The Story of a Murdered Farmer in "Trifles" By Susan Glaspell
A One-Act Play
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Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. Shockingly, that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright.
Playwright Susan Glaspell 's one-act play , written in 1916, is loosely based on true events. As a young reporter, Glaspell covered a murder case in a small town in Iowa . Years later, she crafted a short play, Trifles, inspired by her experiences and observations.
The Meaning of the Name Trifles for This Psychological Play
The play was first performed in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Glaspell herself played the character, Mrs. Hale. Considered an early illustration of feminist drama, the themes of the play focus on men and women and their psychological states along with their social roles. The word trifles typically refer to objects of little to no value. It makes sense in the context of the play due to the items that the female characters come across. The interpretation may also be that men do not understand the value of women, and consider them trifles.
The Plot Summary of a Family Murder-drama
The sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. Hale) enter the kitchen of the Wright household. Mr. Hale explains how he paid a visit to the house on the previous day. Once there, Mrs. Wright greeted him but behaved strangely. She eventually stated in a dull voice that her husband was upstairs, dead. (Though Mrs. Wright is the central figure in the play, she never appears onstage. She is only referred to by the on-stage characters.)
The audience learns of John Wright’s murder through Mr. Hale’s exposition. He is the first, aside from Mrs. Wright, to discover the body. Mrs. Wright claimed that she was sound asleep while someone strangled her husband. It seems obvious to the male characters that she killed her husband, and she is been taken into custody as the prime suspect.
The Continued Mystery With Added Feminist Critique
The attorney and sheriff decide that there is nothing important in the room: “Nothing here but kitchen things.” This line is the first of many disparaging comments said to minimize the importance of women in society, as noticed by several Feminist critics . The men criticize Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping skills, irking Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters.
The men exit, heading upstairs to investigate the crime scene. The women remain in the kitchen. Chatting to pass the time, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice vital details that the men would not care about:
- Ruined fruit preserves
- Bread that has been left out of its box
- An unfinished quilt
- A half clean, half messy table top
- An empty birdcage
Unlike the men, who are looking for forensic evidence to solve the crime, the women in Susan Glaspell's Trifles observe clues that reveal the bleakness of Mrs. Wright’s emotional life. They theorize that Mr. Wright’s cold, oppressive nature must have been dreary to live with. Mrs. Hale comments about Mrs. Wright being childless: “Not having children makes less work—but it makes a quiet house.” The women are simply trying to pass the awkward moments with civil conversation. But to the audience, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unveil a psychological profile of a desperate housewife.
The Symbol of Freedom and Happiness in the Story
When gathering up the quilting material, the two women discover a fancy little box. Inside, wrapped in silk, is a dead canary. Its neck has been wrung. The implication is that Minnie’s husband did not like the canary's beautiful song (a symbol of his wife’s desire for freedom and happiness). So, Mr. Wright busted the cage door and strangled the bird.
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not tell the men about their discovery. Instead, Mrs. Hale puts the box with the deceased bird into her coat pocket, resolving not to tell the men about this little “trifle” they have uncovered.
The play ends with the characters exiting the kitchen and the women announcing that they have determined Mrs. Wright’s quilt making style. She “knots it” instead of “quilts it”—a play on words denoting the way in which she killed her husband.
The Theme of the Play Is That Men Do Not Appreciate Women
The men within this play betray a sense of self-importance. They present themselves as tough, serious-minded detectives when in truth, they are not nearly as observant as the female characters. Their pompous attitude causes the women to feel defensive and form ranks. Not only do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters bond, but they also choose to hide evidence as an act of compassion for Mrs. Wright. Stealing the box with the dead bird is an act of loyalty to their gender and an act of defiance against a callous patriarchal society.
Key Character Roles in the Play Trifles
- Mrs. Hale: She had not visited the Wright household for over a year because of its bleak, cheerless atmosphere. She believes that Mr. Wright is responsible for crushing the merriment out of Mrs. Wright. Now, Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not visiting more often. She believes she could have improved Mrs. Wright’s outlook on life.
- Mrs. Peter: She has tagged along to bring back clothes for the imprisoned Mrs. Wright. She can relate to the suspect because they both know about “stillness.” Mrs. Peters reveals that her first child died at the age of two. Because of this tragic experience, Mrs. Peters understands what it is like to lose a loved one (in Mrs. Wright’s case—her songbird).
- Mrs. Wright: Before she was married to John Wright, she was Minnie Foster, and she was more cheerful in her youth. Her clothes were more colorful, and she loved to sing. Those attributes diminished after her wedding day. Mrs. Hale describes Mrs. Wright’s personality:
"She was kind of like a bird herself–real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. How—she—did—change."
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Susan Glaspell
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Susan glaspell, trifles.
This video presents context for Glaspell and the background of Trifles, and discusses symbols and themes in the play. There are discussion questions at the end, which can help you delve more deeply into understanding and analyzing the play.
This video offers an interpretation of the play’s symbols, setting, and themes.
The following video is a production of the play by the Edge Ensemble Theater Company, if you’d like to see a performance.
