Susan Glaspell’s 1916 play, Trifles was about an abusive relationship between a husband and wife, John and Minnie Wright. Minnie finally breaks down and kills her husband because he took away from her the only thing that brought joy to her miserable life, her canary. The Sheriff, County Attorney, and the neighbor, were walking around the farmhouse searching for evidence to hold against Minnie. I believe the evidence would be the fact that no other person was found to enter the house; Minnie was the only person in the house. Minnie was said to be in bed while John was strangled with a rope, making it hard to believe she slept through him struggling. And the rope used as the murder weapon was John’s own personal rope. They couldn’t find a motive to the killing. They needed something that would connect the strange way to kill someone since there was a gun in the house. The neighbor, Lewis Hale, stops by the farmhouse to see John Wright but finds Minnie setting in her rocking chair almost like she was in shock pleading her apron. There were no emotions in Minnie when she told Mr. Hale that John …show more content…
Peters and Mrs. Hale that discovered most of the circumstantial evidence while they waited on their husbands in the kitchen. It was more than kitchen stuff in the kitchen. It was disarray, normally not the way a kitchen is kept. There was bread setting on the table that needed to go in the bread box, the bread box was open, and table was half wiped off. Minnie was in the kitchen in the middle of making bread when John grabbed the bird cage breaking the door as he reached in for the bird and rung it’s neck killing it for possibly singing. Even Mr. Hale stated that John just wanted peace and quiet. The ladies found the bird wrapped up in silk and was placed in a decorative box. They believed Minnie was going to bury the bird in the box. The ladies hid the dead bird from the Sheriff and County Attorney, leaving them with no physical evidence; that is all they
Trifles” is a play written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell. The play’s audience consists of young adults to those in their late 50’s. Mrs. Glaspell takes a serious matter of domestic violence and uses her platform as an author to raise awareness about the issue. In the play “Trifles” a neighbor went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wright only to find Mr. Wright dead in his bed. He had been strangled to death by a rope. The neighbor questioned Mrs. Wright about the matter and her response was odd and suspicious. Mrs. Wright was taken to jail while the home is being investigated for further evidence. Mrs. Glaspell’s play “Trifles” effectively achieves the goal in raising awareness on domestic violence by the evidence of the crime and through pathos.
story. Mrs. Hale describes Minnie as, 'kind of like a bird herself, real sweet and
One significant symbol is that of the bird and bird-cage. When the two women come across the empty, broken bird-cage, they ponder the reason for the broken door and the fate of the canary who occupied it. Later they discover the dead bird wrapped in silk with its neck broke, presumably by the hands of Mr. Wright. The bird symbolizes Minnie Foster, the young choir girl. The dead bird symbolizes Minnie after marriage, and the cage symbolizes her husband whom mistreat and isolate her. While describing Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale compares her to the bird when she says to Mrs. Peters, " She used to sing real pretty herself”. ( ) Literary critic Candace Wade states," Only as a picture emerges of the way in which Minnie Foster has been changed by her marriage to John Wright, is a process of identification between the two women
As the men continue to search the gloomy old farmhouse, the ladies begin to gossip about Mrs. Wright and as to why she might have killed her husband. While shuffling through Mrs. Wrights things they find an empty bent birdcage and soon after find the bird that belonged to it dead, wrapped up in one of Mrs. Wrights fancy boxes.
Mary M. Bendel-Simso also appears to agree with this theme when she states, “The men, all representatives of the Law (the sheriff, the prosecutor, and a witness” (292). This coincides with the imagery of judge, jury, and execution, during the time period when women were not allowed to sit on a jury. Another form of imagery in the story is when Karen Alkalay-Gut suggests that the mental image of the strangled bird is representation of Minnie having the life strangled out of her by her domineering husband (6). Glaspell uses Mrs. Hale to visualize the young Minnie Foster Wright as a lively girl, and more recently a much subdued woman, and the unsaid cause is that of the formidable Mr.
Mrs. Wright kills her husband because she was tired of carrying the weight of her insipid marriage life. Mr. Wright killing her bird was the last straw that sent her over the edge. The canary symbolized Minnie. Like the bird, her personality is cheerful and lively. Unfortunately, she was trapped in her marriage similar to the bird being trapped in the cage. The act of killing the canary indicated him killing Minnie Foster. The sight of the dead strangled bird was unbearable for her. For thirty years she let her husband slowly strangle her presence.
