Trifles

By
Susan Glaspell
Present by:
Zeety Brenda
Mandek
En’lyss Gimpuhut
Itoh
Criscy Clarissa Aldrin
Jacqueeny James
Laila Syafika
THEMES
 Women and Feminity
Trifles is thought as one of the feminist drama
This themes is screaming to the audience in every page.
The plays show us a time in America where women are
neglected, ignored and generally belittled by men.
All this comes to a head when two women hide evidence
that could convict another housewife of murdering her
husband. Why? Because just like the murderess, they’re
sick of being neglected, ignored and belittled.
 Chew on This:
1. Mrs. Wright’s murder of her husband can be
seen as an act of feminine revolt against
male-dominated society.

2. Mrs. Peter’s journey through the play from

meek housewife to lawbreaking rebel is a
blueprint for female enlightenment.
Justice and Judgement
Trifles flips typical ideas of Justice and Judgement totally
on their head. Typically, when somebody murders another
person, we think they ought to be punished , right? Trifles
says, “Meh, not so much.”
When the super sleuth farmwives of this play decide to
help a murdering woman go free, we’re guessing a good
part of the audience roots for them to succeed. Showing a
world where law is created entirely by men, this play dares
to ask the question of whether women should be expected
to follow rules they weren’t allowed to help create.
 Chew on This:
If people followed the philosophy of this play, society
would completely fall apart. No matter how bad we feel
for Mrs. Wright the law has to be the law.
The take on Justice and Judgement in Trifles is very
similar to one of the found in Antigone by Sophocles.
In both plays, females commit acts that seems
emotionally just but break the laws of male dominated
society.
Isolation
The one weird thing that bring us all together is
the fact that we know what it’s like to be alone.
This one act play really packs a wallop as it and
paints a heart-breaking picture of one woman’s
lonely life in an isolated farmhouse. The theme
is bigger than one woman’s story, though. The
play also makes thinks of the isolation of all
women-from their families, from other women,
and from society as whole.
Chew on This:
It’s ironic that the thing that connects
Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to Mrs. Wright is
their understanding of what it means to
feel alone.

The play isn’t just about Mrs. Wright

isolation or even all women’s isolation; it’s
about the isolation of all human beings.
Men and Masculinity
Menfolk don’t come off looking so great in
this feminist classic. The nicer men in Trifles
are blatantly sexist against women, while the
meaner men are blatantly sexist and also kill
small animals
Trifles is an honest expression of the
frustration and shimmering rage that was
building among American women not long
after the 20th century dawned.
Chew on This:
The male characters in Trifles
represent the opinions and
behaviours of the male-dominated
society that existed when the play
was written.
Violence
Trifles is a murder mystery. In this play,
the violent murderer is the housewife
whose husband is dead by a rope around
his neck, at the upper floor of their home.
Chew on This:
The act of violent of killing the bird symbolizes
the emotional and political violence done to
women in the world of the play.

The murder of Mr. Wright is an act of violent

rebellion, but that doesn’t mean that violence
isn’t always wrong.
Thank you!