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In the story, "Trifles", a man named John Wright was supposedly murdered. The characters made some inferences that could possibly lead to Mrs. Wright murdering her husband. The facts stated that Mr. Wright was found to be hung by a rope tied around his neck. My inferences state that at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Wright too relaxed at the idea of her husband being dead. Mrs. Wright was laughing and was rocking back in her chair, turning herself away from Mr. Hale. If someone's husband was dead unexpectedly, a loving wife would more than likely be upset about it and would like to be involved with the investigation. Another inference of mine is that she wasn't active in the rest of the story to try to even help anyone try to discover who
The short one-act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, was years ahead of its time. Its time was 1916 but the subject matter is timeless. The aspect of this play that most caught my interest was the contrast between the men and women characters. This is a play written in the early 1900s but transcends time periods and cultures. This play has many strengths and few weaknesses, but helps to provide a very accurate portrait of early American women and the issues they dealt with in everyday comings and goings.
The unfortunate death of John Wright was a mystery to all. A team of individuals consisting of the sheriff, county attorney, Mr. Hale, and Mrs. Peters were on a mission to find the purpose of the murderer. At this point, Mrs. Wright is the primary suspect. Mrs. Hale was asked to join the party in order to give Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife, some companionship. In the story, Mrs. Hale leaves cues of guilty feelings. As an example, the narrator states, Martha Hale had a moment of feeling that she could not cross that threshold. The reason being given that she had been too busy to come by but now she could come (Glaspell 2). Another instance to be noted is a conversation between her and the young attorney. During this conversation, he asked if they were friends since they were neighbors. Her answer was sympathetic, I’ve seen little enough of her late years. I ve not been it this house-it s been morethan a year. Then she goes on to explain, I liked her well enough. Farmers wives have their hands full, it never seemed a very cheerful place (Glaspell 6). At this point, Mrs. Hale s empathy toward Mrs. Wright is apparent.
Minnie Foster was once described as the belle of the ball. To look at her tonight for the first time you could see why. She carried herself with both an air of confidence and modesty at the same time. Her small eyes dominated her face. They did not look directly at you anymore though. Still, they seemed all knowing and experienced as if they were able to see and know secrets about you that you wish no one knew. Her slender peaked nose was no match for the full lips she had, lips that never uttered a sound and which have become as pale as her knuckles. Her lips were pierced shut protecting the thoughts in her head from falling out one by one to the hard flooring.
The Sheriff, Attorney, and neighbour Mr. Hale look for evidence while the women Mrs. Peters and Hale are left to their own devices in the kitchen. Condescendingly, the men mock the women’s concerns over Mrs. Wright’s stored preserves, its stated: “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.” (Hale, act 1) It’s inferred that women- who care only of trifles, something of little or no importance, must be trifles themselves. Ironically, these said trifles: the quilt, preserves, a little bird- which will be discussed later, are what solves this mystery. A major concern expressed by all the characters is motive; why would Mrs. Wright kill her husband? While discussing the marriage and disposition of the victim, its stated: “Yes--good; 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. (Shivers.) Like a raw wind that gets to the bone.” (Mrs. Hale, act 1) Abuses, which have been hinted at all throughout the play are finally spoken of in these lines. Audiences find, that Mrs. Wright- “real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid” - would murder her
Wright seems to have suddenly had a psychotic break. She has very strange behavior and is not apparently normal for her. There is incredibly important dialogue between Mr. Hale and Mrs. Wright that show that she’s acting out of character. “I said, ‘How do you do Mrs. Wright, its cold, ain’t it?’ and she said, ‘Is it?’ – and went on kind of pleating at her apron. Well, I was surprised; she didn’t ask me to come up to the stove, or to set down, but just sat there, not even looking at me, so i said, ‘I want to see John.’ And then she – laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh. I thought of harry and the team outside, so I said a little sharp: ‘Can’t I see John?’ No’, she says kind o’ dull like. ‘Ain’t he home?’ says I ‘Yes,’ says she, ‘he’s home.’ ‘Then why can’t I see him?’ I asked her, out of patience. ‘Cause he’s dead,’ says she.” (Glaspell 852). The interesting thing about Mrs. Wright’s conversation with Mr. Hale is that she doesn’t necessarily try to cover up the fact that John is dead. She doesn’t say that she’s killed him or anything like that, but she simply states that he’s dead. She even laughs at Mr. Hale’s persistence to see john, which shows that she may have gone somewhat crazy. She doesn’t seem to feel any
Wright had that lead up the murder of her husband were that she was neglected by her husband, isolated from society, and the one thing that did make her happy was killed by her
Mrs. Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, and all the evidence points to her, but if you look in her past the motive is clear. Mrs. Wright was pushed to far and she decided to take matters into her own hands. In the early 1900's women were looked upon as inferior beings, and men were the dominating sex. This is very evident of the women in "Trifles", not just Mrs. Wright but the lawmen's wives. They seem to look over the women's intelligence and fail to notice the evidence the women have found. This plays a big role in Mrs. Wright life also, her husband doesn't care for her or what she likes or believes in. When the attorney and the sheriff enter they make reference to her bad housekeeping skills as if it was expected she keeps a good house. Women back then were supposed to keep house while the men did all the hard work in the fields and around the house. It becomes more and more obvious throughout the story that Mrs. Wright did not want this type of life, and that she wasn't very happy. She was very anti-social because she was so depressed; Mrs. Hale makes the remark, "I think maybe that'...
