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Susan Glaspell's Trifles

599 Words3 Pages

In Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles,” there are two significant symbols that give a whole new dimension to the play. First, Glaspell employs the dead bird as a symbolic representation of Mrs. Wright, who used to be known as Minnie Foster before she married Mr. Wright. As a child, Minnie possessed similar qualities of a beautiful of bird called canary. For example, Mrs. Hales states: “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir” (Glaspell 1042). Mrs. Wright used to sing in a choir like a songbird and wore pretty clothes just like the elegant feathers of a canary. After Minnie’s marriage with Mr. Wright, she dramatically changed from being young and free to being timid and submissive. …show more content…

Hales exclaims: “She – come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself – real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery. How – she – did – change” (Glaspell 1044). Mrs. Hale clearly admits that the canary represents Minnie Foster, who once was that sweet, fluttery girl that was transformed into the lonely, depressed Mrs. Wright by years of her husband's neglect and emotional abuse. Additionally, the word “dead” next to bird suggest that Mrs. Wright is emotionally and mentally “dead.” For example, in the beginning of the play, Mrs. Wright displayed some usual sense of emotion or feelings towards her death of her husband, such as, her laughter and fearful look (Glaspell 1039-40). This illustrates the degree of emotional abuse Mrs. Wright experienced under her husband’s control. On the other hand, Glaspell utilizes the birdcage, which represents marriage, to show how Mrs. Wright was trapped in her marriage and could not escape it. For example, when Mrs. Peters was looking for clothes they are taking to the jail for Mrs. Wright, they discovered an empty birdcage in a cupboard (Glaspell

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The scene begins to unfolds in their minds. Mr. Wright yanking open the cage door, taking out the bird, and breaking its fragile neck was enough to make Mrs. Wright lash out, and in a heat of passion, kill her husband. As the trifles collect,  the women worry that the men will see their findings, and have what they need to prove Mrs. Wright guilty. Though the men believe her to be the murderer, the women are trying their best to hide the evidence that will prove it.

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The men of the group, much like John in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” consider themselves more capable than the women and refuse to consider Mrs. Wright as anything other than irrational. The men leave the women to their “trifles” on the first floor, where they discover a broken bird cage, and the bird’s body, broken, carefully wrapped in a small, decorative box. They realize that Mr. Wright had wrung the neck of his wife’s beloved bird and broken its cage. Mrs. Wright, once known for her cheerfulness and beautiful singing, she stopped singing when she encountered Mr. Wright. Just like he did with the bird, Mr. Wright choked the life out of his wife until, finally, Mrs. Wright literally choked the life out of her husband.

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All throughout the story, Minnie Foster was described as a very lively woman with big hopes and dreams before her marriage to Mr. Wright. Glaspell states, “She-come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery. How-she-did-change” (555). This description of Minnie Foster is crucial to understanding the symbol of the canary to the main theme, which is connections.

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The audience is constantly trying to figure out if Minnie actually killed John, more than if John abused Minnie. Because of this, “Trifles” is distracting and thinking about the murder takes attention away from the theme of abuse, while “POOF!” is directed on the abuse and what to do with her husband’s ashes the whole time. By staying on the topic of abuse and clearly laying it out, the audience can learn about domestic abuse and genuinely understand the meaning behind the

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“Their eyes met – something flashed to life, passed between them.” As the investigation continues, the women find that, like the quilting, Minnie Foster found peace in her canary. The women remember how Minnie Foster sang with the bird to feel whole. When Mrs. Peters uncovers the battered bird cage while Mrs. Hale finds the dead canary, the women realize that there may have been a final incident that changed the course of the Wright family

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“We are spirit soul, we have been encaged within this body, so our natural aspiration is to get freedom from this encagement. As much as the bird is struggling to get freedom from the cage. ”-Bhagavad-Gita 2.25. In Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles,” the bird (Canary) symbolizes Mrs. Wright, or how she used to be known as Minnie Foster and the birdcage represents her and Mr. Wright’s marriage. “Trifles” is about Mr. Wright’s mysterious death in his own home, and the only suspect in his murder is his wife, Mrs. Wright.

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1. A trifle is an object, person, or place with little value. In this play specifically, the trifle of the play in the dead bird. I believe this because the women in the play convinced themselves that the bird had such “’little value” that they did not need to tell the sheriff or attorney. In reality this little bird was the solution to the crime discussed in the play.

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When the women unwrap the bird, Mrs. Peters notices that “somebody wrung its neck.” It does not make sense for Mrs. Wright to kill her own bird because it was the only thing that brought light into her life. She cared about it so much that she wrapped it in such an expensive fabric, silk, even when she scarcely has enough money for essentials, such as clothing. While Mrs. Hale is examining Mrs. Wright’s clothing, she holds up a “shabby black skirt that bore the marks of much making over.” This suggests that she would put the bird in front of her own well—being, so she would not kill the canary.

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