Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell

Trifles A One-act Play by Susan Glaspell Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. Shockingly, that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright.   Playwright Susan Glaspells one-act play, written in 1916,  is loosely based on true events. As a young reporter, Glaspell covered a murder case in a small town in Iowa. Years later, she crafted a short play, Trifles,  inspired by her experiences and observations. The Meaning of the Name Trifles for This Psychological Play The play was first performed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Glaspell herself played the character, Mrs. Hale. Considered an early illustration of feminist drama, the themes of the play focus on men and women and their psychological states along with their social roles. The word trifles typically refer to objects of little to no value. It makes sense in the context of the play due to the items that the female characters come across. The interpretation may also be that men do not understand the value of women, and consider them trifles. The Plot Summary of a Family Murder-drama The sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Hale) enter the kitchen of the Wright household. Mr. Hale explains how he paid a visit to the house on the previous day. Once there, Mrs. Wright greeted him but behaved strangely. She eventually stated in a dull voice that her husband was upstairs, dead.  (Though Mrs. Wright is the central figure in the play, she never appears onstage. She is only referred to by the on-stage characters.) The audience learns of John Wright’s murder through Mr. Hale’s exposition. He is the first, aside from Mrs. Wright, to discover the body. Mrs. Wright claimed that she was sound asleep while someone strangled her husband. It seems obvious to the male characters that she killed her husband, and she is been taken into custody as the prime suspect. The Continued Mystery With Added Feminist Critique The attorney and sheriff decide that there is nothing important in the room: â€Å"Nothing here but kitchen things.† This line is the first of many disparaging comments said to minimize the importance of women in society, as noticed by several Feminist critics.  The men criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills, irking Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters. The men exit, heading upstairs to investigate the crime scene. The women remain in the kitchen. Chatting to pass the time, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice vital details that the men would not care about: Ruined fruit preservesBread that has been left out of its boxAn unfinished quiltA half clean, half messy table topAn empty birdcage Unlike the men, who are looking for forensic evidence to solve the crime, the women in Susan Glaspells Trifles observe clues that reveal the bleakness of Mrs. Wright’s emotional life. They theorize that Mr. Wright’s cold, oppressive nature must have been dreary to live with. Mrs. Hale comments about Mrs. Wright being childless: â€Å"Not having children makes less work- but it makes a quiet house.† The  women are simply trying to pass the awkward moments with civil conversation. But to the audience, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unveil a psychological profile of a desperate housewife. The Symbol of Freedom and Happiness in the Story When gathering up the quilting material, the two women  discover a fancy little box. Inside, wrapped in silk, is a dead canary. Its neck has been wrung. The implication is that Minnie’s husband did not like the canarys beautiful song (a symbol of his wife’s desire for freedom and happiness). So, Mr. Wright busted the cage door and strangled the bird. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not tell the men about their discovery. Instead, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the deceased bird into her coat pocket, resolving not to tell the men about this little â€Å"trifle† they have uncovered. The play ends with the characters exiting the kitchen and the women announcing that they have determined Mrs. Wright’s quilt making style. She â€Å"knots it† instead of â€Å"quilts it†- a play on words denoting the way in which she killed her husband. The Theme of the Play Is That Men Do Not Appreciate Women The men within this play betray a sense of self-importance. They present themselves as tough, serious-minded detectives  when in truth, they are not nearly as observant as the female characters. Their pompous attitude  causes the women to feel defensive and form ranks. Not only do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters bond, but they also  choose to hide evidence as an act of compassion for Mrs. Wright. Stealing the box with the dead bird is an act of loyalty to their gender and an act of defiance against a callous patriarchal society. Key Character Roles in the Play Trifles Mrs. Hale: She had not visited the Wright household for over a year because of its bleak, cheerless atmosphere. She believes that Mr. Wright is responsible for crushing the merriment out of Mrs. Wright. Now, Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not visiting more often. She believes she could have improved Mrs. Wright’s outlook on life.Mrs. Peter: She has tagged along to bring back clothes for the imprisoned Mrs. Wright. She can relate to the suspect because they both know about â€Å"stillness.† Mrs. Peters reveals that her first child died at the age of two. Because of this tragic experience, Mrs. Peters understands what it is like to lose a loved one (in Mrs. Wright’s case- her songbird).Mrs. Wright: Before she was married to John Wright, she was Minnie Foster, and she was more cheerful in her youth. Her clothes were more colorful, and she loved to sing. Those attributes diminished after her wedding day. Mrs. Hale describes Mrs. Wright’s personality: She was kind of like a bird herself–real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and- fluttery. How- she- did- change.