Student Question

What do the broken jars symbolize in Trifles?

Quick answer:

The broken jars symbolize Mrs. Wright, who snapped and exploded just as they did. They exploded because the fire went out and the room grew cold. Mrs. Wright exploded because of the coldness of her husband's heart. After enduring years of her husband's cruelty, Mrs. Wright could take no more of it upon seeing that he had wrung the neck of her beloved pet canary.

Expert Answers

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The broken jars are a symbol of how Mrs. Wright snapped and exploded, killing her husband.

When they come to investigate, the men notice that Mrs. Wright's glass jars of preserves have exploded, making a big mess. The men investigating the murder belittle the women, including Mrs. Wright, for worrying so much about the preserves. They have little idea, as Mrs. Hale notes, of how much work is involved in being a farm wife. Mrs. Peters says,

Oh, her fruit; it did freeze, (to the LAWYER) She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire'd go out and her jars would break.

The freezing temperatures caused the fragile glass jars to explode. Likewise, Mr. Wright's cold heart and cold cruelty in killing Mrs. Wright's beloved canary caused her to explode. She too had the fragility of a glass jar, and she too was finally unable to endure the cold of living with a man like her husband after so many years. Her explosion also created a big mess.

The investigators' dismissal of the importance of the burst jars of preserves is typical of their mindset, which causes them to belittle the world of domesticity as filled with "trifles" of no importance. Because of their arrogance, they miss vital clues about the murder that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters pick up on.

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