Susan Glaspell's Trifles

In conclusion, men and men suppress women in “Trifles” this theory can be proven by the other women and the three major symbols, The KItchen, The quilt, and The canary. By using those thing the author creates a expression of

Lastly, Mrs., Wright’s quilt is directly symbolic of the empathetic relationship that all three of the women, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Wright, share throughout the work.In many ways, the

Between December 1st and 2nd 1900, John Hossack (a farmer from Warren County, Iowa) was murdered with an ax by his wife while in bed. Inspired by the true story of Margaret Hossack, an Indianola, Iowa farm wife who was charged with the murder of her husband John. One of the reporters, Susan Glaspell, decided to write a literary version of this investigation and “Trifles” came to be. Susan Glaspell is a feminist writer from Davenport, Iowa who started off writing for a newspaper called Des Moines Daily News. Later on her literary career she left the journalism industry and founded a theatrical organization called ‘Provincetown Players’ on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In Trifles, Glaspell covers issues regarding female oppression and patriarchal domination. Susan Glaspell’s one-act play still exists as a fascinating hybrid of murder mystery and social commentary on the oppression of women. When Margaret Hossack was charged with the murder of her sixty year old husband John, the man she had been married to for thirty three years, Indianola, Iowa. Killed by two blows to his head with an ax, John Hossack was thought to be a cold mannered and difficult man to be married to, but he didn’t deserve his death. In a cultural that denied women the right to vote or the ability to serve on juries, the community in which the Hossacks resided was not terribly different from the rest of the country. A women’s role was defined as more domestic than

Though she was married, her life was never complete as she did not fit the description of the stereotypical woman in the 1900s. Minnie did not have any children, resulting in more loneliness. Quilts are also a symbol of warmth and comfort which Minnie lacked from Mr. Wright as he was the complete opposite. Minnie had no one except for the bird, so when Mr. Wright killed the bird, he also shattered the final piece of her personality that Minnie had. Consequently, she was furious, confused and simply “didn’t know what she was about [anymore]” (Glaspell 163). For that reason, she decided to murder her husband, which is a piece of evidence the men failed to discover because they did not worry about the “trifles”. Moreover, when the woman found the quilt, Mrs. Hale wonders whether Minnie had intentions to “quilt or just knot it” (Glaspell 163) The men overhear the conversation Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have, and mock their concerns because they think the woman are worrying about useless “trifles” when they should be investigating a murder. Little did the men know that the decision whether Minnie was going to quilt or knot it, indeed was another piece of evidence that Minnie was the murderer. Minnie having to decide whether she was going to quilt or not it, was a decision of whether she was going to withstand the abuse from her husband or make a change in her life as it was “not it”. Unfortunately, Minnie could

Wright explains that someone must have come in, in the middle of the and slipped a rope around her husband’s neck while she was asleep next to him, she states, “I sleep sound.” Mrs. Wright didn’t seem concerned never moving from her rocker, she kept rocking and pleating the apron. The men searched the kitchen which appeared unkept and found only kitchen items, nothing out of the ordinary. Her neighbor Mrs. Hale came in and said that she hadn’t been in the house in years, she states “It hasn’t been a cheerful place” (561). Mrs. Wright is now being accused of murdering her husband and her only concern was her preserves, the county attorney sates, “Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (561). The ladies that was in the Wright house was discussing how Mrs. Wright used to be, dressed up in pretty clothes, was lively and confident, she lost that over the years and now “She didn’t even belong to the Ladies Aid” (562). They guessed she couldn’t do her part and felt shabby, so she kept to herself. The ladies thought she killed her husband and practically convicted her right there in her kitchen. The women are constantly worrying over Trifles, or something that is totally unimportant. After Mrs. Wright is arrested for the murder of her husband the two ladies take Mrs. Wright quilt to the jail to keep her

A friend can be a remarkable thing. Unfortunately, many lack the powerful bonds that all humans need to survive and lead healthy, happy lives. In Susan Glaspell's play Trifles, Mrs. Wright is starved of the human interaction and relationships she so desperately needs. Consequently, she is never rescued from her loneliness, is brought to the point where she cannot handle any more of life's saddening struggles, and kills her husband in his sleep. Through powerful and often ironic symbolism, such as Mrs. Wright's kitchen, the names of the characters, and the bird, Susan Glaspell clearly displays the power of human relationships and how truly devastating a

A quilt that Mrs. Wright was working on is also an important symbol in the play. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find the quilt Mrs. Wright had been working on. Mrs. Hale says, referring to the sewing, "Why, it looks as if she didn't know what she was about" (63). Mrs. Wright was nervous when she was sewing the quilt and had knotted it. Knotting the quilt would symbolize knotting her husband's noose. It is evident that she is upset about the bird, and her mind was not on quilting, but plotting her husband's death.

Peters and Mrs. Hale find is the quilt. As they are looking at it they notice that the quilt is very pretty and then it get sloppy. The narrator shows, “ Mrs. Hale (examining another block): Mrs. Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It’s all over the place! Why, it looks as if she didn’t know what she was about! (After she has said this they look at each other, and then they start to glance back at the door. After and instant Mrs. Hale has pulled at a knot and ripped the sewing.)” (Glaspell 1085). The ladies seem to think that she is nervous about something going on “ Mrs. Peters: Oh- I don’t know. I don’t know as she was nervous. I sometimes sew awful queer when I am just tired.” ( Glaspell 1085). The quilt represents Mrs. Wrights life also. When it starts to get sloppy it shows the period when Mrs. Wrights life was conflicted and when Mr. Wright kills the

Mrs. Wright is referred to when Mrs. Hale speaks of her by using her maiden name, when saying ?I wish you?d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang.? The old rocking chair symbolizes Mrs. Wright as she has allowed herself to depreciate, just as the rocking chair has depreciated. ?The chair sagged to one side,? Mrs. Hale stated that the chair was not anything like she remembered, referring to the fact that Mrs. Wright has also changed since she

Susan Glaspell tells us her vision of the Wright's kitchen, where the action of her play "Trifles" takes place, through stage directions. She paints a gloomy picture of this center of activity.

The play Trifles takes place in a rural area and centers around a woman, Mrs. Wright, who has been accused of killing her husband by strangling him. The act starts off in Mr. and Mrs. Wright’s home on a cold, winter morning the day after Mr. Wright’s body was discovered by the neighbor; the county attorney, the sheriff and his wife and the neighboring farmer and his wife are all inside the

What is a trifle? A trifle is something that has little to no importance (dictionary.com). For instance, the color of your nails would be considered a trifle. In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, women are criticized and made fun of by men because of the little things they worry about, such as the color of their nails or their hair. This exhibits the gender role difference portrayed during the play’s time period. The central conflict is what the plot is centered around. In Trifles, the central conflict involves the investigation the Mr. Wright’s murder. As the story progresses, we learn that the women’s trifles would’ve helped the men solve the murder, which is ironic. Numerous accounts of symbolism, relating Mrs.Wright to the bird, is also found

Mrs. Hale reflects on the marriage of the Wrights, “Not having children makes less work-but it makes a quiet house, and Wright out to work all day, and no company when he did come in”. She then focuses on mean John Wright, “He didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him-. Like a raw wind that gets to the bone. I should think she woulda wanted a bird. But what you suppose went wrong with it?”. Ms. Hale compares mean John Wright with sweet and kind Mrs. Wright, “She-come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery.

The setting of the play describes Mrs Write’s lifestyle. The kitchen is described as “without

Peters, Mr. Hale, and their wives, it is evident that the two men underestimate the capability of women, as they flaunt their superiority through passive-aggressive insults. In the play, it is apparent that these two men are firm in their belief that they are better and more capable than their wives, but, unfortunately for them, they decide to disregard their wives’ potential. For instance, when the ladies are downstairs, they start to examine the quilt that Mrs. Wright is working on. In this moment, Mrs. Hale says to Mrs. Peters, “I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt it or just knot it?” (Glaspell 989). As the sheriff comes down the stairs and hears this statement, he laughs and, in a condescending tone, says, “They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it!” (Glaspell 989). This statement causes the women to look abashed as it is used to directly harass the women, making them feel bad for worrying about something as silly as a quilt. Then, as Mr. Peters notices the women worrying about Mrs. Wright’s busted preserves, he states, “Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 985). Again, the men are teasing the women for concerning themselves with such awomanly, and, therefore, foolish thins. Then, even Mrs. Peters joins in and jokes about how the men think so little of them. When the ladies are discussing the significance of the bird, Mrs. Peters exclaims, “My, it’s a good thing the men couldn’t hear us. Wouldn’t