Trifles, Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell, writer of the drama play, Trifles, depicts the sad reality of men belittling women and coming second to men. The play’s title expresses the thought of woman being analytical. The women in the play were the only ones capable of figuring out minute clues and discovering that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. When George Henderson (the county attorney), Henry Peters (the sheriff) with his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. Hale were investigating the crime scene. The men ignored and mocked Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do to the fact they were paying more attention to things that the men thought were meaningless. They could not believe that a woman was capable of crafting such a murder. Even though these women did not know Mrs. Wright on a personal level, they could relate with her. They were able to put themselves in her shoes and understand the background story to solve this mystery. Glaspell conveys how the men disregard the women’s input with the use of a catchy title, the symbolism of the canary, and its cage.

The title of the play, Trifles, describes how the men may not have taken the women very seriously. The women hone in to every little detail at the murder scene and the men ignore what would otherwise be very crucial in solving the case. Mr. Hale further supported, MR.HALE “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles (1228).” In the play it began as the woman slowly following the men into the gloomy kitchen towards the stove and nervously bundling together near the entrance of the door, feeling incompetent to the men. When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter began noticing the clues they were able to conclude the importance of each potential source of evidence in the crime scene. They were able to piece together the clues and were able to understand the steps leading up to Mr. Wright’s murder. Among many great clues they puzzled together, the canary was of great significance. They knew the importance of the canary and how it became the only source of happiness for Mrs. Wright. They realized the similarity of the deaths of both the canary and Mr. Wright and how they traced back to Mrs. Wright. They recognized that Mrs. Wright appreciated and loved the canary’s music and the joy it gave to her. Mr. Wright to killing the canary in such a rage manor, the women realized it was enough of a motive for Mrs. Wright to kill him. The same rage manor he killed the only thing she loved. All along the men were searching for a motive and concentrating on the skillful knot made to break the neck of Mr. Wright. The women were able to successfully bring to an end such a horrific but inspiring tragedy for them. This tragedy helped the woman break out of their shell and do something they thought was not possible for them to be capable of doing.

Furthermore, the canary was the only thing that brought Mrs. Wright joy in life, as her relationship with her husband slowly fell apart. Jon Wright was jealous of her happiness and took pleasure in making her life as miserable as possible, even if it meant taking the innocent life of the canary. Mrs. Hale remembers Mrs. Wright before marrying her husband as being known