John Wright the head of the household was considered to be a kind natured man, but his motive was to neglect his wife’s happiness. He paid little to no attention to her and prevented her from singing which was the only thing she had interest in. Mr. Wright might look like a good guy but his intentions were evil when it came to his relationship with his wife. Minnie Wright used to live her life happily by spending time at the local choir singing, but after she married John Wright, her life took a swing and she found herself forlorn.
Did Mrs. Wright commit the murder, or could it have been an unknown person? Mrs. Wright showed no grief after her husband's death. When Hale questions Mrs. Wright about John Wright's death, she does not display extreme emotion. Mrs. Wright tells Hale that John is dead and nods her head while rocking back and forth in her chair. She is not visibly upset about John's death, which can be an indication that she committed the murder. Mrs. Wright later claims that she did not awake when there was a rope placed around John's neck and was strangled. Strangling someone would cause the victim to move around intensely, therefore it would be difficult to remain sleeping. Murder suspects usually attempt to steer away from the subject of the murder. Mrs. Wright behaves as if she does not want to think about the murder. She is worried about her preserves going bad. The sheriff explains, "Well, you can beat the women! Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves" (Glaspell 2). The sheriff states that Mrs. Wright is worrying over a subject that does not relate to the topic at hand. Mrs. Wright possibly could be trying to divert attention from the topic of the murder. Mrs. Wright has several indications against her, suggesting that she
Point of view is the way one or more people see something. Trifles and “A Jury of Her Peers” are two works written by Susan Glaspell. While they’re both written in third person, Trifles is third person objective and “A Jury of Her Peers” takes place in third person limited. These two pieces of text the showcase different perspectives during a murder crime scene.
Wright. Marriage was more dedication and real, than it is now. Getting a divorce in the 21st century is almost more normal than not, it is happening to more and more people sadly. This relates to the play Triffles because it is inferred in the play that she killed her husband when two women Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find a bird. The bird was Minnie’s friend, it resembled her as a person as described by Mrs. Hale, “She-come to think of it, she kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery,” (Glaspell733,T). Minnie Wright and other women in marriages during this time were supposed to appear nice well-mannered women who were supposed to please to their husband. Minnie Wright and her relationship with her husband changed and when her husband harmed her bird, which was the last straw for Minnie Wright. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters two local friends of Minnie’s, find the bird during the investigation, and say]
Susan Gable’s Trifles is focused on discovering the killer of a local farmer in the twentieth century. In this play the amount of irony is abundant and the irony always relates to solving the murder. The two types of irony that are most easily discerned in Trifles are verbal and situational irony. Irony is when an author uses words or a situation to convey the opposite of what they truly mean. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but they mean the other. This can be seen in the way the men dismiss the women. Situational irony is when the setting is the opposite of what one would think it would be for what the play is. This is seen through the setting being in a kitchen and various other aspects of the
Hale finished giving his testimony all the men decided to go upstairs and try to find a motive leaving the two ladies downstairs in the kitchen. Up until this point the two ladies really appeared to be in the background with little purpose. The two ladies began talking to each other and its evident Mrs. Hale will be defending Mrs. Wright. We see this when Ms. Hale ask Mrs. Peters whether or not she thinks Mrs. Wright committed the murder and when Mrs. Peters seems on the fence about it Mrs. Hale says “Well I don’t think she did” (Glaspell, 749). Mrs. Peters even says “But Mrs. Hale, the law is the law” these interactions are showing to the reader how Mrs. Hale doesn’t want Mrs. Wright to be guilty when Mrs. Peters is on the side of the law and feels it needs to be
Trifles, written in the early 1900’s by Susan Glaspell, is a one-act play illustrating how women can overreact to their own emotions, allowing these emotions to cloud their judgment. This is shown by describing the feelings of two women who are willing to defend a suspect, blame the victim, and go so far as to hide evidence, to protect another woman from being charged with murdering her husband. Mrs. Wright is the suspect in the murder of her husband, who was strangled in his sleep, found with the rope still around his neck. The sheriff and an attorney are examining Mrs. Wrights home for evidence. Mr. Henderson, the attorney, speaking of Mrs. Wright says, “Here’s a nice mess, ..Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” (Kirszner & Mandell 1166) Mrs. Hale, the suspects neighbor, defends Mrs. Wright immediately saying, “There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm. Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be.” (1166) She says this even though she hardly knows Mrs. Wright. She admits this when she says, “I’ve not seen much of her of late years. I’ve not been in this house – it’s more than a year.” (1166) Even so, Mrs. Hale feels protective toward Mrs. Wright and defends her. Mr. Peters, the sheriff, and Mr. Henderson, go upstairs to look for a motive. Mrs. Hale is left talking to Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, and they begin to put themselves in the shoes of the suspect.
One woman’s Trifles is another man’s clues. The play Trifles, was written by Susan Glaspell based on the murder of John Hossack, which Susan reported on while working as a news journalist for Des Moines Daily News. Susan Glaspell was an American Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, actress, novelist, journalist, and founder of the Provincetown Players. She has written nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories, and one biography. At 21 she enrolled at Drake University even after the prevailing belief that college make women unfit for marriage. But many don’t know that her work was only published after the death of her husband George Cram Cook. Trifles is an example of a feminist drama. The play shows how male dominance was