- Susan Glaspell, Trifles. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : American Literature 1865-Present Resources. License : CC BY: Attribution
- video Trifles lecture. Authored by : LSCCDanielle. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5FsUJDDrUs . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
- video Trifles Notes. Authored by : Gail Bell. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcti3sbKE6g . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
- video Trifles by Susan Glaspell, performed by the Edge Ensemble Theater Company. Provided by : Edge Ensemble. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhpO0Uq5Jug . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
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Learn about the true story behind Trifles, a play by Susan Glaspell based on a murder case she covered as a journalist. This Quizlet flashcard set will help you test your knowledge of the facts and opinions presented in Glaspell's newspaper articles and the book Midnight Assassin. You will also review the genre, style, and sources of Trifles.
Unit 1 - The true story about triffles. 10 terms. Rosa_Ayala6. Preview. PRAXIS 5038 study.com lesson 31 flashcards. 137 terms. Mabutler10. Preview. 2023 The Giver vocab. chapters 1-6.
Just to pass the time of day with him — (shivers) Like a raw wind that gets to the bone. —Trifles, Susan Glaspell. The murdered man was wealthy and influential and had no enemy in the county so far as known though he had often quarreled with his wife over the alleged waywardness of his youngest son, her favorite.
The Story of a Murdered Farmer in "Trifles" By Susan Glaspell. A One-Act Play. Farmer John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night, someone strung a rope around his neck. Shockingly, that someone might have been his wife, the quiet and forlorn Minnie Wright. Playwright Susan Glaspell 's one-act play, written in ...
In the 1970s, Glaspell's work was rediscovered and embraced by feminist critics, and, since then, her work has grown greatly in popularity and is included in numerous anthologies of American literature. The best study guide to Trifles on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
Overview. Trifles, Susan Glaspell's one-act play about a woman arrested for the murder of her husband, was first performed by the Provincetown Players in 1916. Written during the First-Wave Feminist movement, the play explores the dangers of restrictive gender roles and the fundamental injustices of a patriarchal society. The play was ...
The wives of two of the men, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, both of whom appear disturbed and fearful, follow the men inside. The play establishes its themes in its opening moments. The play examines the relationships between husbands and wives, particularly a marriage that ended in murder. The setting, a messy kitchen, reflects this.
The men think the women are focused on trifles, which makes them blind to what women actually know, think, and feel. The women are engaged in an all-out effort to undermine the men and the law the men seek to uphold. The women distrust the men while the men believe that the women are themselves dishonest and deceitful. Previous.
Analysis. Trifles is a play about the fundamental injustice of a patriarchal society in which men have all the power. At first, the focus of the play seems simple enough. A pair of lawmen and a witness arrive at a murder scene to seek out evidence that might point to a motive. But for reasons that are not entirely clear, they have asked their ...
Summary. The play takes place in the farmhouse of John and Minnie Wright on the day after John Wright is found strangled in his bed. Minnie Wright has been arrested and taken into custody, so the house has been empty for a day. The Sheriff, Henry Peters, and the County Attorney, George Henderson, have just arrived at the house to investigate ...
The True Story behind Trifles Primary Source Documents Primary source documents are original materials that can be used for analysis of a historical time period. Relevant primary sources for Trifles include: • Glaspell's original newspaper articles. • legal documents. Instruction Part 1 Secondary Source Documents
Although uncertain if Minnie had a bird, Mrs. Hale recalls Minnie's beautiful singing. The women ponder the fate of the bird that used to be in the cage. Mrs. Hale wonders if a cat caught it, but Mrs. Peters knows Minnie dislikes cats and didn't have one. The women note that the cage is broken, its door forcefully torn apart.
Susan Glaspell, Trifles. This video presents context for Glaspell and the background of Trifles, and discusses symbols and themes in the play. There are discussion questions at the end, which can help you delve more deeply into understanding and analyzing the play. This video offers an interpretation of the play's symbols, setting, and themes.
Expert Answers. In Trifles, the exposition or backstory emerges when the county attorney has Mr. Hale recount the horrific events of the day before. Hale found Mr. Wright dead in his bedroom. We ...
The True Story behind Trifles Primary Source Documents Primary source documents are materials that can be used for analysis of a time period. Relevant primary sources for Trifles include: • Glaspell's original articles. • documents. Instruction Part 1 Secondary Source Documents Secondary source documents are that interpret and analyze ...
Quick answer: Susan Glaspell's Trifles shows women being treated as children in the 1900s. Mrs. Wright had an abusive husband, while the husbands of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are condescending and ...
Expert Answers. In Susan Glaspell 's play Trifles , several neighbors enter the Wrights' farmhouse to investigate the murder of John Wright, and Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters end up discovering ...
Irony in Trifles. Susan Glaspell's Trifles brings attention to the political and social differences between men and women in the early 1900s.Trifles may seem like a simple story, but it is rich with symbolism and nuances of gender differences, giving a glimpse of the insignificance of women in a man's world.Trifles is a one-act play with themes of irony, gender differences, and oppression ...
Expert Answers. In the short play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, the climax is when Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale find Mrs. Wright's dead bird in a fancy box. Meanwhile, the men are outside trying to find ...