What is the main theme of the play Trifles?

A big theme in "Trifles" is the illustration of traditional gender roles. The men in the play display personalities of purpose and analytical skills in conducting their investigation. The men belittle the women, insisting on man's role as public figure and woman's role in the home. Historically, this public/private dichotomy has been used to instill and sustain the idea that men work in the external world and a woman's place is in the privacy of the home. For example, near the end of the play, Mrs. Peters sarcastically acknowledges that the men would laugh at their evidence and any suggestion that it (evidence) might lead to a conclusion about the crime:

My, it's a good thing the men couldn't hear us. Wouldn't they just laugh! Getting all stirred up over a little thing like a--dead canary. As if that could have anything to do with--with--wouldn't they laugh!

Of course, the dead canary had everything to do with the nature of the Wrights' relationship and a motive for the crime. But since the women knew they would have no voice in the matter, they kept that revelation to themselves. The men continued to look for hard evidence. This is an example of dramatic irony which is when the audience is aware of the fact that the women are finding real clues while the men strut around with undeserved authority, finding essentially nothing significant.

This idea that men should attend to public affairs and women should not is now considered an outdated and misogynistic philosophy, but it was a part of the ideology and culture of male/female relationships in America well into the 20th century. "Trifles" was written in 1916, four years before the 19th amendment was passed which acknowledged women's right to vote.

The women's suffrage movement, the struggle to give women the right to vote, is an important historical anecdote because this play is about the role of a woman's voice. In "Trifles," the women find all the clues that are of any significance. Yet, the men dismiss everything the women say because they (the men) believe that women's opinions should be relegated to knitting, cooking, etc. The men don't see (because of their bias with regard to these traditional gender roles) how a woman can give analytical advice; certainly not any logical observations of something as important as a crime scene. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do not offer their evidence because they realize it would be laughed at and because they feel sympathy for Mrs. Wright (and are therefore, protecting her).

If women had a voice that men respected, within the context of the play, the crime would have been solved quickly. Going back prior to the crime itself, if women had more opportunity to work in the public world, perhaps Mrs. Wright would have left her husband long before any such crime would have occurred.

What is the main theme of the play Trifles?

Themes

The Perspectives of Women and Men

In Trifles, Susan Glaspell explores the differing perspectives of women and men. Mr. Henderson, Sheriff Peters, and Mr. Hale are intent upon gathering evidence in the murder of John Wright. They systematically examine the scene, looking around the kitchen (but not finding anything), closely examining the upstairs (where the crime took place), and checking the barn. Mr. Henderson is especially interested in proving that Minnie Wright killed her husband, and he is also looking for a motive. Yet the men do not find what they need, for they are not thinking as a woman does.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, however, see the situation much differently. They notice the details of Minnie's life. They see her messy kitchen (much unlike a farm woman), her unsteady sewing on the quilt, and her dead canary. These little things, these trifles, have meaning to the women that the men cannot grasp. While the men laugh at them for worrying about such little nothings, the women use those nothings to discover why Minnie may have strangled her husband. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters can relate to Minnie in a way the men cannot. They can reach into her mind, understand her emotions, grasp her loneliness, and realize what may have happened to drive her over the edge into murder.

The difference in perspectives between men and women also accounts for the women's choice at the end of the play. As the men chuckle about the “not very dangerous things the ladies have picked out,” they do not realize that these clever ladies have discovered exactly what Mr. Henderson and Sheriff Peters need to make their case against Minnie. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know that the men would simply laugh at the dead canary and the other evidence. They would not grasp its significance. So they keep their clues to themselves. Mrs. Hale slips the box with the dead bird into her pocket. If the men believe that women are only interested in trifles, then they need not see those trifles. Ironically, the men's disdain for the women and for the women's “limited” perspective has prevented them from solving the case and has revealed their own limitations.

Domestic Abuse

Minnie Wright is a victim of domestic abuse. While there is no evidence that John Wright physically harmed his wife, there is plenty of evidence that he emotionally and psychologically abused her. The first piece of evidence is Wright's character. Mrs. Hale describes him as a “hard man...Like a raw wind that gets to the bone...” She would not care to “pass the time of day with him,” and she does not think that a place would be “any cheerfuller for John Wright's being in it.” Even Mr. Hale notices that John would likely have cared little about what his wife would think about the party telephone or anything else.

The second piece of evidence lies in the change in Minnie Wright. Mrs. Hale mentions several times that the young Minnie Foster was a happy girl, always singing, wearing pretty clothes, and generally spreading cheerfulness about her. Minnie Wright is no longer like this. In fact, according to Mrs. Hale, John Wright killed Minnie's singing and, by extension, her happiness. She is a lonely, shabby woman now, and she rarely socializes. She does not even belong to the Ladies Aid, Mrs. Hale remarks, supposing that “she felt she couldn't do her part.”

