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Compare the murder motivations between Mrs. Wright in "Trifles" and Mr. Fowler in "Killings."
Quick answer:
"Trifles" and "Killings" both deal with murder cases committed against men by women, but the motives for the murders are very different. The actions of Minnie Wright in "Trifles" are motivated by rage at her husband's abuse, whereas Matt Fowler kills Richard Strout from revenge. Although premeditated, Matt's motive is based on his grief over the death of his son Frank. The theme of social injustice is evident in both stories, although more so in "Trifles," where Minnie is abused by her husband and his male friends in a society that demeans women. In contrast, in "Killings,"Some connections could be made if we really look into the motives of the killings in each of the two cases.
Based on the evidence found in the home of Minnie Wright, as analyzed by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, Minnie most definitely snapped and killed her husband after years of psychological and spousal abuse. She did not plan the murder, since it was done out of rage, presumably, due to the abuse. The final straw that leads Minnie to kill her husband is when John Write wrings the neck of Minnie's canary, her only companion. Hence, she pays him in kind by strangling him with a rope. It is clear that she does this out of despair, given her demeanor after the crime. She is truly distraught and disoriented. Hers was a crime of rage fueled by trauma.
In contrast, the murder that takes place in "
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In contrast, the murder that takes place in "Killings," the one that is committed by Matt Fowler, as your question refers, is premeditated. His motive is revenge and ensuring that justice is done for his son, Frank.
Frank was killed by Richard Strout, the estranged husband of the woman he (Frank) had been dating. In the case of Matt Fowler, his biggest fear is that the justice system fails him and lets Richard walk free. He feels that the only way to contain this is by simply getting rid of Richard, himself.
If we look into potential connections, we could agree that:
- The theme of "social injustice" permeates both crimes.
In "Trifles," Minnie was abused by her husband in a society that demeans women. This is evident in the fact that the evidence found in her house is taken for granted by the males conducting the investigation, even going as far as declaring it to be just "trifles." Little did they realize that in those very "trifles" was the entire story of what motivated Minnie to commit the murder.
In "Killings," the characters feel society will fail them by giving Richard a manslaughter verdict and maybe 5 years in jail, at the most. That is nothing compared to the anger and grief that the Fowlers have to endure accepting the death of their son. While Matt kidnaps and kills Richard in revenge, he never truly gets what he would want the most, which is to have his son back.
In both stories, people take justice into their own hands because they both know that social justice is not guaranteed for everyone.
- Grief and pain are involved in the killings.
Grief is pivotal to the motives that propelled both cases. Minnie Wright had nothing going for her in life, and her only loving companion was her canary. The canary is a symbol of Minnie, herself: she once was a songbird, and now she is caged and in danger. When her abusive husband kills the bird, he literally kills the only family Minnie had left. It is the intense grief and loss of the event that incites the pain and rage that moves her to do what she did.
In the case of Matt Fowler, he is also in grief and despair for the horrible death of his young son. He is also moved by the grief of his wife, Matt's mother, and by the anger of seeing Richard, the killer, walking around after posting bail without a care in the world. It is more than what anyone could handle, and it makes the grief all the more painful. It is no wonder that both Matt could consider getting rid of Richard with his own hands.