Susan Glaspell's Trifles

1235 Words3 Pages

A look into Trifles Trifles, a play first published back in 1916 was written by, Susan Glaspell. The play unravels itself through the simplest of clues. Through the simple factors involved in this play, one is able to obtain the true meaning that Glaspell is trying to demonstrate. In the case of Mrs. Wright she had deep inner feelings that may have caused her to take a drastic course of action when it came to her spouse. An audience is able to learn the value of the individual, and how there can always be a deep motive behind an action. The play begins with Mr. Hale telling the sheriff he would like to see John Wright about joining in on party telephone. He mentions to the sheriff about how when he first entered the Wright home, he noticed …show more content…

Hale and Mrs. Peters. Their main objective throughout the play is to protect Mrs. Wright, because it may be a possibility she caused John Wrights death. Both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are essential characters to the play. As for the antagonists of the play, they are, the sheriff, Mr. Hale, and the county attorney. They are the antagonists because of the fact that they are desperately trying to find clues that prove Mrs. Wright is guilty, and have the women closed off from any details in particular. The character most developed would have to be Mrs. Hale. She is the wife of Mr. Hale, the man who first finds out about John Wright’s tragic death; Mrs. Hale first finds clues of the murder with the sheriff’s wife, which the men are too oblivious to notice. Mrs. Hale becomes a good source for the audience because she not only points out the clues in the kitchen, but clues from Mrs. Wright’s past, which give a possible motive for her to end her husband’s life. Mrs. Hale is an important character because she is the one to find the dead bird, and hides that clue from the men alongside of Mrs. …show more content…

For example, the diction of the play appears to be relatable to the countryside, as lines such as, “ My sister Bessie was like that. Queer, ain’t it?” are stated (Glaspell 1131). Along with the diction being used to reveal more details, the symbols throughout the play also aid in knowing more about trifles. Some symbols that exist are, the bird, rope, stove, and even the cold house itself. The cold house may represent her mental state, as she was acting strange when Mr. Hale first had seen her. Some of these symbols are also clues that are noticed by the women, making for a strong representation that little details do in fact

