Professor Mason
English 102-42
November 12, 2014
Trifles
Former John Wright has been murdered. While he was asleep in the middle of the night someone strung a rope around his neck. That someone may have been his wife, Minnie Wright. Published in 1920 based on a short story called “A jury of her peers” build around a narrative strongly feminist. Susan Glaspell got the inspiration for Trifles from her real life visit to the kitchen of Margaret Hossack whose trial for the murder of her husband formed the basis for the plot. Trifles is a murder mystery, the play takes place in the kitchen instead of at the crime scene of the bedroom. Within the opening section of the play, the main conflict appears to revolve around a search for the murderer, whether such a person who is John Wright’s wife or some other individual. The scene consists of male figures that treat the kitchen as the scene of the crime and not a home. Mrs. Hale shows herself to be the more outspoken of the two women when protesting against the male view of the world as shown when Henderson belittles Mrs. Wright’s kitchen and implies that she was not skilled enough to take care of a home. Mrs. Hale disliked the accusation against her and turns his hypothesis that the kitchen’s appearance must be the woman’s fault by hinting John Wright might have been the cause of the problem. Lewis Hale mocks his interpretation of events by saying “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” The overall meaning gender disconnect lies the assumption that both men and womens’ affairs are trifles. In addition to helping create the mood of the play and providing an opportunity to highlight the separation of the genders in Trifles, the cold temperature also foreshadows interpretations of Mrs. Wright's life. Mrs. Hale hints that Mr. Wright did not have "the homemaking instinct," and Mrs. Wright lives in a home that is as cold as the outside weather. Hale admits himself that Mrs. Wright had no influence