Trifles by Susan Glaspell Literary Analysis Essay

In the past women were expected to solely be caretakers and housewives. In spite of this, women were always able to figure out ways to cope and get what they needed. Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, is a play concerning women’s insight into their place in society and their ability to solve problems without men’s help. A man named John Wright was strangled by a rope in his sleep, all while his wife, Minnie Wright was asleep next to him. When the sheriff and county attorney started to investigate, they brought two women to keep Mrs.Wright company. Although being accused of murder, Mrs.Wright was abnormally calm and collected. Throughout the play, we see how the women learn to solve problems without the men. In Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, we watch how the narrator uses a few different functions of settings such as Setting and Character, Setting and Symbolism, and Setting and Theme.  

Marriage not only can have an impact on someone’s life but also on one’s personality. Minnie Wright wasn’t always a closed-off, timid woman. Mrs.Hale says that “ She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing choir. But that-oh, that was thirty years ago”(Glaspell 657). Once Minnie got married to Mr.Wright, she wasn’t seen near as much as before. Mrs. Wright was isolated and closed off. When having no kids and a working husband, home is bound to become a lonely place. Mrs.Hale states that “not having children makes less work, but it makes a quiet house, and Wright out to work all day, and no company when he did come in” (660). When Mrs. Hale says this, it opens our eyes to what kind of life Mrs. Wright was living. Mrs. Hales says that “Mr.Wright was a hard man, Mrs.Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that gets to the bone” (660). Having known what kind of man Mr.Wright was, we can piece together what kind of wife he would have wanted. Minnie Wright had to change herself to become the perfect housewife that Mr.Wright wanted.

Susan Glaspell uses symbolism throughout the play to show what kind of life Mrs. Wright has had after getting married to Mr.Wright. The canary represents Minni Foster, the sweet and cheerful girl who turned into a sad lonely woman.  Mrs.Hale states that “Mrs.Wright liked the bird. She was going to bury it in that pretty box”(661). The bird symbolizes Minnie's need for a companion since she doesn’t have kids and Mr.Wright is always away. She found happiness through having the bird and her husband took her only source of happiness away in a cruel and harsh way. Seeing as her husband killed her bird she decided to kill him the same way. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters spot a broken birdcage while looking around the house. Mrs. Peters is questioning why there is a birdcage but no bird when, “She reaches over and swings the broken door, swings it again, both women watch it” (660). The broken birdcage represents how Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage, and could not escape it. The birdcage door is broken which represents her broken marriage to Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale and Mrs.Peters notice that Mrs.Wright had been making quilts. Mrs. Hale says, “Mrs.Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It’s all over the place! Why it looks as if she didn’t know what she was about” (659)! The uneven stitching represents Mrs.Wright's state of mind. Since she was always home alone she spent most of her time making quilts. Glaspell uses symbolism to help the audience get a better understanding of the characters.

Some themes we saw in the play were male dominance over women and women’s intuition. We see the use of male dominance throughout the play in a variety of ways. The sheriff says that “ Well can you beat the woman! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (656). The county attorney and the sheriff are extremely sexist. They commented that women always worry over non-significant things. They believe that they are superior to women. They are also judgemental. They show that by their small comments when they are looking around the house and seeing it not being tidy and clean.  A woman's intuition is usually correct. Mrs. Hale says, “I could've come. I stayed away because it wasn't cheerful, and that's why I ought to come. I've never liked this place. Maybe because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road”(659). If Mrs.Hale visited Mrs.Wright she might have seen the type of person Mr.Wright was. When Mrs.Peters asked Mrs.Hale what she was doing she said, “ just pulling out a stitch or two that was not sewed very good” (659).  Mrs.Hale rips the stitches out because they could be used as evidence against Mrs.Wright. The women choose not to reveal the evidence they found because they can relate to Mrs.Wright.

“Trifles” deals with the rights of, expectations for, and assumptions about women in society at the time. In an ironic twist, the audience knows that the women have solved the murder mystery while the men remain oblivious of the truth because of their assumptions. The farmhouse is a perfect place to commit a murder, seeing as it is isolated and people don’t visit. The kitchen is not tidy and clean, showing something had to have happened there. Today women are no longer expected to only be caretakers and housewives they can pursue their dream.