Trifles – A Literary Analysis

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TRIFLES – A LITERARY ANALYSIS
Trifles is one of the most celebrated plays that have been scripted by Susan Gospell. The
play was composed in the year 1916 and is considered to demonstrate a murder mystery
(Glaspell). The play highlights the initial level of investigation that was conducted by the sheriff,
the country attorney along with the two witnesses accompanied by their wives who had visited
the house of the murder victim, Mr. Wright. The following essay attempts a literary analysis of
the play in discussion, Trifles.
The play in discussion is a one-act play and is observed to have been taking place in the
kitchen space and hallway of the house wherein Mr. Wright had been living. The enactment of
the play is observed to have been completed in an area that is not the scene of the crime nor does
it represent the official settings like that of a police station. The play had been taking place in the
kitchen space and demonstrated the skills of investigation as had been adopted by two of the
female members of the cast of the play. These members are observed to be the wives of the
witnesses and are not authorized to solve the case (Chaisilwattana et al. 15). The play highlights
the private domain and the use of the intellect by the female cast thereby defying all the norms of
the then society which prioritized the male members of the society.