A Feminist Analysis of Susan Glaspell's Play 'Trifles'

This essay provides a detailed analysis of Susan Glaspell's play 'Trifles,' focusing on its feminist themes and social commentary. The analysis examines the gender roles portrayed in the play, contrasting the perspectives and actions of the male and female characters. It explores how the women, through their empathy and understanding of Mrs. Wright's situation, solve the mystery, highlighting the limitations of the men's cold and detached approach. The essay delves into the psychological aspects of the characters, particularly Mrs. Wright's transformation and the impact of her marriage. It also discusses the play's critique of societal expectations and the oppression of women, symbolized by the caged bird. The essay concludes by emphasizing the play's challenge to traditional gender roles and its advocacy for a deeper understanding of women's experiences.

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Literary analysis of the play Trifles
‘Trifles’ is a 1916 play written by the playwright Susan Glaspell. The play revolved
around a murder mystery and an initial investigation by the country attorney, the town sheriff
and two witnesses along with their wives visiting the house of the murdered, Mr. Wright. This
one act play was set mainly in the kitchen area and the hallway of Mrs. Wright’s home. As the
play comes to its end, the readers realize that the suspect, Mrs. Wright is probably the murderer
of her husband who is now in the custody because of being in the murder scene. However, the
forbearers of law, the ‘men’ of the play did not succeed in finding any evidence from the house
that could prove that their suspect was the murderer.
On the other hand, the ‘women’ of the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters solved the case in
just few minutes while going through the sewing box and the kitchen area of Mrs. Wright. Here,
the irony is that the women were not supposed to be involved in cracking the case as they were
considered as less intellectual by the men of this play because of obvious reasons. The women
were treated as suited only for knitting, cleaning, cooking and doing everything that was
considered as insignificant by the men. Thus, this play can be analyzed from a feminist angle that
aims at rediscovering the actual role of women in the society. The way the women characters
solved the case just by evaluating the psychological state of Mrs. Wright and the nature of her
husband, it is clear that women are no less intellectual than men or it can also be assumed that
women are more skilled as detectives, a profession that is not typically suited for women as what
the society used to think back then.

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On the other hand, Mrs. Hale pointed out that Minnie, the wife of the victim, used to live
a totally different life before she got married. This fore grounded the fact that Mrs. Wright lost
her real self and her lively spirit just after being someone’s wife. This situation questions who is
the real victim here, the one who was murdered in one day or the one who went through death
each and every day because of the supposed abuse from Mr. Wright. Psychology of women and
men has also been highlighted in this play. The men have been portrayed as cold and emotionless
while the women have been presented as emotional, attached and empathetic.
At the end, it was proved that cold and detached handling of a case cannot help one to
successfully solve the case while an attachment with the case itself can be the guiding force in
understanding the psyche of the murderer. Finally, the play challenges a set of stereotypical
notions set by the society that lead women to be the strangled ‘caged singing birds’, mainly by
men, by entering deeper into the arena of the women’s territory, the kitchen.