Within the first few lines it becomes apparent that John Wright is not the most friendly man, preferring to isolate himself. Mr. Hale states how John did not want to contribute towards a neighborhood party line, and that he felt people talked too much, “I spoke to Wright about it once before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet”. As the men go upstairs to investigate, the women go to gather things Minnie had requested. The women look around the kitchen and notice a loaf of bread not in the bread box. They assume that she was in the middle of placing it there, until she was abruptly interrupted. Mrs. Hale mentions how Minnie was more social, happy, and well-kept before she married John. When Mrs. Hale says this, it becomes clear to the reader that John didn’t care for Minnie when they were married, and how he was too cheap to buy her nice clothes. As the ladies continue to talk, they reveal a gun is kept in the house, and how it was strange Mr. Wright was by murdered by being tied up instead of shot. The women then notice Minnie’s quilt she was in the process of making. They comment on how odd it is that most of it is nice and evenly stitched until the last line, which is messy and
Wright’s abuse is indecisive, Mrs. Hale also shows sign of abuse and when her and Mrs. Peters find the dead bird they decide to hide it from the Sheriff because they fear it will incriminate Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright were childhood friends who participated in the community youth choir together. Mrs. Hale feels guilty for never visiting Mrs. Wright much. She admits that she didn't because the place was not "cheerful"(Glaspell). She describes the house as a "lonesome place"(Glaspell) but admits that that is more reason that she should have visited her childhood friend sooner. She feels if they could have been closer and talked to each other they both would be in better places, which hints that Mrs. Hale may also be abused? This is strengthened when she says that she, “hates men snooping and criticizing in her kitchen." (Glaspell) Mrs. Hale's making this statement lets the reader know that she has had men verbally criticize her which can be labeled as verbal abuse. This is all important for the reader to understand because it explains why Mrs. Hale helped hide evidence from the Sheriff. She sympathizes with Mrs.
Mrs. Hale believes that Mrs. Wright kills her husband due to revenge because he kills the one thing that makes her happy and that reminds her of the person she use to be.
Mrs. Peters and Mrs Hale find the bird when they are looking in her sewing room. It had been placed in a pretty red box wrapped in a piece of silk. When they find the bird they notice that the neck of the bird has been rung. Most men would find the bird in the red box simply weird! However, Glaspell’s female characters are more insightful. The bird itself also symbolizes death in many superstitions. According to Audubon California.org, there are thirteen well-known superstitions. Number thirteen states, “A bird that flies into a house foretells an important message. However, if the bird dies, or is white, this foretells death” (Audubon California). The irony of the bird’s broken neck strongly parallels Mr. Wright’s death. Even though Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale continuously try to cover up the birds discovery, it symbolizes a harbinger of death even as Mrs.Peters tries to get it out of the house and out of the way of discovery. As a symbol of the end of the relationship and life, the bird is evidence for Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters that perhaps Mrs. Wright is guilty of strangling her
If the reader pays no mind to his character, they will think that John is merely a staple of the ideal Victorian husband. Although this is true, John’s character is a representation of the practice of paternal benevolence in a marriage. In the first entry of the short story, the narrator brings up instances of John’s irritating reassurances over subtle yet eerie instincts the narrator seems to have. For example, when they first get to the house, the narrator tells John, “...there is something strange about the house — I can feel it” (Gilman 809). John simply tells her it must be a drought and he closes the window. In the next paragraph, the narrator admits that she does get angry at John sometimes and blames her own nervous system. It seems as though John has waxed over all of her situations and instead of blaming John, she blames herself in true Victorian fashion. In this era, women were to believe that there could be nothing wrong with their husbands. The man was superior and the woman was inferior. When John dismisses the narrator’s instincts and problems, he is belittling her like a parent belittles a child’s instincts and problems. This is further supported later on in the story when the narrator gets up to see the wallpaper move. John says, “What is it, little girl? Don’t go walking about like that -- you’ll get cold”(Gilman 814). Later on, when John tells the narrator that she is getting better and she disapproves, he sits
Mrs. Hale has memories of Mrs. Wright and the way she used to be before her marriage to Mr. Wright. She feels ashamed that she did not help Mrs. Wright and says, "I might have known she needed help! I k...
Mrs. Hale remembered the lively, happy girl Minnie was twenty years ago before she married the cold hearted Mr. Wright. She, like Minnie, was also a farmer’s wife and spent her days working hard. However, she had children so she did not suffer the loneliness that Minnie had to endure. Also, she avoided visiting her because Mr. Wright did not welcome visitors. He was the typical abuser who wanted to keep his victim isolated. Because she did not visit Minnie, she felt partially responsible for Minnie murdering her husband. Unlike Mrs. Peterson, she knew Minnie and understood what drove her to the breaking point of murder.
Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles." Plays by Susan Glaspell. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., 1920. Reprinted in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia Eds. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 2004.
Wright was described as a beautiful women filled with such joy and life until she married John Wright. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale feels sorry for her because her husband treated her so bad. Due to female bonding and sympathy, the two women, becoming detectives, finds the truth and hides it from the men. The play shows you that emotions can play a part in your judgement. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale felt sorry that Mrs. Wright had one to keep her company no kids and she was always left alone at home. “yes good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that goes to the bone. I should of think she would have wanted a bird. But what you suppose went with it?” Later on in the play the women find out what happens to the bird. The bird was killed the same way Mrs. Wright husband which leads to the motive of why he was killed. Mrs. Wright was just like the bird beautiful but caged no freedom not being able to live a life of her own. Always stuck in the shadows of her husband being told what to do and