In Susan Glaspell?s, Trifles, symbolism is a significant highlight for understanding the play. She writes about a woman, Mrs. Wright, who killed her husband because she blamed him for her sad tedious life. The two characters who solve the murder, while the county attorney and sheriff thought of different strategies the crime were Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Glaspell used symbolism as clues to whereas only the women were able to understand and put the pieces together. The two ladies showed that the female perspective can be just as important as the male.The 1st example is the jar of cherries, when the county attorney and sheriff were looking for evidence ?clues? in the kitchen. They look at Mrs. Wright preserves that went bad. The women later noticed there was one left that was still decent. The jar of preserves shows the final secret in reason to complete the case for the prosecutor. Mrs. Wright was the last jar on the shelf until her life broke down. It also represents the hours and dedication of labor to make them. To make the day go by in her long and tedious life, she would make them give her something to look forward in the winter The men, however, look at the jars as a joke. The 2nd example of symbolism was shown in the play when the county attorney asserted that Minnie was going to quilt the patchwork but knot it: ?Well, Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to____what is it you call it, Ladies? (Glaspell 1163).That line at the end of the play shows that Mrs. Wright knew how to tie a knot symbolizing she killed her husband by strangling him with a rope. With that being said, it shows the bond of some women have that is relatable to a knot. The two ladies have solved the murder but kept it an oath to keep it a secret. The messy stitching of the quilt remains unfinished that could represent the incomplete crime of Mrs. Wright. The 3rd example was when they noticed the dead bird and its cage. As the ladies were trying to pick up a few things for Mrs. Wright, they noticed a broken door on a birds cage with the mystery of a missing bird. They later discovered the bird wrapped up in a sewing box with his neck twisted. In the play, Mrs. Hale relates Minnie (Mrs. Wright) to the Bird. ?Come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself, real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery (Glaspell 1160).
The birds cage is the main climax of the play because Minnie felt she was caged like a canary. The bird also refers to Mrs. Wright life along time ago when she used to sing in the choir. Mrs. hale reminisces on it ? I wish you?d seen Minnie foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang?(Glaspell 1162). She gave up utterly when her husband killed the bird. Since they don?t have any children that were her only way of showing love and her affection to something. The two women understand Mrs. Wright killed him because when killed the bird, he killed her soul.
Every ?Trifle? the two ladies found was very useful. The dirty kitchen shows Minnie quick instinct on the murder. The dirtiness of the kitchen was also representing her freeness of not fearing nobody anymore. The birdcage was showing her isolation and abuse, the stitches that were messed up in the quilt shows she was afraid of something, and last the central puzzle in the story was a dead bird. The title shows how women and their duties were unimportant a long time ago. They were thought to be unimportant. Looking back throughout the play, Glaspell?s symbolism showed the bond that women have for each other. She used certain clues that women would comprehend and relate to. At the end of the end play, as Glaspell display, men don?t think the same as women do.
RATING: 8.5/10
