Glaspell develops her feminist theme through plot, setting, and character development while also deviating from the traditional set-up of a detective story. For instance, while in most detective stories the plot revolves around trying to find and bring the criminal to justice Glaspell introduces Mrs. Wright in such a way that the audience and most of the characters suspect her to be the murderer of her husband, John Wright. The play’s plot then revolves around the search for evidence and a motive to convict Mrs. Wright for the crime. However, despite the women’s discovery of such evidence they deliberately conceal it, ultimately, undermining the men’s quest for justice and possibly allowing Mrs. Wright to go unpunished. This too deviates from …show more content…
While Glaspell often uses the phrase “the law” when referring to the justice system and the law of the land she also uses the phrase as a reference to the male-dominated society in which the characters live. This is most evident during Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale’s conversation where Mrs. Peters says “the law has got to punish the crime,” while Mrs. Hale turns the conversation to her neglecting to visit Mrs. Wright and calling her actions a “crime” since she could have been a support for Mrs. Wright (374-375, 379). This is also seen when the attorney says Mrs. Peters “is married to the law” and while he is referring to her relation to the sheriff, a man who enforces the law and represents justice to the community, this line could also be read as a reference to Mrs. Peters acceptance of her position in society (409). Throughout the drama Mrs. Peters practically defends the men’s demeaning remarks and actions, and hardly speaks out to the men unlike Mrs. Hale who openly defends Mrs. Wright’s not having her house perfectly clean. The term “trifles” is also first used in its literal sense, referring to the women’s concerns as being small and unimportant. However, as the women begin to unravel the mystery of Mrs. Wright’s motive, the “trifles” that men had mocked earlier turn out to be the evidence needed for a