Topics for Further Study
Read John Millington Synge’s renowned one-act play Riders to the Sea and compare it to Glaspell’s Trifles. How does each play utilize symbolism and local color? Why is the one-act format significant to each work?
One of the key characters in Trifles is Mrs. Wright, yet she never makes an appearance on stage. Why did Glaspell choose to exclude her from the play? How does her absence affect Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters? Discuss how the play would change if Mrs. Wright were present.
Investigate the lives of women in rural American communities at the turn of the century. What were the typical tasks assigned to women? How did the demands of frontier life shape the roles women played within the family? Examine how the frontier experience influenced the decisions made by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in the play.
Trifles features several significant symbols. In literature, a symbol represents something else and is often used to convey deeper layers of meaning. What are some of the key symbols in Trifles? How does Glaspell use these symbols to drive the plot and convey deeper meanings about her characters or themes?
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