Trivial Trifles
In Trifles by Susan Glaspell we are presented with a short drama of a murder. Mrs. Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, Mr. John Wright. With the lack of an emotional connection, an antisocial lifestyle, and solitary confinement in her lonely home, is Mrs. Wright a cold-blooded killer or has capriciousness in life pushed her over the edge? We will scrutinize the evidence presented to understand if femininity or gender inequalities play a role in this murder.
As the play begins Hale stops by the Wright’s home to see if they have an interest in acquiring a party line with him. Party lines were common in the early twentieth century in rural areas. This conveys that there is a lack of easily accessible communication available to the outside world to Mrs. Wright. She is isolated out on the farm alone,
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Wright wanted no part, once before in purchasing a party line, due to the fact he likes “peace and quiet” (Glaspell). Hale also states, “I thought maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though…. I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John” (Glaspell). This illuminates the fact John Wright had little concern for his wife’s wants or desires, that he is impeccably pleased with her being unhappy. Her neighbor, Mrs. Hale, explains that Mrs. Wright was once a joyful, vibrant woman, full of life, singing and jubilant when she was Minnie Foster, but nowadays she “no longer sings, wears pretty clothes or is lively” (Glaspell). The only thing that seems to bring joy into Mrs. Wright’s life is a little canary bird. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find the bird with a broken neck. The bird has had its neck broken. Mr. Wright is not an enjoyable man and wants no pleasure in the life of his wife or the atmosphere in his home. Without a loving, tender, and compassionate husband Mrs. Wright is no longer the woman she was, she has lost herself in a miserable marriage, excluded and