trifles essay summary

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Trifles by Susan Glaspell Analysis

Categories: Trifles

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Words: 429 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 429 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Gender roles in the early 20th century, plot summary of trifles, symbolism in trifles, the marginalization of women in trifles, references:.

Bigsby, C. (2012). Modern American Drama, 1945-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Glaspell, S. (1916). "Trifles." The Best American Short Plays 1915-1916 . Ed. Willa Cather and George Jean Nathan. Boston: Small, Maynard and Company.
Jarvis, B. (2008). "Susan Glaspell and the Anxiety of Expression." American Literary Realism , 40(2), 109-122.

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Related Essays on Trifles

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Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

by Susan Glaspell

Trifles Summary

The sheriff Henry Peters and the county attorney George Henderson arrive with the witness Lewis Hale , Mrs. Peters , and Mrs. Hale at John Wright 's farmhouse, where the police are investigating Wright's murder. Lewis Hale recounts how he discovered Mrs. Wright acting bizarrely, as she told him that her husband was murdered while she was sleeping. Although a gun had been in the house, Wright was gruesomely strangled with a rope. The men continually disparage the women for worrying about trifles instead of about the case, but Henderson allows the women to collect some items for Mrs. Wright, who is in custody, as long as he agrees that the objects are irrelevant to the case.

While the men are investigating upstairs, Mrs. Hale reminisces about how happy Mrs. Wright had been before her marriage, and she regrets that she had not come to visit Mrs. Wright despite suspecting the unhappiness she had suffered as John Wright's wife. After looking around the room, the women discover a quilt and decide to bring it with them, although the men tease them for pondering about the quilt as they briefly enter the room before going to inspect the barn. Meanwhile, the women discover an empty birdcage and eventually find the dead bird in a box in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket while they are searching for materials for the quilt. The bird has been strangled in the same manner as John Wright. Although Mrs. Peters is hesitant to flout the men, who are only following the law, she and Mrs. Hale decide to hide the evidence, and the men are unable to find any clinching evidence that will prevent her from being acquitted by a future jury - which will, the play implies, most likely prove sympathetic to women.

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Trifles Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Trifles is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How do the womens perspectives on men differ?

Womens perspectives on men differ as men are dutiful and are sincerely searching for the evidences in the house where murder took place but women are just worrying about the trivial matters and when they find the motive behind the murder,the dead...

The bird represents Minnie.... when she was a girl, she was happy vivacious, and loved to sing. The bird's death represents her life after marriage.... isolated and confined.

The birdcage represents imprisonment.... the isolation Minnie feels in...

What is the theme of the the story

Female identity and patriarchal dominance make up the main theme of the story. In Trifles , the men believe that they grant female identity by virtue of the women's relation to men rather than through their inherent qualities as females. Except for...

Study Guide for Trifles

Trifles study guide contains literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Trifles
Character List

Essays for Trifles

Trifles essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Trifles by Susan Glaspell.

The Unheimlich in Susan Glaspell's Play Trifles: A Feminist Interpretation of Freud's Uncanny
Layers of Significance in Susan Glaspell's "Trifles"
From Courtroom to Stage: Susan Glaspell's "Trifles"
The Institution of Marriage in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” and Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”
Portrayal of Women in Trifles