Trifles

Susan Glaspell
ESSAY 1

I. Answer the following questions in about 300 words:

1. ‘Trifles’ questions the existing notions of law and justice by foregrounding female identity
and perspective. Comment.
‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell is a feminist play. It presents a beautiful picture of the world
of domesticated women in a patriarchal society. The play questions existing law and justice by
foregrounding female identity and perspective.
The play begins in the now-abandoned farm house of John and Minnie Wright. At the
instance of Mr. Henderson, the county attorney, Mr. Hale, a neighbouring farmer, recounts his
visit to the house the previous day. He found Mrs. Wright behaving strangely. The husband lay
dead upstairs, with a rope around his neck. Mr. Hale says that when he questioned her, Mrs.
Wright claimed that she was asleep when someone strangled her husband.
While the three men are searching the house for evidence, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters,
the Sheriff’s wife, do it on their own. The women discover clues to the couple's personalities
as well as evidence in the case. They realize that Mr. Wright killed his wife's pet bird, and that
led to Mrs. Wright killing her husband.
The men find no evidence upstairs that would prove Mrs. Wright guilty. However, the
wives understand that Mrs. Wright was a victim of abuse by her husband. After the women
discover the truth, they hide the dead bird. They know that it would otherwise be used to make
the case against Mrs. Wright. They stand by the side of Mrs. Wright and justify the murder.
As a feminist play, ‘Trifles’ presents women displaying brilliant skills of observation
and deduction. It highlights female identity and perspective and questions the current law and
justice.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS

II. Answer the following questions in a paragraph:

2. Write a short note on Mrs. Wright's response towards Mr. Hale, when he came to meet Mr.
John?
Mr. Hale went to meet Mr. John. Then he found Mrs. Wright sitting in a rocking chair
swinging, and pleating her apron. She appeared nervous and did not greet him. When Mr. Hale
asked about Mr. John, she said Mr. Hale would not be able to meet him because he was dead.
She pointed upstairs to hint that the body was upstairs. Her reactions were not normal. When
she understood that Mr. Hale had gone, she stood up and shifted herself to another chair. When
Mr. Hale tried to speak to her, she looked scared.

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3. How is patriarchal dominance reflected in Henderson's opinion of Mrs. Wright's kitchen?
Henderson is a county attorney who probes the death of Mr. John Wright. Along with
Henry Peters, the sheriff, he goes upstairs to investigate the case. He says Mrs. Wright's kitchen
is a mess. He blames the dirty towels in the kitchen. He calls her a bad house-keeper. It is a
patriarchal line for men to blame women for everything as if man has no role in keeping the
home in order. When Mrs. Hale tries to defend Mrs. Wright, Henderson says that she is trying
to be loyal to her sex.

4. Do you think that what Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have done in the name of justice was
right? Why?
Mrs. Hale is the wife of a neighbouring farmer and Mrs. Peters is the wife of Henry
Peters, the sheriff, investigating the death of Mr. Wright. They would have helped the law to
bring a crime to light. Mrs. peters should have assisted her husband in this case. However, both
of them favoured Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Peters puts the box, which is clear evidence, into her coat
pocket to hide it from the eyes of her husband as well as Mr. Henderson, the Attorney. The
deeds of the two ladies are wrong.

5. "It's all just a different kind of the same thing." — How does Glaspell present female
experiences in the play?
‘Trifles’ talks about the domesticated womanhood in a patriarchal society. Minnie
Foster is a good lady by birth and nurture. Unfortunately, she was married to John Wright, a
male chauvinist. Minnie had a pet canary. But John Wright didn't like the bird; so, he killed her
pet. In revenge, Mrs. Wright killed him strangling him by neck with a rope. The play talks
about the male attitude towards women. Looking down upon the womenfolk as trifle is
common in society. It’s all just a different kind of the same thing.