The third piece of evidence is the canary incident. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters easily infer what must have happened. The birdcage's door is broken, its hinge pulled apart as if someone had “been rough” with it. The canary itself is dead, tucked away in a box and wrapped in silk. Its neck is broken, twisted all the way around by a violent act. The women realize that John Wright must have killed that bird in an outburst of cruelty. He seems to have twisted his wife's heart along with the bird's neck, for as the women know, Minnie would have loved that bird and its song. The attack on the bird was an attack on Minnie, too, an act of abuse that was probably just one more in a long chain of misery that seems to have stripped Minnie of her identity and happiness.

Loneliness

The Wright farm is a lonely one. John seemed to prefer it that way. He told Mr. Hale that he would not take the party telephone because it would disturb his “peace and quiet,” and he talked little himself. For Minnie, however, the loneliness must be akin to torture. In her youth, Minnie was a social person, a little bird, Mrs. Hale calls her. She sang in choir and enjoyed the company of the other young people. Now Minnie is alone. Her husband provided little to no companionship. They have no children. The other women do not come around because they, like Mrs. Hale, find the Wright place to lack cheerfulness and warmth. Minnie does not go into town or to gatherings for social interactions either. She is afraid of cats, and no dog is mentioned. Even the canary that provided her with a beautiful song and at least another living being in the house has been cruelly killed by her husband. Minnie is alone and horribly unhappy because of it.

However, in the end, Minnie may not be quite as alone as she thinks. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have figured out what must have happened to John Wright, but this does not make them turn their backs on Minnie. In fact, they reach out to her. They gather the small items Minnie has asked for and bring her quilting as well to give her something to do. They decide not to tell her about the ruined fruit out of kindness, and most of all, they stand in support when they do not mention their deductions or the dead bird to their husbands.

Regret

The past cannot be changed, but it can fill the present with regret. Minnie Wright clearly regrets marrying John, for her marriage is unhappy and even abusive. Yet there is little evidence that she regrets John's death. She is nervous and behaves strangely when Mr. Hale arrives, but she announces that her husband is dead with little emotion. There is none of the screaming, sobbing grief of a widow.

Mrs. Hale has regrets of her own. She knew Minnie Wright as a girl, but they have grown apart over the years. She has not visited Minnie in a long time. “I stayed away because it weren't cheerful,” she explains to Mrs. Peters. The Wright house is uncomfortable and lonely. Now, though, she knows that this is exactly why she should have visited Minnie. She regrets not supporting her or offering comfort and companionship. In fact, she calls it a crime and wonders who will punish her for it. Actually, she will punish herself with her regrets.

Characters

Minnie Wright

Minnie Wright is a study in contrasts. While she never appears on stage in this play, her character is well-developed because of her central role in the mystery. Mrs. Hale remembers the young Minnie Foster in a beautiful white dress with blue ribbons and always singing. “[S]he was kind of like a bird herself,” Mrs. Hale remarks, “real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery.” But that was thirty years ago, and Mrs. Hale notes how much Minnie has changed since she became Minnie Wright.

Minnie is now a shabby, rather nervous woman, lonely and sad. Her marriage is clearly unsatisfying at best and most likely emotionally and mentally abusive. She is isolated from the world, and her days are filled with the work of a farm wife but without much in the way of companionship.

In fact, her only companion recently has been her canary, a small singing creature that perhaps reminded Minnie of her young self. When John killed the bird, something in Minnie seems to have snapped. If she strangled her husband (and the play never fully confirms this), the bird's violent death must have driven her over the edge. In any case, Minnie's agitated behavior, as described by Mr. Hale, suggests nervousness but not grief over John's demise.

John Wright

John Wright is dead by the time the play opens, but his character is critical to understanding the plot. John was a man who wanted his “peace and quiet,” and apparently, he was willing to do whatever necessary to maintain them. He was, as Mrs. Hale says, a “hard man,” never cheerful, always taciturn, and no companion for the bright, singing Minnie. The play suggests that John was emotionally and mentally abusive toward his wife, isolating her and, as Mr. Hale notes, not caring anything for her opinion. He seems to have been the kind of man who demanded that life go his ways without thought for the comfort and happiness of another.

