Trifles

http://web.me.com/fjordaniv/iweb/spring/En200.pdf

'Trifles' by Susan Glaspell

I. Exposition
A. Time: Early 20Th century: 1916
B. Place: Majority of the play takes place in the kitchen of John and Minnie Wright's house.
C. Mood & Atmosphere: Feels a bit gloomy as would happen being in a house of a recent murder. House was unkempt.
D. Preliminary Situation: Prosecutor checking house for signs of evidence in murder case.

II. Plot
A. Initial Incident - Murder of John Wright. County Attorney, Sheriff, Mr. Hale, and their wives (excluding attorney) enter the kitchen from outside.
B. Rising Action – The women talk about Mrs. Wright and whether or not she would murder her husband. Then they find a bird cage with a broken door.
C. Climax - When the women find the dead bird in the pretty box with a strangled neck (or mark around neck) the same way as Mr.Wright was found.
D. Conclusion – Final Outcome for Each Major Character:
Mrs. Peters - believes in the law and doing what is right in the law's eyes, but the circumstances and personal experience keeps her from truly doing what she claims to be right.
Mrs. Hale - Hides the motive of the crime - not to be revealed.
County Attorney - Wants to search out physical evidence without really getting to the accused on a personal level that might lead to a motive. He was uneasy and felt that there was some thing more that he couldn't put a finger on.
Sheriff - The review of evidence was complete.
Hale - Called it a day, but was ready to supply more information if needed.

III. Characters
A. Protagonist - The women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, in the kitchen are portrayed to be the protagonist in this play by the author.
B. Antagonist - The men altogether or just the County Attorney.
C. Secondary - Sheriff, Mrs. Wright is an important character but has no dialogue.
D. Minor – Mr.Hale

IV. Theme – The theme of play was of isolation and gender difference.

V. Personal Reaction – I felt the play sympathized with Mrs. Wright's position. Mrs. Wright had been isolated and contained within her home by a smothering, demanding husband for 30 years. After he had killed her bird, which symbolized her singing in her house, she reacted by killing her husband in the same way. This is probably an early feminist drama.

VI. Evidence –
On how the women knew Mrs. Wright killed her husband and them sympathizing with her:

MRS. PETERS. "It was an awful thing was done in this house that night, Mrs. Hale. Killing a man while he slept, slipping a rope around his neck that choked the life out of him."

MRS. HALE. "His neck, Choked the life out of him."
(Her hand goes out and rests on the birdcage.) MRS. PETERS (with a rising voice). "We don't know who killed him. We don't know."

MRS. HALE (her own feeling not interrupted.) "If there'd been years and years of nothing, then a bird to sing to you, it would be awful--still, after the bird was still."