6. Explain the significance of the title, ‘Trifles’.

The title, ‘Trifles’ is very significant. The "trifles" that the men laugh at are important keys to solving
the crime. Ironically, they are not trifles at all. Those “trifles” would have led them to solve the crime
had they paid attention to them. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know what a woman's life is like. Thus, they
are able to reconstruct how and why Mrs. Wright killed her husband. The title points to a main theme
of the play: that men are blinded by their own arrogance when they refuse to take the details of women's
lives seriously.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

III. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two:

7. What was Mrs. Wright doing when Mr. Hale entered their house?
She was swinging in a rocking chair. She had in her hand her apron, which she was
pleating.

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8. What does Mr. Hale mean by "queer"?
By the word "queer", Mr. Hale was intending the attitude of Mrs. Wright when he
visited him. He found her behaving strangely (“queer”).

9. What was Mrs. Wright's response when Mr. Hale wanted to see John?
Mrs. Wright told Mr. Hale that he could not see John because he was dead. Then she
pointed upstairs.

10. What did Mrs. Wright do when she knew that Mr. Hale had gone for the coroner?
She stood up from the rocking chair and moved on to another nearby chair. She sat
there looking down, head lowered and palms twisted together.

11. Why did Mrs. Hale put her hand on her nose while opening the fancy box?
When she opened the box, she noticed something in it wrapped in a silk clothing. When
she opened it, she came to know that it was Mrs. Wright's pet canary. Someone had strangled
its neck and killed the bird.

12. Who is Minnie Foster? How did Mrs. Hale remember her?
Minnie Foster was Mrs. Wright's maiden name. Before marriage, she was a beautiful
and good-natured woman, nice and full of vigour. She used to sing in a melodious voice in the
church choir wearing beautiful clothes.

13. Explain how Mrs. Peters managed the box before the return of Peters and Henderson?
Mrs. Peters realized that this dead bird was going to be a pointer in the murder. She
knew that it might cause harm to the poor lady Mrs. Wright. So, she tried to hide it in her purse
first; as it did not fit in, she put the box in her coat pocket.

14. What is the implication of the dead canary in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket?
It indicates that John Wright had wrung the canary's neck to death. As the canary was
her sole companion, she took revenge by killing her husband with a rope round his neck.

15. Does Henderson's belief "a sheriff's wife is married to the law" help him in his
investigation?
No, it does not. Mrs. Peters understands that Mrs. Wright was a victim of abuse by her
husband. So, she hides the dead bird. She knows that it would be used against Mrs. Wright.
She allies herself with Mrs. Wright and justifies the murder.

16. Why did Mrs. Hale feel sorry for Mrs. Wright?
Mr. Wright was not an ideal husband for Mrs. Wright. Her life with him was a hell.
Before marriage, she was always pleasant and smiling. She should have had a life-partner better
than Mr. John Wright.

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ESSAY 2

17. How does Glaspell criticise the essentialist patriarchal notions meant to demean women?
Explain.
In the play, ‘Trifles’ the men folk look down on women. The women’s works are
belittled and trivialize. Mr. Hale says: "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles". He
forgets that it is these “trifles” that give the clues for important findings in the story.
George Henderson, the Attorney and Henry Peters, the Sheriff are investigating the
murder of John Wright. There are many evidences in the house that lead the investigators to
the murder. The rocking chair, the bird cage, the quilt, the pretty box with the dead bird in it,
and the piece of silk are solid pieces of evidence. But the high-headed patriarchal men never
heed any of these and treat them all as trifles. But the ladies know their value.
Not concentrating on the real investigation, Henderson and team find time to criticize
and belittle the women. They criticize Mrs. Wright's incapacity to be a good house-keeper.
Henderson displays the patriarchal tendency to blame a woman for not keeping the house tidy,
as if man has no role in it. He finds fault with the dirty towels and blames her wrong home-
making instincts.
Trivializing and demeaning the work of women is common in our society. The play
should be read with an idea of time when women were treated inferior to men naturally,
intellectually and morally.

Prepared by:
Prof. Murukan Babu C.R.,
Principal, Nirmala College of Arts and Science, Chalakudy,
(formerly) Associate Professor of English, Panampilly Memorial Govt. College, Chalakudy

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