Mrs. Hale

Mrs. Hale is, arguably, the play's protagonist. She is a practical, no-nonsense farm wife with a sharp perception of reality, and she is quick to defend Minnie Wright when the men scoff at her poor housekeeping. “There's a great deal of work to be done on a farm,” she says stiffly in response to Mr. Henderson's comment about a dirty towel, and later she figures that the culprit is probably Frank, who came earlier to start the fire.

Mrs. Hale is the kind of person who does not like to see things left undone or imperfect. She notices the poor sewing on Minnie's quilt and sits right down to fix it. Minnie was nervous when she stitched that part, Mrs. Hale infers. She is also quick to figure out what happened to the canary and is horrified by its discovery. In unspoken agreement with Mrs. Peters, she realizes that the dead bird is the key to the murder, but she knows, too, that the men will not take it seriously, and part of her wants to shield Minnie Wright. So she puts the box with the bird in her coat pocket and says nothing about it.

Part of the motive for that action might also be Mrs. Hale's regret about not visiting Minnie. She has stayed away from the Wright house because it is so gloomy, but she understands now that she should have visited for that very reason. She berates herself about it. Her concealment of the bird and the other “trifles” indicates her desire to support Minnie Wright now to make up for her failure in the past.

Mrs. Peters

Mrs. Peters is the sheriff's wife, and she seems to be a nervous yet compassionate woman. She is, as Mr. Henderson says, “married to the law,” but this does not stop her from joining with Mrs. Hale to conceal the women's deductions after she understands Minnie's situation. In fact, she actually tries to hide the dead bird first but cannot find a big enough place. Mrs. Peters' idea that the “law has got to punish crime” fades quickly over the course of the play. She shows great empathy with Minnie with regard to how difficult the “stillness” can be, for she lost a child once and understands the heartache of being alone. She also remembers how she felt when a boy killed her kitten, and she applies this to how Minnie must have felt about the canary.

George Henderson

County Attorney George Henderson is intent upon finding evidence to convict Minnie Wright of her husband's murder. He does not appear to have much regard for women, for he is quick to both criticize and laugh at them. Minnie's housekeeping is an object of scorn (although Mr. Henderson does not stop to think how that towel might have gotten dirty), and the idea of knotting a quilt is hilarious to the lawyer for some reason. He does not realize, of course, that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have discovered exactly what he is looking for.

Henry Peters

Sheriff Henry Peters understands that this is a big case, but he does not seem to have the ability to manage it too well. He sends Frank to start the fire but fails to have anyone stay at the scene of the crime overnight as Mr. Henderson would have preferred. He sees nothing in the way of evidence among the “kitchen things,” for he does not think anything could be important there. He cannot understand the thinking of a woman either. Minnie's worries about her preserves are a mystery to him.

Lewis Hale

Lewis Hale is the man who found John Wright's body, and he actually shows some insight into the relationship between John and Minnie Wright. He is deeply disturbed by Minnie's behavior the morning after the murder, and he clearly describes the scene and her words. While he may not understand the full significance of Minnie's comments, he is able to provide critical details that help Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and readers grasp Minnie's state of mind. Mr. Hale goes along with the other men in his dismissal of women, noting that “women are used to worrying over trifles.”

Analysis

Susan Glaspell's Trifles is a one-act play that is loosely based on a case that the author reported when she was working as a journalist in Iowa in 1900. John Hossack was found dead in bed, hacked by an ax, on December 1, 1900. At first, his wife, Margaret, said that although she was sleeping right beside him, she heard nothing. Five days later, Margaret Hossack was arrested for her husband's murder. Glaspell was assigned to cover the case for the Des Moines Daily News, and at first, she was horrified by the crime and by Mrs. Hossack's apparent indifference to her husband's death and her own role in it. But the more Glaspell leaned about the Hossacks' marriage and home life (even visiting their farmhouse), the more sympathetic she became to Margaret Hossack, who was eventually sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband.

Trifles, then, shares many aspects of this original case, including an unhappy wife who turns desperate enough to murder the man she married. There are, of course, differences, and Glaspell took plenty of literary license with the original event, including the dead canary and the involvement of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters (although they might represent, to a point, Glaspell herself as she strove to understand Margaret Hossack's actions). Yet her point is clear: an unhappy marriage can and often does lead to tragedy.

Because Trifles is a play, its setting is critical, and many pieces of “evidence” appear within that setting as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters notice all kinds of things about Minnie Wright's domestic domain. The author describes the setting in detail through the stage directions and the characters' comments. The broken jars of preserves, the somewhat messy appearance of the kitchen, the bread set to rise, and the bad stitching on the quilt all contribute to a sense of a woman's work but also a woman's disturbed mind. The broken birdcage, of course, adds another element to the setting and another piece of evidence to the case.

