Class 11 English Lesson 18: Trifles by Susan Glaspell

 

Play: 1 Trifles by Susan Glaspell (page 285)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhpO0Uq5Jug (Movie)

About the Playwright

Susan Glaspell (1876-1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist, and actress. Her works typically explore contemporary social issues, such as gender, ethics, and dissent, while featuring deep, sympathetic characters. 

Glaspell is today recognized as a pioneering feminist writer and America's first important modern female playwright. Her first play, Trifles (1916), was based on the murder trial she had covered as a young reporter in Des Moines.

Main Theme of the Play

The central theme of Trifles by Susan Glaspell is gender inequality and the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. The play highlights how women's experiences, emotions, and intelligence are dismissed as insignificant “trifles” by men. However, it is precisely through these overlooked details that the female characters uncover the motive behind a murder.

The play challenges the assumption that men are more capable of understanding serious matters and reveals how the domestic sphere holds hidden truths. Through this, Glaspell critiques societal norms and emphasizes the power of female insight, solidarity, and resistance against marginalization.

Casting Characters of the Play ‘Trifles (little values)'

a.      George Henderson- a county attorney

b.     Henry Peters- a sheriff (chief executive officer in England & Wales) and husband of Mrs. Peters

c.      Lewis Hale- a neighbouring farmer of the Wrights

d.     Mrs. Peters- the wife of the sheriff

e.      Mrs. Hale - a neighbour to the Wrights and wife of Lewis Hale

Summary of the Play

The play Trifles begins in the kitchen of John and Minnie Wright’s farmhouse. The kitchen is messy, with dirty dishes and bread left out. County Attorney George Henderson arrives to investigate John Wright’s murder. He is joined by Sheriff Henry Peters and farmer Lewis Hale. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, the wives of the sheriff and the farmer, also come along. The men plan to search the house for clues, while the women wait in the kitchen.

The men discuss the murder and laugh at the idea that anything in the kitchen could be important. Mr. Hale tells them how he found John Wright’s body the day before. He had gone to the house to talk to John about installing a telephone. Instead, he found Minnie sitting quietly. She said her husband was dead, strangled with a rope while she was asleep next to him. When Hale asked what happened, Minnie said she didn’t know.

The men search for a motive but ignore the kitchen, calling it “women’s stuff” and unimportant. They even laugh about Mrs. Wright worrying over her jars of canned fruit that broke from the cold. The women, however, begin to notice little things that the men don’t. They see an unfinished quilt with messy stitching and guess that Minnie must have been nervous or upset while sewing it. As the women gather some clothes and items to take to Minnie in jail, they begin to understand more about her life. They see how poor and lonely she must have been. Mrs. Hale remembers Minnie as a lively young girl who used to sing beautifully. They find an empty birdcage with its door broken. Soon, they discover a dead bird with its neck wrung, hidden inside a box.

The women realize that Minnie’s husband likely killed the bird. They understand that the bird was her only source of joy in a life full of sadness and silence. With no children and a cold, strict husband, Minnie had lived a very lonely life. The bird’s death may have been the final thing that caused her to break. Mrs. Hale regrets not visiting Minnie and helping her. Mrs. Peters shares a story from her childhood of someone killing her kitten, and how angry it made her. Both women begin to sympathize with Minnie. They feel that the years of emotional abuse and loneliness pushed her to murder her husband.

The men return, still joking about women worrying over silly things like quilts and canned fruit. They say they haven’t found any clear motive. The women decide not to tell them about the dead bird. When asked how Minnie planned to finish her quilt, Mrs. Hale answers, “She was going to knot it,” while hiding the box with the bird.

In the end, the women understand the truth through small “trifles” that the men ignored, showing how much is missed when women's voices and experiences are dismissed.

 

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LGwPFeSz8 (Drama)

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a.      Do you believe that Mrs. Wright killed her husband? Explain.

Yes, I believed that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. After listening to the conversation of two women, they were comparing Mrs. Wright's life before marriage and after marriage. By this, we can understand that Mrs. Wright had a very wonderful life before marriage, and after marriage, her life was boring. She couldn’t sing or talk to anybody, was depressed, and her bird was killed by her husband. So, in case of revenge, she killed her husband.

b.     Do you think Mr. Wright’s death would have been uncovered if Mr. Hale hadn’t stopped by the Wrights’ home?

No, I don’t think Mr. Wright’s death would have been uncovered if Mr. Hale hadn’t stopped by the Wright’s home because if Mr. Hale hadn’t stopped by the Wrights’ home, nobody would ever know about Mr. Wright’s death as the location of the house was quite far from the road and the news of his death will remain suppressed.

c.      Why does Mrs. Hale think that Mrs. Wright’s worries about her preserves indicate her innocence?

Mrs. Hale thinks that Mrs. Wright’s worries about her preserves indicate her innocence because she does not feel happy, and she contrasts with Mrs. Hale, saying that only an innocent woman would ask for an apron and a shawl while worrying about fruit.

d.     How does Mrs. Peters’ homesteading experience connect her to Mrs. Wright?

Mrs. Peter ends up protecting Minnie Wright by hiding the strangled canary, which could be used as key evidence against her. Although Mrs. Peter is the sheriff’s wife and married to the law, she comes to the same conclusion as Mrs. Wright and ultimately acts on her behalf. In this way, Mrs. Peter’s homesteading experience connects her to Mrs. Wright.

e.      How do the women’s perspectives on men differ?

The woman’s perspectives on men differ by the fact that the men are powerful and have become stupid and lazy, but the women have no power except that of intelligence, which allows them to manipulate the men. 

 

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