittling the women in the investigation when the men claim “women are used to worrying over trifles.” (Glaspell 1007) When it was, the men worried about trifles when they start looking around the investigation in pointless places where men would be when they should have considered the places Mrs. Wright would have been. The men throughout blatantly look down on women subjecting them to the traditional gender roles. It is when the men leave to those pointless places and the county attorney makes the remarks “Dirty towel! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” (Glaspell 1008) when the women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale began to come together in the kitchen and relate because how they are treated and put into gender roles by men. Eventually due to the women looking in relevant places they find a cage then a dead bird with rope around its neck the same way John Wright had it. They had all the evidence the County Attorney and Sheriff needed but they instead sympathize with Minnie Foster (Mrs. Wright) and realize why she may have done it and end up not giving the evidence in hopes to protect Mrs. Wright. They realize Mrs. wright was a product of oppression and relate to what her original motifs were which is an act of feminism.

This feminist analysis is shown throughout the play through many different aspects. Trifles is defined as something that does not have much importance or value. Throughout the play, you see the many things men believe to be trifle to women. Such as, Mrs. Wrights frozen preservatives they find on the kitchen counter. The Sheriff mentions at the beginning of the play, “Well, you can beat the woman!

Wright murdered her husband, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters choose to not give any of the evidence to the County Attorney or the Sheriff. The more the women find out about Mrs. Wright, the more they understand and sympathize with her. They understand what being a wife in 1916 can feel like. As they look through the house, Henderson, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale reveal that they and all men from that time period have these expectations and this control over their wives. To them, the women are in charge of everything looking nice.

Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” is a play about a woman who is be investigated for the murder of her husband. It was actually loosely based upon a true story involving the murder of a man named John Hossack, whose wife—a woman named Minnie—was also accused and originally convicted for the crime. I do believe that the theme for this play revolves around feminist theory. The two female characters named Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter are shown to sympathize with the wife of the victim and even understand why she might have killed him. For example, they discuss the fact that Minnie used to sing before she wedded John Wright. Martha reasons that perhaps after Minnie's marriage, the husband kept her from singing, or doing whatever else which would

While searching a cupboard for some sewing supplies to fix a poorly sewn quilt, Mrs. Hale finds a birdcage tucked away inside of it. The birdcage that Mrs. Hale finds is the most symbolic object that reveals the motive for the crime. A birdcage can be symbol of confinement or imprisonment. Mrs. Hale says, “No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird—a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too” (781). Mrs. Hale compares Mrs. Wright to a bird in the sense that birds sing but Mr. Wright does not want her