In fact, the birdcage and many other items described and handled in the play are symbolic. The birdcage seems to indicate that Minnie Wright feels trapped in her marriage and her life. The cage has been broken by John Wright, but Minnie, too, has broken something in a desire to escape her own cage. Only she has likely “broken” her husband with a rope around his neck. The canary, too, is symbolic, this time of Minnie herself. Mrs. Hale remarks that the young Minnie Foster was somewhat like a bird, always fluttering and singing. But Minnie's singing voice has been silenced for years. When John killed the bird (as he likely did), he symbolically killed whatever joy was left in Minnie, too, although according to Mrs. Hale, John killed Minnie's singing a long time ago.

The shattered jars of preserves provide another symbol in this play. They have broken in the cold of the empty house now that John is dead and Minnie is in jail. Indeed, Minnie's life is shattered like those jars. Yet one jar still remains, and perhaps this is a symbol of hope that not everything is lost. Even the quilt represents something beyond itself. It might be Minnie's life in a way, stitched together in many pieces. Some of it is sewn well, but the last bit is done poorly. This indicates Minnie's state of mind and nerves, but it also shows how her life is now coming apart at the seams.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters look at Minnie's home and at her things, and they realize what has happened to her. Even though they probably would not be able to name what they are doing, these two women use the deductive method to figure out that Minnie probably did kill her husband (although they are unwilling to say for sure). They look at the details, the little things that their husbands and Mr. Henderson overlook but that mean so much to a woman, and they draw a general conclusion from them. They also use their intuition to try to enter into Minnie's mind. Mrs. Hale recognizes how lonesome Minnie must have been. Mrs. Peters can relate to that as well and to Minnie's probable anger at the cruel death of her bird. Mrs. Peters remembers her own kitten and how she wanted to hurt the boy that killed it. Indeed, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters blend reason and emotion as they try to understand what happened to Minnie Wright and what she did about it in return.

Finally, there is significant irony in this play, especially with regard to trifles. The men scoff at the trifles the women notice and worry about. To them, the affairs of domestic life, of cooking and kitchens and pet birds and sewing, are unimportant, even meaningless. Yet it is these trifles that lead Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to the knowledge they discover. It is the trifles that solve the case, and it is the trifles that the women keep to themselves, for the men do not want to know about them anyway.

Quotes

I spoke to Wright about it once before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet—I guess you know about how much he talked himself; but I thought maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn't know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John—

Mr. Hale speaks these words as he is describing his discovery of John Wright's body. He was at the Wright place to talk about the party telephone, hoping to get John to subscribe to it. John told him he would not. Mr. Hale captures an important aspect of John's character here. He is a taciturn man, hardly ever speaking and demanding “peace and quiet” for himself. This is one of the reasons why Minnie Wright is isolated from others. Her husband does not appreciate or want guests. He fails to think that Minnie might enjoy being on the party line and being able to talk to other people. In fact, it seems that, in Mr. Hale's opinion anyway, Minnie's views did not mean much to John in any case. Mr. Hale shows himself to be somewhat intuitive here although he does not carry that intuition through to finding evidence against Minnie Wright for her husband's murder.

Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves....Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.

The first part of this quotation is spoken by Sheriff Peters. Minnie Wright has been worried that her preserves will be spoiled by the cold, as indeed most of them are. The sheriff makes fun of what he sees as something unimportant. It is just like a woman to think about something so meaningless when she is being held for murder. Yet what the sheriff does not realize is how much work those preserves have been for Minnie. As Mrs. Hale remarks, they took hours of labor in the heat to produce. The sheriff is not a woman, so he cannot understand, and he will not try. Mr. Hale chimes in on the second part of the quotation with his remark that women worry about trifles. Herein lies the irony of the play, for it is those trifles that the women notice and the men ignore that solve this murder case.

Wright was close. I think maybe that's why she kept so much to herself. She didn't even belong to the Ladies Aid. I suppose she felt she couldn't do her part, and then you don't enjoy things when you feel shabby. She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir.

Mrs. Hale's quotation provides a contrast between Minnie Wright's life now and her life as Minnie Foster before she was married. She was young once, beautiful and lively, interested in pretty clothes, and always singing in the choir. She had companionship and fun then. Now Minnie Wright keeps mostly to herself. She is not even part of the Ladies Aid, which refers to church group of women who raise money for the church and enjoy social activities together. Mrs. Hale intuits that Minnie is probably embarrassed by her shabbiness and inability to contribute financially because of her husband's “closeness.”

No, Wright wouldn't like the bird—a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too.

