Trifles Women

The drama “Trifles” tells the story of a group of people looking for clues which lead to the murder of Mr. Wright. Two of the three men, Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters, bring their wives, but do not take the wives seriously. The women, however, discover the clues of which Mrs. Wright leaves behind. The men and women in “Trifles” accept their roles of the men being more superior and the women being more inferior.
First and foremost, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Peters fail to see the clues of which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discovers due to believing the women are inferior to the men. Mr. Henderson makes a statement about the state of the house, “County Attorney: Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” (Glaspell 1041). Mrs. Hale then

While the clues are in plain sight to the women, the men are unaware of the clues hidden in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are able to discover the clues because they understand and know how Mrs. Wright thinks. “The obtuse investigator continues to look in all the wrong places for all the wrong signs, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat and arrogantly above consulting the women...” (Grose). The men automatically assume there are no clues to the murder in the kitchen and continue looking for clues in a different area in the room and never once do the men ask the women for their help. The men act as if the women are only useful when it comes to keeping the house clean, cooking and sewing. The men treat the women as if the women are house slaves. A major clue Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover is an empty birdcage in a cupboard. Later on, the women also

Henderson, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Peters make several insulting remarks about what Mrs. Hale or Mrs. Peters say or the things of which interest the women due to the fact the men believe they are more superior than the women. The men also say insulting remarks towards Mrs. Wright. For example, while inside the kitchen, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are discussing Mrs. Wright’s fruit freezing and the mess the broken jars have created. “Hale: Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.” (Glaspell 1040). Mr. Hale believes women only worry about things with little importance. The women do not try to defend themselves and continue to let the men treat them as if they are not equal to the men. By Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters not standing up to the men, the women will only continue to be treated unequally and inferior to the men. While waiting for the men, the women discover one of Mrs. Wright’s quilts. “They return downstairs just in time to overhear Mrs. Hale commenting on Minnie's quilt pieces; the sheriff ridicules their interest in such trivial details, joking, "They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! [The men laugh, the women look abashed.]" (1394). The women nervously make excuses for themselves and for their husbands as the men again leave the two alone.“ (Grose). However, instead of defending themselves, the women just take what the men say, allowing the men to continue to act more superior and treat the women as if they are