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
such as jars of ruined reserves or sewing kits. They tell the
two women to gather up some personal things to be brought to
Mrs. Wright, and then they search the rest of the house and barn
for evidence, evidence which they are sure cannot be found in
trivial "kitchen things." But that is where the evidence lies.
The two women set about cleaning up the kitchen while the men go
off to solve the mystery . While Mrs. Hale and Mr...