Women In Trifles By Susan Glaspell

Trifles was written in the early 1900's by Susan Glaspell. This occurred far before the women's movement. Women were generally looked upon as possessions to their husbands. Their children, all wages, and belongings were property of their husbands. In Glaspell's story it is easily depicted as to what role the men and women portrayed in society at this time.

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.

While talking, the women find a fancy box belonging Mrs. Wright. Inside the box, is what they believe to be Mrs. Wright’s dead pet bird. They realize that “somebody – wrung – its – neck” (1172) Remembering a similar incident in her life, Mrs. Peters says, “When I was a girl – my kitten –there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes, ..If they hadn’t held me back I would have hurt him.” (1172) They place the dead bird back in the box, and then, surprisingly, they hide the box. You can almost see what’s going on in the mind of these two women as they must be imagining poor Mrs. Wright, horrified that her awful husband killed her bird, then she must have snapped and strangled him to end her own suffering.

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)

One of the women made the comment that Mrs. Wright used to be pretty and happy, when she was Minnie Foster not Minnie Wright. This is just the beginning of realizing that she was just pushed to far into depression and couldn't live up to John Wright's expectations anymore. The Wrights had no children and Mrs. Wright was alone in the house all day long. The women perceive John Wright to be a controlling husband who in fact probably wouldn't have children and this may have upset Mrs. Wright. They eventually find vacant bird cage and ponder upon what happened to the bird, realizing Mrs. Wright was lonely they figured she loved the bird and it kept her company. The women make reference to the fact that Mrs. Wright was kind of like a bird herself, and that she changed so much since she married John Wright. They begin looking for stuff to bring her and they find the bird dead and they realize someone had wrung its neck. This is when they realize Mrs. Wright was in fact pushed to far, John Wright had wrung her bird's neck and in return Minnie Wright wrung his.

Mrs. Wright lived her entire marriage alone, confined to a tiny house in the outskirts of town, with her only true companion a bird who sung to her, she loved that bird like it was her child. Mrs. Wright blamed her husband for her loneliness because he wouldn’t allow her to sing in church, have friends over, or have a telephone to even call people occasionally. Mr. Wright made her feel as though she was in solitary confinement in a prison this was not a home. At least she had her canary to keep her company, well until he took that away from her too.

In “Trifles”, a division between the two sexes is quickly established as the men enter the house and huddle by the stove while the women remain still by the door. As the men start their detective work the women wander around the house to gather some of Mrs. Wright’s belongings. While searching for her belongings, the women discover an empty birdcage and find a dead bird in a “pretty box” (Glaspell, 956) inside of Mrs. Wright's sewing basket. Mrs. Hale jumps at the sight of the bird’s neck and Mrs. Peters points out how “somebody-wrung-its-neck” (Glaspell, 957) similar to the way Mr. Wright was found earlier. Mrs. Wright's murder of her husband can be seen as an act of feminine revolt against the male-dominated society. Another example of women defying against patriarchy is of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters hiding the evidence that can prove Mrs. Wright to be guilty of her husband’s murder. Before their departure from the Wright’s house, as the men are returning, the sheriff suggests that the county attorney take a look through the items Mrs. Peters had collected for Mrs. Wright. However, he decides that anything collected by the women cannot have much significance and overlooks it. His assumption that the women would have came forward if they saw any possible evidence costs him. The sheriff’s belief is that women derive their identity solely from their relationships with men; the dominant gender.

"Trifles," a one-act play written by Susan Glaspell, is a cleverly written story about a murder and more importantly, it effectively describes the treatment of women during the early 1900s. In the opening scene, we learn a great deal of information about the people of the play and of their opinions. We know that there are five main characters, three men and two women. The weather outside is frighteningly cold, and yet the men enter the warm farmhouse first. The women stand together away from the men, which immediately puts the men against the women. Mrs. Hale?s and Mrs. Peters?s treatment from the men in the play is reflective of the beliefs of that time. These women, aware of

Susan Glaspell's Trifles is the story of a murder in the early 1900's. During this time, women stayed at home with little to do; especially if they didn't have children. For Minnie Wright this was the story of her life. When she met Mr. Wright her days of wearing beautiful dresses, attending the Ladies Aid and singing in the choir were over.

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

Crying over spilled milk is silly, right? Worrying about the little, mundane things is pointless and a waste of time. In Susan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles, she demonstrates how being sensitive to the subtle details can be vital to solving a mystery. Throughout the one-act play, Glaspell highlights the theme of gender roles through the women’s worries, irony, and symbolism.

A woman who was once full of life and happiness is now left with no joy in her life. In the play, “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell, we see how Mrs. Wright has changed over the years. We see how cheerful she was before marrying Mr. Wright. While trying to solve the murder, the author uses symbolism, conflict, and irony.

Brian Sutton criticizes in his journal the work of “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell in comparison to that of “Laustic” by Marie de France. The author discusses the similarities of both wives’s who have no escape from their marriage life to that of a song bird who’s incapable of escaping his cage. Sutton also shares the fact that in both stories, the birds are killed by the husband. This symbolizing the wives distressed spirit, caused by the authority and the power that their spouse imposes. Therefore, the author concludes that the caged birds have been affiliated to enslaved spirits. Perhaps the article gives a sense of disagreement of a wife with her husband. Unlike my other sources, this article is aimed to criticize the oppression a marriage

Although I had a hard time visualizing Trifles in my head, it still an exciting and fascinating play. The story is unpredictable, short and easy to understand. It think it is the woman that killed her husband because he was putting her down whenever he could. Also, I concluded that the woman killed her husband because he killed her only friend in the house, the canary. Also, the author did not give specific details about any potential enemy that the man had.

“Trifles” is a play about a woman who loses her freedom once she is married. Mrs. Wright was once a young woman who was extremely happy and could sing. As soon as she married Mr. Wright, everything went downhill from there. She lost her spark that made Mrs. Wright who she is. The last straw that led to Mr. Wright’s murder was killing Mrs. Wright’s bird, who could have possibly reminded her of herself when she was cheerful and free. The definition of trifles is giving someone or something very little respect because they are considered to not be important.