Trifles (Play)

In Glaspell's Trifles the author satirizes the relationship between married women and men. Mrs. Wright is being held for the suspected murder of her husband. There are five characters in the play, the county attorney and two couples (the Sheriff and Mrs. Peters and the Wright's neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hale). The male characters are not as well defined as the female characters and this works to reinforce the theme that women are often relegated to a subservient position to their husbands, even though they are deeper emotionally and intellectually. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, after all, are the only ones who piece together evidence that would help convict Mrs. Wright. This is because they have the female perspective and are able to identify all the signs that remain obtuse to the men. They know something is wrong by the way the table is only half cleaned, like someone left it in a hurry. They also feel something is weird about the way Mrs. Wright was sewing her quilt. When they discover the bird with its broken neck, they are fairly sure of Mrs. Wright's guilt. However, they conceal this evidence from the men, not just because they empathize with the repressed existence of the married woman accused of murder, but also as a way of retaining power over the men. As the County Attorney says, "For that matter, a sheriff's wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way Mrs. Peters?" Her response is, "Not-just that way" (162).

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hen, bedroom with a side staircase from the kitchen leading to a second floor and a door that leads offstage to the room where Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters pick out a set of clothes for Mrs. Wright. That the male characters are less developed than the women (i.e., more shallow) not only reinforces that men are normalized as superior in society only because they are men and not superior in intellect, but the dialogue and their reactions also reinforce their shallow nature (i.e., only shallow people would wish to kill the "voice" of others). Mr. Hale finds it amusing that Mrs. Wright would worry over a trifle like her preserves when she is charged with murder. The younger (i.e., more evolved) County Attorney says, "And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without women?" Yet, the women know that the preserves represent a lot of painstaking hard work and also understand that a woman's chores are one of the few ways in which a married woman can distinguish herself and take pride in something that is more than a reflection of their husband's identity. The theme is communicated by many symbols in the play. The Sheriff says there is nothing in the room but "kitchen things", but those things offer many clues to the women abou

Category: Literature - T