These words come from Mrs. Hale as she reflects on the death of the bird. John Wright would not have liked the canary, for he would have thought that it disrupted his precious “peace and quiet.” He put a permanent end to its singing. John also, Mrs. Hale notes, put an end to Minnie's singing. He killed it, she says. The canary is a symbol for Minnie herself, and her husband killed her joy as much as he killed her bird.

Oh, I wish I'd come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who's going to punish that?

Mrs. Hale is filled with regret that she never noticed Minnie Wright's misery. She berates herself for not visiting and providing the companionship Minnie desperately needed. Now it is too late. Mrs. Hale actually calls her omission a crime and wonders who is going to punish that. Minnie may have committed the horrible crime of killing her husband, but Mrs. Hale knows that she shares in the guilt, for she neglected someone in trouble, someone who desperately needed a friend. The excuse of busyness does not hold for her. She should have come, and she knows it now.

Suddenly MRS PETERS throws back quilt pieces and tries to put the box in the bag she is wearing. It is too big. She opens box, starts to take bird out, cannot touch it, goes to pieces, stands there helpless. Sound of a knob turning in the other room. MRS HALE snatches the box and puts it in the pocket of her big coat.

These words are in italics because they are part of the stage directions at the very end of the play. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have discovered plenty of evidence to give Minnie Wright a motive for killing her husband. The dead canary stands at the center of the case, but the two women decide not to give it to the men. They would merely laugh, Mrs. Peters says. So even though she is married to the Sheriff, Mrs. Peters tries to hide the bird but panics when she cannot bring herself to touch it. The practical Mrs. Hale, perhaps in a show of support and solidarity with Minnie that she feels is all too late, tucks the box and bird in her coat as Mr. Henderson laughs about the quilt, not knowing that his case actually depends upon such trifles.

What is the main theme of the play Trifles?

The main thematic concern of the play is patriarchy's devaluing of women.

Patriarchal abuse is shown through what happens to Minnie Wright. She has had her spirit crushed by her grim husband, who won't let her spend money, as Mrs. Hale realizes from the state of Minnie's clothes. He also doesn't treat her kindly. Minnie, crushed and isolated, turns to her pet canary for solace. When her husband kills the beloved bird, an example of his cruelty, that becomes the final straw. Minnie snaps and kills her husband.

The play makes the point, however, that this is more than an isolated incident. The way all the males in the play treat women is condescending and belittling. The males investigating John Wright's death are dismissive towards Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who have come with them to the crime scene to get clothes for Minnie. They put down what the women say as merely being concerned with "trifles" of no consequence. They underestimate and laugh at the contribution women's work makes to their lives.

As a result of their inability to see the value of the domestic arena they find trifling, the men completely miss the evidence the women see. Further, because the men are so belittling toward Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, the two won't share what information they have. They feel far more protective toward Minnie than they do toward a legal system that is run by men and unlikely to understand her plight.

Through the behavior of the men at the farmhouse, the play makes the point that the widespread acceptance of treating women as second class allows crueler men like John Wright to get away with oppressing their wives and destroying their spirits.

What is the theme of Susan Glaspell's play Trifles?

Out of the many themes that this story expands upon, the most salient is gender inequality. A lot of topics surface under the umbrella of this theme. Among many other subthemes that exist within the theme of gender inequality we can find:

• spousal abuse (husband to wife)
• social expectations of females
• women in patriarchal societies
• women roles in the family
• isolation 
• marital expectations

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are two women who are asked to join their husbands in looking for items to take back to accused husband killer, Minnie Wright. At the time the action begins, Wright is being held at the county jail. This is why she made requests to bring some things back to her that she needs.

There, we can see the first example of differentiation of gender. The accused killer is a female, hence, the men in charge of investigating the scene leave it up to other females, their own wives, to "take care of her." Moreover, Sheriff Peters assumes that his wife would be "scared" of embarking in such a mission, and he requests for her the company of Mrs. Hale, a former friend of Minnie Wright and the wife of the farmer who witnessed the scene of the crime.

We see more instances of gender inequality throughout the story. For example, the title "Trifles" refers to the descriptor that the men investigating the scene use to refer to the different items found around the house, which belonged to Minnie Wright. However, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters unveil that the so-called trifles were actually very important clues that could explain Mrs. Wright's state of mind at the time of the crime. Those "trifles" were in fact very telling.

Had the men been more clever, and less critical of Minnie Wright's lifestyle, they could have used those clues to build a strong case against Mrs. Wright that would have been an easy win for the county attorney, who was likely to work for the prosecution of Mrs. Wright. Instead, they continuously make sarcastic remarks and unfair jokes about things such as Minnie's stitching, her frozen compotes, and the state of her house. 

One important factor about gender inequality in the story is that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters know that Minnie is an abused wife who will still fall through the cracks of the system. They know that, even though John Wright caused tremendous psychological distress to his wife, no jury will care about the causes that led her to snap and kill her husband, especially in a society led mainly by men. This is why they join forces and become accomplices in concealing any evidence that could be used to bring Minnie down. As such, their gender inequality is at least strengthened by their mutual solidarity, and their support of Minnie. They can at least help to save whatever is left of Minnie's life. 

What is the theme of Susan Glaspell's play Trifles?

The two primary themes of "Trifles" are gender differences and isolation.  First, gender differences is important because women were treated differently during the time period in which this story is set.  Women's duties were in the household and their opinions weren't taken seriously many times by men.  Men thought that women were concerned with nothing but "trivial" things like cooking, cleaning, gossip, etc.  Women's intelligence was underestimated by men, so when they had "intelligent" thoughts or expressed their opinions about "serious" subjects, they weren't taken seriously.

Another theme is isolation.  Mrs. Wright led a very isolated life at home.  She wasn't able to "bloom" like she wanted to through her music, for example.  Mr. Wright suppressed the things his wife loved and prevented her from having her own interests, etc.  The fact that Mr. Wright killed her beloved canary was the last straw. This sent Mrs. Wright over the edge:

...Minnie Foster’s whole life changed when she married John. They lived in a gloomy farmhouse ‘‘down in a hollow’’ where Minnie couldn’t even see the road. No one came to visit, and she did not go out. The couple was childless, and John killed the only other life in the house: the canary his wife bought to sing to her and ease her lonely mind.

What is the conflict in the play Trifles?

The conflict that seems to be most evident in the play Trifles is the abrogation of the basic rights for safety and liberty, that all females deserve, by a male-dominated society.

The tendency to almost nullify the most basic rights of women, namely, the freedom to be safe and the freedom of expression, is not only evident in John Wright's grievous treatment of his wife for so many years, but also in the treatment that the other two female characters receive when they (the women) make conjectures, emit opinions, or try to come up with simple conclusions. 

The fact that the women's observations are rescinded as mere trifles by the "men in charge" illustrates the conflict of the play in terms of gender equality, gender roles, and the societal expectations of the two genders. For example, while the lawyer, sheriff and county attorney are making observations of the home as the crime scene, they do not take into consideration the dire state of the house as a potential clue of the daily struggles in Minnie's life. Instead, they immediately blame Minnie Wright for "not being a good housekeeper". 

COUNTY ATTORNEY [...] He goes to the sink, takes a dipperful of water from the pail and pouring it into a basin, washes his hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller-towel, turns it for a cleaner place.] Dirty towels! [...] Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?

Moreover, the men even laugh at the women's conjectures in a way that, to the modern reader, would see quite rude. This is also because, to the women, this is a customary form of treatment: they are simply to be seen and not heard; they are invisible. 

This is evident when the women see the stitching work that Minnie had been working on prior to the murder. To a knowledgeable woman, the disparate stitching would indicate that the person doing the work was in a dire state of anxiety. The fact that the work is in such a state sends immediate signals to Mrs. Hale who already has the feeling that Minnie had snapped. However, when she tries to find an alternative explanation she merely asked:

 I wonder if she was goin' to quilt it or just knot it?

To which the men, as they come down from the murder scene, laugh saying:

SHERIFF They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! [The men laugh, the women look abashed.

What would be a good thesis for the play Trifles?

Susan Glaspell’s play operates successfully on several levels, so an effective thesis statement will depend on identifying one significant aspect on which to build. The play is a mystery insofar as the policemen and the women try to determine if Minnie Wright killed her husband, John, and if so, why she did it. Going a bit deeper, one can examine it as a psychological drama that addresses multiple family dynamics that finally culminated in extreme violence. A thesis statement related to this type of analysis would center on Minnie Wright and make an assertion about her motivations for homicide, such as: Because John pushed her too far when he killed the bird, Minnie snapped and murdered her husband.

One interesting thing Glaspell does, however, is to keep both the apparent protagonist and antagonist offstage. The audience meets neither the wife nor the husband. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who are helping their neighbor, occupy the stage. In that regard, another line of analysis would focus on them—both their relationship to each other and to the policemen with whose views they disagree. Are these two female characters interchangeable? If not, how do they differ? A relevant thesis could relate to the greater importance of one of them. For example, in concealing the canary, Mrs. Hale deliberately obstructs the investigation because she wants to protect her old friend.

What are the themes in Trifles by Susan Glaspell?

The development of any identified theme from Glaspell's work will require analysis and support from what you have found in the play.  I would say that the empowerment of women would be a critical theme to come out of "Trifles."  The fact that the male detectives cannot figure out what happened is one element, but when the women try to piece together the events of the crime with their own knowledge of background information and character motivations, they are discouraged with their insights deemed as "trifles" and not substantive.  Yet, Glaspell reveals that the women were actually acting more like detectives then the men were, contributing to the fact that they solve the case.  In this light, the women were depicted in a light of empowerment which allowed them to be able to do just as much, if not more, than their male counterparts.

How is the theme of sisterhood depicted in Susan Glaspell's play Trifles?

Trifles is the aptly named play by Susan Glaspell in which it is the seemingly inconsequential and trivial things that hold the most importance in potentially solving the murder of Mr. Wright in his own home. This apparent contradiction supports the theme of sisterhood, as it is the wives who find the almost indisputable evidence to support the men's theory that Mrs. Wright killed her own husband. They decide to conceal this evidence because of their shared solidarity with Mrs. Wright.

The men, however, overlook the women's behavior and the detail that would lead them to the same conclusion that the women have already come to. They readily dismiss the women because, as Mr. Hale, the Wrights' neighbor, comments, "Women are used to worrying over trifles." He is remarking that Mrs. Wright is worrying over her spoiled preserves rather than a looming conviction for murder.

Without realizing what they are effectively doing, the men include even their own wives in the same category as Mrs. Wright, the woman who they are convinced murdered her own husband. Therefore, the men's actions also support the theme of sisterhood. The men in these women's lives force the women to form a bond (a sisterhood) in order to survive the harsh reality of their lives.

Even Mrs. Peters, who is initially reluctant to hide the compelling evidence, is persuaded to do so when she sees the reactions and behavior of the men and their complete disregard for what Mrs. Wright may have suffered at the hands of her husband.

The men do not recognize the potential for any meaningful contribution that Mrs. Hale or Mrs. Peters could make toward proving Mrs. Wright's guilt. How could women with interests in common with Mrs. Wright assist with their investigation? The men find it almost preposterous, making the female characters into "trifles" themselves. The men want to prove Mrs. Wright's guilt and punish her for daring to challenge her husband.

The kitchen with its preserves, the quilt, and sewing kit (crucial in solving the case) are so irrelevant to the men because they belong in a woman's world, and so they have no relevance. Hence, the theme of sisterhood is again reinforced.

What is the major theme of the play Trifles?

The play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell treats the theme of spousal abuse from a series of perspectives that give away the real problem with women in society: Their lack of acceptance, their unequal treatment, and the need to understand a cry for help.

Trifles's setting and opening begins at an isolated home, which constitutes the scene of the crime that has been committed by Minnie Wright against her abusive husband. Minnie is the main character that is never seen on stage, while Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale (the wives of the Sheriff and the Detective who come to observe the scene) make the bulk of most of the plot.

As the women look around the scene while their husbands investigate the house, they find key things that allow them to understand that Minnie Wright must have acted in some form of self defense. The house is incredibly untidy, the stitching made by Minnie is disparate and intensely awkward, and the women begin to wonder if Minnie's isolation has anything to do with her husband. After all, she changes tremendously towards the worse after she gets married.  This happens when, in the most climactic moment of the play, the women see a dead bird, hidden inside a box, with its head twisted. This is when the women connect all the dots and the declining action begins: Minnie Wright must have snapped from a deep moment of shock after witnessing her abusive husband kill her only companion, which is her canary. This is the moment when Minnie has had enough and plans her husband's murder.

In the end, the women silently agree to hide the evidence that incriminates Minnie. It is a secret and silent pact from one woman defending another.

Therefore, the main themes involve how Minnie's state of isolation and abuse leads her to lose her mind and kill her husband. Yet, right before being investigated, she had already been judged by the Sheriff and the detective. They immediately had cause to criticize the state of her kitchen and the unkempt home. In other words, women can only be good for one thing, and it is to be subservient.

What life themes does Susan Glaspell emphasize in Trifles through the plot?

Susan Glaspell's Trifles speaks to a woman's place in society. In its historical context, it addressed a very difference group of people than that of today, but its message is still compelling to the contemporary audience.

A theme is defined as:

...[t]he main idea or the basic meaning of a literary work.

The theme is not the same as the subject. Often, it is not stated outright, but is implicit. The literary work presents one or more "life truths" that the author is trying to share with the audience.

In the play Trifles, the author's inspiration came from an actual murder trial Glaspell covered as a reporter between 1899-1901, by...

