Trifles And The Women Who Worry Over Them - 1037 Words

Trifles and the Women Who Worry Over Them At the start of Susan Glaspell’s dark drama â€Å"Trifles† we are introduced to the characters as they all arrive at an abandoned farmhouse previously owned by the recently murdered Mr. John Wright and his killer, and wife, Mrs. Wright. The men’s dominance over the situation and the women is clear from the initial understanding of their individual roles. The men all seem to have important tasks to perform. The sheriff and the county attorney are investigating John Wright’s murder by searching for evidence of his wife’s guilt. Mr. Hale, a farming neighbor, has been requested to give his testimony of the morning he discovered the murder, thus enforcing the important roles of the male characters. The†¦show more content†¦The county attorney then discovers a mess of canned fruit that shattered when frozen, prompting the women to discuss Mrs. Wrights worry for her preserved fruit. The men find it odd tha t in light of her situation she would care about such a trivial object. Hale states: â€Å"Well, women are used to worrying over trifles† (Trifles, 30) and in that moment the title of the play is born. Immediately following Mr. Hale’s remark we are prompted that â€Å"[the two women move a little closer together]† (Trifles, 31) While this prompt may seem minor it is the first occurrence of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters teaming up in reply to a demeaning comment made by one of the men. As the story progresses the men continually dismiss the comments of the woman and in doing so overlook the â€Å"womanly† places and objects in the house. By ignoring these places, such as the kitchen, they take their search upstairs and leave the woman alone downstairs where they slowly begin to piece together evidence of Mr. Wright’s murder and the reasoning behind it. The women, left alone, begin to collect some of Mrs. Wright’s personal belongings with the inte ntion of delivering them to the jail for her. As they collect her possessions, the two women begin speaking amongst themselves. Throughout their conversations the men continue to appear and leave again on their all important search for justice. They consistently criticize the woman throughout the script for worrying about the small things such as