Divisions in Rayson's Inheritance
1164 Words | 3 Pages
The characters address the audience; the fast movement from scene to scene juxtaposing past and present and prevents us from identifying with particular characters, forcing us to assess their points of view; there are few characters who fail to repel us, as they display truly human complexity and fallibility. That fallibility is usually associated with greed and a ruthless disregard for the needs of others. Emotional needs are rarely acknowledged by those most concerned with taking what they maintain is theirs, and this confusion of feeling and finance contributes to the play's ultimate bleak mood.
Read More
Pathos In Trifles
740 Words | 2 Pages
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.
Read More
Minnie Wright Argumentative Essay
511 Words | 2 Pages
Hale and Mrs. Peters are quick to aid the defense of Mrs. Wright. Specifically, when the County Attorney is talking about how badly she keeps her home. “Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies,” in which Mrs. Hale retourts “There's a great deal of work to be done on a farm.” Later on when the men are off looking for evidence, that is when the ladies discover the bird with the ringed neck. Glaspell (1916) writes “But, Mrs. Peters — look at it! It's neck! Look at its neck! It's all — other side to. Somebody — wrung — its — neck.” The ladies then discuss who they think may have done it. Mrs. Hale is quick to blame Mr. Wright, identifying him as the the person who wrung the birds neck: “No, Wright wouldn't like the bird — a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too,” and when Mrs. Peters says they do not know who killed the bird, Mrs. Hale replies “I knew John Wright.” In the end the county Attorney asks them what they collected for her, and they end up hiding the bird from the Sheriff and attorney. They most likely realized that the bird would provide a motive into the killing of John, something they desperately need if they will convict
Read More
Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers
991 Words | 2 Pages
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.
Read More
Susan Glaspell's Trifles
1167 Words | 3 Pages
At the start of the play, all of the characters enter the abandoned farmhouse of John Wright, who was recently hanged by an unknown killer. The Sheriff and County Attorney start scanning the house for clues as to who killed Mr. Wright, but make a major error when they search the kitchen poorly, claiming that there is nothing there ?but kitchen things.? This illustrates the men?s incorrect belief that a kitchen is a place of trivial matters, a place where nothing of any importance may be found. Mrs. Peters then notices that Mrs. Wright?s fruit froze in the cold weather, and the men mock her and reveal their stereotype of females by saying ?women are used to worrying over trifles.? The men then venture to the upstairs of the house to look for clues, while the women remain downstairs in the kitchen where they discuss the frozen fruit and the Wrights. Mrs. Hale explains that Mrs. Wright, whose maiden name was Minnie Foster, used to be a lively woman who sang in the choir. She suggests that the reason Mrs. Wright stopped being cheerful and active because of her irritable husband.
Read More
Susan Glaspell's Trifles - The Loyalty of Mrs. Hale
787 Words | 2 Pages
Another symbolic part of the play is when the men overhear the women talking about Mrs. Wright’s quilt, wondering if she was going to quilt it or knot it, and they laugh at them. Mrs. Hale is immediately offended by the way they laughed at them where Mrs. Peters is apologizing for them because "they have a lot on their minds".
Read More
Trifles By Susan Glaspell Literary Analysis
537 Words | 2 Pages
In fact, when Mrs. Hale comments that Mrs. Wright was not one for housekeeping, Mrs. Peters replies by saying “Well, I don’t know as Wright had either.” (748). The disheveled state that the house is in, as well as the fact that Mr. Wright is characterized as a hard man who is unwilling to share his part expresses the idea that their marriage was unhappy, and in turn, Mrs. Wright could have motive to harm him. Likewise, when the men leave the women to find clothes for Mrs. Wright, the two discover more possible evidence that the men will shrug off. For example, Mrs. Hale examines some quilt work that Mrs. Wright was working on, and notices that the most recent square is very sloppy compared to the rest of the work on the quilt. Moreover, the fact that they believe she crafted it by knotting is very significant (750). This correlation times closely with Mr. Wright’s time of death, and could indicate as a stressor, which the women can pick up on. Since the men laugh at their seemingly trivial observation, they are close to solving the crime on their
Read More
Analysis of Gail Godwin's A Sorrowful Woman
565 Words | 2 Pages
Her withdrawal from the world is also presented in this passage. She chooses to move into the white room, now no longer decorated by the previous inhabitant. White can be a very cold, sterile color, and it serves to illustrate her lack of attachment to the room or to her own home.
Read More
A Jury Of Her Peers And Trifles Comparison
869 Words | 2 Pages
Hale states “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles” (561). The same trifles he states women are worried over, are the trifles that if men paid attention to they would have plenty of evidence against Minnie Wright. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter basically decided the fate of Minnie. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Glaspell shows how there is criticism of a legal system that denied women the change of a fair trial by an all-man jury. They found evidence that the men could not find and decided “not to turn it in. All of this held a significant role in the story, but they are the ones that solved the case. In the play the sheriff mocks Mrs. Hale “They Wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it” (563). He also said something in “A Jury of Her Peers” on page 575 line 159. There are not many changes between the play and the short story. Most of the changes happen in the opening of the story when it is more detailed, as to where the play is all about action. If you are watching the play it is much better than the story because you can see all the action and
Read More
Hale In the Crucible Conforms Outwardly and Questions Inwardly
1018 Words | 3 Pages
Hale’s radical change takes place throughout the play in three stages and throughout the play contributes greatly. He is the model by which the townspeople follow, though they are behind him they do eventually take his stance on the trials. His conformity and inward questioning are quintessential examples of what every story needs: the unsure character.
Read More
Justice In Susan Glaspell's Trifles
972 Words | 2 Pages
In the play Trifles, Susan Glaspell brings together three women through a crime investigation in the late nineteenth century. Glaspell uses symbolism, contrast of sexes, and well-constructed characters to show that justice for all is equally important to finding the truth. Perhaps the most prevalent literary device in the Trifles is the rich symbolism. Each of the women in the play are equally important, but come together to become more powerful. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters directly bond, while Mrs. Wright indirectly contributes from jail by leaving them small clues.
Read More
Trifles Research Paper
586 Words | 2 Pages
In “Trifles”, the main theme is revenge. Readers are able to see revenge throughout the entire play. The play would not be the same without revenge. However, revenge is not the only theme, readers can also see many other themes during the play. Revenge was the reason why Mrs. Wright killed her husband.
Read More
Literary Analysis Of Setting In Susan Glaspell's Trifles
1284 Words | 3 Pages
Trifles is based on a murder in 1916 that Susan Glaspell covered while she was a journalist with the Des Moines Daily News after she graduated from college. At the end of the nineteenth century, the world of literature saw a large increase of female writers. Judith Fetterley believed that there was an extremely diverse and intriguing body of prose literature used during the nineteenth century by American women. The main idea of this type of literature was women and their lives. The reason all of the literature written by women at this time seems so depressing is due to the fact that they had a tendency to incorporate ideas from their own lives into their works. Glaspell's Trifles lives up to this form of literature, especially since it is based on an actual murder she covered. This play is another look at the murder trial through a woman's point of view.
Read More
Gender Inequality By Susan Glaspell Gender Roles
1111 Words | 3 Pages
A County Attorney, Mr. Henderson, enters with the Sheriff, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale. Following behind them are the protagonists, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale who “Come [came] in slowly, and stand [stood] close together near the door” (Glaspell, Opening Scene). Already, gender conflicts are being depicted when the women kept their distance from the men, the antagonists of the play. The play takes place in the 1800s, and the physical setting of the play is utilized to portray the rebellion of women on men. For example, after underestimating women’s cleanness, the County Attorney is scorned by Mrs. Hale who said, “...towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be” (Lines 109-110). Usually, women are quiet and respect the men’s opinions, but in this case, Mrs. Hale is fighting back. Falling into the rising action, Mr. Henderson command the women to “keep an eye out [in the kitchen] for anything that be of use to us” while they examine the bedroom upstairs (Line 133).. Therefore, the setting of the play, the kitchen, is use to shape the conflict rising among the two genders, while at the same time, the men’s arrogance lead to the actual
Read More
Critical Analysis Of Trifles
745 Words | 2 Pages
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
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Susan Glaspell's Trifles

Divisions in Rayson's Inheritance

Pathos In Trifles

Minnie Wright Argumentative Essay

Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers