Susan Glaspell's Trifles

At the beginning of the short drama, “Trifles,” Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, is painted as timid and submissive wife. She willingly submits herself to the responsibilities she has as a wife. As the play unfolds, Mrs. Peter’s submissiveness begins to diminish. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale work together to uncover the murder of Minnie Wright’s husband. When the women find the evidence, they refuse to share it with the men. Mrs. Peter’s character transforms into a more confident individual over the course of the play.

The play written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 is based on the murder of John Wright where the prime suspect is his spouse; Minnie Foster. “Trifles” is fixated on the investigation of the social division realized by the strict gender roles that enable the two men and women to have contending points of view on practically every issue. This is found in the way the men view the kitchen as they consider it as not having anything of significant worth. From the earliest starting point, the two women and men possess distinctive positions. For instance, the women are unimportant guests to Minnie Foster's home while the men have desired authority obligation.

The play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is type of murder mystery that takes place in the early 1900’s. The play begins when the sheriff Mr. Peters and county attorney Mr. Henderson come to attempt to piece together what had happen on the day that Mr. Wright was murder. While investigating the seen of the murder, they are accompanied by the Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale and Mr. Peters. Mr. Hale had told that Mrs. Wright was acting strange when he found her in the kitchen. After taking information from Mr. Hale, the men leave the women in the kitchen and go upstairs at seen of the murder. The men don’t realize the plot of the murder took place in the kitchen.

Symbols are important, especially in literature. They have been known to inspire hope and life, in turn inspiring some of the most profound actions in the history of the world. Yet, humanity’s statement to symbols goes beyond us finding meaning in innominate or non-human objects. People assign humanity into objects, almost a part of themselves. This concept is clearly demonstrated in Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles. The work contains many element of symbolism that make important and relieving comments on the characters of the play and the themes of the story.

In the early 1900’s, both males and females were perceived as complete opposites of eachother. Women were considered physically weaker and morally superior to men. The gender roles during this time period were clearly demonstrated in the play “Trifles”, by Susan Glaspell. At a first glance it may seem like the play is only about the death of Mr. Wright. The play could simply be interpreted that the characters all work together to determine the murderer of Mr. Wright. The initial perception overlooks how the women were treated during this time period. The men conclude that the women are incapable of finding the murderer of Mr. Wright only because they are female. Similarly, Mr. Wright does not think twice about how poorly he treats his wife

Susan Glaspell's play Trifles explores male-female relationships through the murder investigation of the character of Mr. Wright. It also talks about the stereotypes that women faced. The play takes place in Wright's country farmhouse as the men of the play, the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale, search for evidence as to the identity and, most importantly, the motive of the murderer. The attorney, with the intensions of proving that Mrs. Wright choked the husband to death, was interviewing Mr. Hale on what he saw when he came in to the house. The women, on the other hand, were just there to get some clothing for the wife who was in jail for suspected murder of her husband. However, the clues which would lead them to the answer

Susan Glaspell’s story “Trifles” is based on a true story many decades ago when women were treated as second class citizens. This story focuses on two women in the shadows of men who see their sex as superior and in doing so, miss the most important parts of their investigation. Glaspell uses space to show the bond that is slowly created between these two women that allow them to justify not reporting the evidence to the sexist males who essentially drop the ball because of their lack of empathy.

In Trifles, the play takes place at an abandon house at a farm where John Wright and his wife, Minnie Wright lived. John was killed with a rope around his neck while his wife was asleep. The neighbor, county attorney and sheriff came to the crime scene for investigation. Along with them

Near the climatic moment in Susan Glaspell’s one act, Trifles, a farmwife sucessfully justifies to her friend why they should hid the evidence of a murder another woman committed. Instead of using logical reasoning, Mrs. Hale reasons with her by using empathy, saying, “I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be-for women. I tell you, it’s queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same thing-it’s all just a different kind of same thing.” (Glaspell, 943). Originally performed in 1916 by the Provincetown Players, an American theatre company Glaspell helped established, Trifles strove to create consciousness about the oppression women faced daily. This play was revolutionary for time,

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

The article had a deep analyzation of Trifles by Susan Glaspell. Alkalay-Gut focuses in on scenes that show the clear division amongst the men and the woman in the play. For various scenes, the article takes apart and truly explains the symbolism throughout the course of the play. Not only are the symbols explained and given high importance, but Alkalay-Gut mentions the main character would have never had a fair trial to begin with. This ties in with my theme focusing on the belittlement of women.

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

Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a short play built around the murder of John Wright. One might say that this play is dull and boring. However, that is far from the case. There are numerous entwined themes and ideas throughout the play. With closer examination of Glaspell’s work it is clear that there is a far greater plot in action. Mrs. Minnie Wright has been arrested for the murder of her husband while the investigation is active. Interestingly enough the murder is not the focused of this play. The focus is how two wives Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters identify with the accused. Throughout the play the wives uncover several seemingly insignificant clues which provide insight on the daily life Mrs. Wright before the death of her husband. Although both women ultimately end up identifying themselves with Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale appears to only aid Mrs. Wright due to the overwhelming guilt and shame she feels after learning of the circumstances Mrs. Wright life.

“Trifles” by Susan Glaspell is a short play built around the murder of John Wright. Throughout the play there are numerous entwined themes and ideas. With closer examination of Glaspell’s work it is clear that there is a far greater plot in action than just a murder. Mrs. Minnie Wright has been arrested for the murder of her husband while the investigation is active. Interestingly enough the murder is not the focused of this play. The focus is how two wives Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters identify with the accused. Throughout the play the wives uncover several seemingly insignificant clues which provide insight on the daily life Mrs. Wright before the death of her husband. Although both women ultimately end up identifying themselves with Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale appears to only aid Mrs. Wright due to the overwhelming guilt and shame she feels after learning of the circumstances Mrs. Wright life.

Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a short play built around the murder of John Wright. One might say that this play is dull and boring. However, that is far from the case. There are numerous entwined themes and ideas throughout the play. With closer examination of Glaspell’s work it is clear that there is a far greater plot in action. Mrs. Minnie Wright has been arrested for the murder of her husband while the investigation is active. Interestingly enough the murder is not the focused of this play. The focus is how two wives Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters identify with the accused. Throughout the play the wives uncover several seemingly insignificant clues which provide insight on the daily life Mrs. Wright before the death of her husband. Although both women ultimately end up identifying themselves with Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale appeared to only aid Mrs. Wright due to the overwhelming guilt and shame she feels after learning of the circumstances Mrs. Wright lived in.