Susan Glaspell's Play, Trifles

Susan Glaspell' s classic 1916 one-act play "Trifles" is a character driven drama that pits the wits and empathy of female

characters against the blinding arrogance of the male

characters. Set in a bleak, Midwestern farming community, the

plot centers around a murder investigation. Minnie Wright has

been arrested by the sheriff for the murder of her husband John

after saying that she just woke up in bed beside the body of her

rope-strangled husband. What the sheriff needs is proof of Mrs.

Wright's guilt in the form of motivation and evidence. The

dramatic conflict of the play is the search for evidence and how

that evidence is interpreted. The setting of the play is the

gloomy kitchen of the Wright's farmhouse.

The play's five onstage characters include the County

Attorney George Henderson, Sheriff Henry Peters, his wife Mrs.

Peters, the farmer Lewis Hale, and his wife Mrs. Hale. The two

women are the main characters. It is, however, the unseen

character of the accused around who dominates the play. The

title of the play comes from a remark made by Mr. Hale: "Well,

women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell 959) .The

remark is ironic, although Mr. Hale does not mean it that way.

It is his contempt for the lives of women, along with that of

the other two men, that causes the two women to bond, not only

with each other, but with Mrs. Wright as well. The three men

can't be bothered with he trifles found in the messy kitchen

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ial evidence they find. As women they realize that the all-male jury that would hear the case against Mrs. Wright would not understand the impact of the married life she led for 30 years. The three male characters tend to bear this out. They are only interested in the big picture, and in maintaining the structure of a male dominated society. As the Sheriff says: "For that matter, a sheriff's wife is married to the law. Ever think of it that way, Mr. Peters?" Mrs. Peters responds: "Not--just that way" (G1Bspell 966). Mrs. Peters statement that she does not think of being married to the law in the way her husband does is a key element in the decision she makes regarding the evidence found in the kitchen. She and Mrs. Hale believe that a crime has been committed, and the guilty person must be punished. But the nature of the true crime and the guilty person must be determined. She also pays attention to the men saying that Mrs. right was not much of a housekeeper because the drying towel was dirty, the inference being that a hardworking man is entitled to expect a clean towel to wash up with when he comes home. Mrs. Hale's response is "these towels get dirty awful quick. Men's hands aren't always as clean as they might

Category: Literature - S