Trifles By Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell Susan Glaspell: Pulitzer prize winner, co-founder of the drama company Provincetown Players, noncommercial, experimental theater group, journalist (this one act play is based on an actual trial that Glaspell covered as a reporter); in the 1916 production of the play she performed Mrs. Hale.

Physical setting desolated village in Iowa, abandoned farmhouse, very cold (read the text), must be winter; from Mrs. Hale: not cheerful, down in a hollow, and “you don’t see the road…a lonesome place and always was”

Social context social context: latter half of the 19th century

American women at the turn of the century Domestic life: men’s possession, not allowed to make a contract, or sue or be sued Political rights: Suffrage: until 1920; Women could not sit on juries Social domain: limited job opportunities

Plot a whodunit type of murder mystery. Instead of focusing on the men and their quest to solve the case, Glaspell concentrates on the women in the kitchen. Rising action—small discoveries: nervous sewing patterns, broken door on the bird cage, a dead canary Climax—discovery of the dead bird Falling action—feeling closer to the suspect Resolution—decision to conceal the evidence

Trifle images served as symbols Rocking chair Cherry preserves Broken jars: women’s hard labor and confinement, shattered mental state Quilt: messy stitching—symbol of emotional turmoil; help to show that Mrs. Wright knew how to tie a knot; incomplete quilt—symbol of uncertainty of heroine’s fate; women’s knitting—symbol of endeavor to comprehend a woman’s life; Mrs. Peters’ reply, “We think she was going to – knot it.”

Symbolic images canary Birdcage Dirty kitchen

Men vs. Women Men—ridicule, presumption of guilt, draw conclusions quickly, speed Women—defensiveness based on compassion, reasoning by what they know and her surroundings, more intuitive, empathy

Major Themes Women and men comparison --Social status --way of thinking --moral judgement --language style Women’s subversion of power