Women's Role In The Play Trifles
The Importance of Trifles
In the play Trifles, it is made obvious from the start that there has been a murder. While one might think that the play would center around the sheriff, court attorney and Hale as they investigate this crime and try to find the killer, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, the murderer, or in this case murderess, is abundantly evident from the start. Instead, the play focuses on two women, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, who were shafted from investigating by the men, as they look at various items in the house’s kitchen. However, by simply talking about these baubles, the women are able to discern the motive for the murder, something that the men were unable to do. Throughout Trifles, Glaspell comments on the roles of and power dynamics between men and women, while simultaneously showcasing the quiet strength of those who are considered lesser than.
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As soon as the five people enter the house, the men almost immediately begin speaking about the murder, their “official business” (Glaspell 1392). The women, contrarily, are relegated to looking about the messy kitchen, supposedly to “…keep an eye out for anything that might be important to [the investigation]” (1395). Despite saying this, one must only look at the preceding dialogue to see that the men place no importance in the kitchen. Hale says that “…women are used to worrying about trifles” and the attorney maintains that Mrs. Wright (the woman suspected of murder) is not “…much of a housekeeper” (1394). From these opening actions, one can discern each gender’s role; men are the main sources of income in families, while the women maintain the
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