Trifles

Summary of  Trifles

Trifles is a one-act play written by Susan Glaspell. The play deals with gender inequality and shows how women are often ignored and underestimated by men. The story is based on the investigation of a murder in a farmhouse.

The play begins with the investigation of John Wright’s murder. He has been found dead, and his wife, Minnie Wright, is suspected of killing him. The sheriff, the county attorney, and a neighbor, Mr. Hale, come to the house to search for evidence. The wives of the sheriff and Mr. Hale, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, also accompany them.

While the men search for serious evidence, they make fun of the women and call their concerns “trifles.” However, the women carefully observe small details in the kitchen. They notice an unfinished quilt, broken jars of fruit, and signs of Minnie’s unhappy life. They later find a dead bird with a broken neck hidden in a box. This bird reminds them of Minnie’s lost happiness and how her husband had killed the only source of joy in her life.

The women understand that Minnie killed her husband because of years of loneliness, cruelty, and emotional suffering. Feeling sympathy for her, they hide the bird from the men, knowing it could be used as strong evidence against Minnie.

The play ends by showing that women, though ignored, are more understanding and observant. Trifles highlights the importance of women’s experiences and criticizes the unfair treatment of women in a male-dominated society.

Understanding the Text

a. Do you believe that Mrs. Wright killed her husband? Explain.
Yes, I believe that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. From the conversation between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, we learn that Minnie Wright was a happy and lively woman before marriage. After marriage, her life became lonely and depressing. She was not allowed to sing, talk freely, or mix with others. Her only source of happiness was her bird, which was cruelly killed by her husband. This constant loneliness and emotional suffering finally led her to take revenge by killing her husband.

b. Do you think Mr. Wright’s death would have been uncovered if Mr. Hale hadn’t stopped by the Wrights’ home?
No, I do not think Mr. Wright’s death would have been uncovered if Mr. Hale had not stopped by the Wrights’ home. The Wrights’ house was far away from the road and isolated. If Mr. Hale had not gone there to ask about a telephone line, no one would have known about the murder, and the incident would have remained hidden.

c. Why does Mrs. Hale think that Mrs. Wright’s worries about her preserves indicate her innocence?
Mrs. Hale believes that Mrs. Wright’s concern about her preserves shows her innocence because a guilty person would not worry about such small household matters. Minnie’s concern about her fruit jars and her request for an apron suggest that she was thinking like a normal housewife, not like a criminal. This makes Mrs. Hale feel that Minnie was not a cold-blooded murderer.

d. How does Mrs. Peters’ homesteading experience connect her to Mrs. Wright?
Mrs. Peters’ homesteading experience helps her understand Minnie Wright’s loneliness and pain. She remembers losing her child and feeling helpless in an isolated place. Because of this shared experience of suffering, she develops sympathy for Minnie. This emotional connection leads her to protect Minnie Wright by hiding the dead bird, which could have been used as strong evidence against her.

e. How do the women’s perspectives on men differ?
The women see men as dominant and insensitive to women’s feelings. Men focus only on legal facts and ignore emotional suffering, calling women’s concerns “trifles.” The women, however, believe that men fail to understand the real truth of Minnie’s life. Though women lack social power, they use their understanding and intelligence to see what men cannot.

Reference to the Context

a. “MRS. PETERS: (glancing around). Seems funny to think of a bird here. But she must have had one, or why would she have a cage? I wonder what happened to it?
MRS. HALE: I s’pose maybe the cat got it.”

i. Who does ‘she’ refer to?
‘She’ refers to Mrs. Wright.

ii. What does the word ‘one’ stand for?
The word ‘one’ stands for a bird.

iii. What is the full form of “s’pose”?
The full form of “s’pose” is “suppose”.

iv. What do you mean when Mrs. Hale says, “the cat got it”?
When Mrs. Hale says “the cat got it,” she means that the cat might have killed the bird.

b. “MRS. HALE: Wright was close… she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir. But that—oh, that was thirty years ago.”

i. Why does Mrs. Hale refer to Mrs. Wright as “Minnie Foster”?
Mrs. Hale refers to Mrs. Wright as “Minnie Foster” because that was her name before marriage. At that time, she was cheerful, dressed well, and sang in the church choir.

ii. What does her description tell you about Mrs. Wright?
The description shows that Mrs. Wright was once a lively and happy woman. Marriage changed her life and took away her happiness.

iii. What does Mrs. Hale mean by “that was thirty years ago”?
She means that Minnie’s joyful life existed thirty years earlier, before her marriage, and that happiness has long been lost.

c. What is the main theme of the play?
The main themes of the play are gender inequality, isolation, and justice. Men ignore women’s experiences, Minnie Wright suffers from loneliness and emotional abuse, and women choose moral justice over legal justice.

d. Discuss the symbolism used in the play.
The play uses many symbols to show hidden meanings. The broken preserve jars symbolize Minnie’s broken life and marriage. The singing canary represents her happiness and freedom before marriage. The birdcage shows her trapped life after marriage. The wrung neck of the bird symbolizes revenge and mirrors Mr. Wright’s death. The knot in the quilt represents Minnie’s disturbed mental state and the method of murder.

e. Discuss the setting of the play. Does it have an impact on the theme of the play?
The play is set in John Wright’s lonely farmhouse, which is isolated and gloomy. This setting reflects Minnie Wright’s loneliness and emotional isolation. The rural setting strengthens the theme of isolation and neglect, showing how Minnie lived cut off from society.

Reference Beyond the Text

a. The credibility of a character is determined not only by thoughts and actions but also by what others say. Discuss with reference to Trifles.

In the one-act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Wright never appears on stage, yet she is the most important character. Her credibility is built through what other characters, especially Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, say about her. Through their conversation, readers learn about Minnie’s life before and after marriage. They describe her as a cheerful, lively woman before marriage who loved singing and wearing pretty clothes. After marriage, however, she became lonely, silent, and emotionally broken due to her husband’s strict and uncaring nature.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters gradually understand Minnie’s suffering and isolation. Their sympathy and emotional response make Minnie’s story believable and touching. The broken jars, the unfinished quilt, and the dead bird help them understand Minnie’s pain. Because these women speak honestly and with understanding, readers trust their words. Thus, Minnie’s character becomes credible not through her own actions on stage but through the observations, feelings, and judgments of other characters.

b. Analyse the use of dramatic irony in the play.

i. What information is crucial to the play Trifles?
The crucial information in the play is that Minnie Wright killed her husband and the emotional reasons behind the murder. The audience and the women characters discover the truth through small household details like the dead bird and the birdcage. However, this information remains unknown to the male characters, who are busy searching for legal evidence.

ii. How does the playwright use this information to create dramatic irony?
The playwright uses dramatic irony by allowing the audience and the women to understand the real cause of the murder while the men fail to notice it. The men mock the women’s attention to household matters and call them “trifles,” not realizing that these very details reveal the truth. This gap in knowledge between the men and women creates irony and tension throughout the play.

iii. What effect does dramatic irony have on the audience and the play?
Dramatic irony makes the play more engaging and suspenseful. The audience feels emotionally involved because they know the truth before the male characters do. It creates a sense of frustration at the men’s ignorance and highlights the importance of women’s perspectives. Dramatic irony also strengthens the play’s themes of gender inequality and justice, making the audience question traditional ideas of authority and truth.