...a farmer’s wife, Margaret Hossack, in Indianola, Iowa...accused of killing her husband, John...

Hossack was found guilty. When Glaspell wrote her one-act play in 1916, inspired by these events, things had not changed much for women in American society in those fifteen years. For instance, the right to vote still would not become law until 1920.

The majority of women at that time were wives and mothers. And while the rumblings of change for women's suffrage may have been felt for women living closer to major cities—like New York—women's rights in general would be a very long time coming to the farmlands of the U.S. Isolation among farmers because of long work days and, subsequently, limited social interaction, would have minimized any inkling of change with women's roles and rights. 

Mrs. Hale tells the County Attorney that a farmer's wife works very hard, but it goes unnoticed. The men are obviously dedicated to finding a motive that will convict Minnie, however, they never mention justice. The women support this concept (as they would be expected to) at the beginning—doing their duty, as society sees it:

MRS. PETERS. Of course it's no more than [the men's] duty...the law is the law.

However, the women are also challenged by what the men say and how they act. We can infer that Minnie has been physically abused by her husband, but this possibility does not occur to the men—and would it really matter?

The first significant incident takes place when the women find the broken jars of jelly:

COUNTY ATTORNEY. I guess before we're through she may have something more serious than preserves to worry about.

HALE. Well, women are used to worrying over trifles. 
(The two women move a little closer together.) 

Note the stage direction—it signals a physical and emotional connection between the women, and a noticeable step away from the men, who have just said that the things that completely fill a woman's life are trifles—things of little value.

Ironically, the men literally and figuratively convey that nothing of importance could come from the kitchen...to help their case:

COUNTY ATTORNEY. You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive?

SHERIFF. Nothing here but kitchen things. 

But it is in this "woman's place" that the women find evidence—the dead bird. This would provide the men with "probable cause." However, the women have also had the chance to discover how ugly Minnie's life had become: they comprehend her desperate circumstances, and they can empathize with the intense pain that drove her to kill the man that violently destroyed her only source of comfort. Their silence protects Minnie.

The story speaks, then, to the theme of duty vs. justice; the solidarity of womanhood; and, the domination of women by a patriarchal society.

What are the main themes in Trifles by Susan Glaspell?

In order to write an expository essay with citations on the one-act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, it is important to define what an expository essay and citations are and then select a suitable topic for an essay of this type.

An expository essay would examine an idea or thesis statement about the play using citations, or direct quotes drawn from the play, to back up your arguments. An expository essay should have an introductory paragraph in which you present what you are about to discuss, a body in which you present your arguments to back up your thesis (with citations to strengthen your assertions by providing evidential support), and a concluding paragraph in which you summarize your arguments and restate the thesis in light of them.

Trifles is a play based on an actual murder that Glaspell investigated while she was working as a reporter. In the play, five people arrive at the Wright farmhouse to search for evidence as to whether Minnie Wright killed her husband, John. The three men, Lewis Hale, Sheriff Peters, and George Henderson (the county attorney), go about the house looking for clues, while the women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, are left in the kitchen.

It is obvious from the dialog that the men consider the women inferior, capable only of minding households and not of conducting a murder investigation. However, from their unique perspective as housewives similar to Mrs. Wright, the women are able to find pieces of evidence indicating that Mrs. Wright may have indeed killed her husband. Instead of telling the men, though, the women cover up what they have found to protect Mrs. Wright.

This play is considered an early statement on feminism. The women are seen as astute investigators while the men, although they act superior and demean the women, are unable to find anything. The feminist theme is one that you could explore in your expository essay. In particular, you could point out how intelligent, insightful, and discerning the women are despite the low opinion the men have of them.

An example of a quote that exemplifies the attitude of the men would be when Lewis Hale says, "Well, women are used to worrying about trifles." Henderson then responds, "And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies?" When Mrs. Hale explains why the kitchen towels might be dirty, Henderson says, "Ah, loyal to your sex, I see." This is an extremely demeaning statement that shows the men's dismissive attitude towards the women.

The men also laugh at Mrs. Hale's comment about whether Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or knot the quilt she was working on. To them, it is inconsequential women's talk, but the quilt is in fact a clue to Mrs. Wright's state of mind. Later, the women find the broken cage and dead canary, which convince them that Mrs. Wright may have killed her husband but imply that the killing may have been justified due to her husband's abuse.

You can use further citations to indicate the women's thoughts as they decide not to share the evidence. For instance, Mrs. Hale takes some of the blame by saying, "I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be—for women."

You can write your expository essay using a theme such as the one suggested above, with an introduction, main part, and conclusion and citations taken directly from the play.