"Trifles" By Susan Glaspell

            Susan Glaspell’s one-act play, Trifles, was definitely an interesting play to read.  First and foremost, a trifle is something of very little value or importance.  In this play, a trifle can be defined as a minor outcome which could easily be overlooked.  In the beginning of the play, we discover that John Wright has been murdered.  Throughout the play, the sheriff, his wife, the county attorney, and the neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hale, try to solve the case of his murder.  They start the investigation knowing someone strung a rope around Mr. Wright’s neck while he was sleeping in the middle of the night.  There obviously is a sexism issue as the women and men go their separate ways to investigate the house for clues to get to the bottom of the crime.  It is ironic that the play was written in 1916, a time when women were not exactly what one would call “free.”

            Susan Glaspell portrays different aspects of feminine awareness throughout the poem.  In 1916, women did not have much freedom.  They did not have the right to vote, nor were they allowed to sit on juries.  They were basically living in a male- centered culture.  Their role was to stay at home and take care of the domestic duties.  Men did not realize that these responsibilities are a constant state of hard work.  The best housekeepers were the ones who could do their work and not show any amount of stress whatsoever.  Men saw these stay at home women as them being on a permanent vacation.  In men’s eyes, women were not capable of doing the “hard” work like they do to provide for the family.  Glaspell wrote this poem to show that women should be acknowledged for the work that they accomplish, even if it is staying at home to take care of the children, preparing meals, or keeping the house tidy.  In the poem, the women do not really get to take part in this investigation.  They are basically seen as “children” to men and they treat them like inferiors.   

            Mrs. Wright did not have any children, but she had to do all the housework herself.  Living on a farm had to have been a lot of work.  Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters feel bad for Mrs. Wright because they say she did not have enough time to prepare for company.  The women feel a sense of loyalty to Mrs. Wright and actually understand her.  Unlike the women, the men really look down their nose at her.  The men’s views are not apathetic toward the women’s views whatsoever.  The women notice important details like the ruined fruit preserves, bread that has been left out of its box, an unfinished quilt, a messy table top, and an empty birdcage.  The men look for forensic evidence to solve the crime while the women observe the clues that men typically would overlook.  However, the men and women do feel the same about one thing, and it is that they are in a cold household owned by a woman who is just unhappy.

            Glaspell illustrates the psychological reasons for a woman’s murder of her overbearing husband exposed through the conversation of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Wright, who actually understand her act of rage.  Home and family are of great importance in a woman’s life.  The women in this poem appreciate the stillness of Mrs. Wright’s childless existence.  The women believe that the cold atmosphere of the farmhouse, and the way Mr. Wright acted toward Mrs. Wright led to her brutal revenge.