Symbolism in \"Trifles\" an Analysis

Symbolism in "Trifles"

An Analysis of "Trifles" through a Variety of Symbols

Susan Glaspell's 1916 short play "Trifles" had its basis in a real-life murder trial -- but what is most remarkable about the play is its keen assessment of human nature and the discrepancy between the sexes. The discrepancy is noted in the way the women observe the home and the way the men roam about looking for clues, searching for an idea or motive for murder as though they were foreigners in a domestic setting. It is through the women that Glaspell provides the real clues as to what might have happened -- and it is through the women that the reader is provided the ultimate empathy for the character of Mrs. Wright. The men, remorseless in their verdicts and calculations, remain aloof, while the women essentially sew the case up by going about their business (which, ironically, includes gathering up the sewing). Thus, the home becomes a symbol for the nest, and the bird a symbol for the woman -- and "Trifles" is the woman's domain. Yet what should have been a happy home (or nest), ended up being a cage (a symbol of Mr. Wright's unnatural attempt to trap and keep his woman shut up), and the dead bird ends up being a symbol of the soul of Mrs. Wright. From the broken neck of the bird and the reflections of the women, one can conjecture who put the knot around Mr. Wright's neck. In one way, he did it himself, when he cut off his wife's singing. This paper will analyze Glaspell's play from the aspect of such symbols.

At first glimpse, the women's work appears to be nothing more than "trifles" -- canning the fruit, cleaning the house, sewing the quilts, keeping the home cheery. And yet, the naturalness with which the women take to these tasks is reflected in the manner of the bird and its nest: it gathers the twigs, puts it together, lays the eggs, etc. Here, of course, in this last depiction of the bird and the nest -- what's object is to keep the eggs -- is a clue to the loneliness of Mrs. Wright, who had a nest -- but no children. It is as if she were perpetually gathering twigs about her and keeping the nest -- but for no end.

Nonetheless, this symbol is representative of only one aspect of the woman. The sewing is another symbol that gives a clue not only to the mystery of the murder but also to the mystery of the womanhood of Mrs. Wright. This mystery is reflected in the craft of sewing -- a careful, considerable work, that requires utmost skill, attention, and focus. The women remark on Mrs. Wright's sewing and then (true to her nature) Mrs. Hale pulls out a knot in the sewing to redo it. Yet that knot serves as another important symbol -- which is related the dead bird and the knotted noose that killed Mr. Wright.

To explain: we are told that Mrs. Wright was a wonderful singer, but that after her marriage to Mr. Wright (who by all accounts was a solitary, cold man) her singing ceased -- apparently because he did not like it and did not allow it. This is akin to stifling the singing of a bird -- who could do it? Nonetheless, Mrs. Wright's singing was suppressed. Still, her sewing continued -- careful and conscientious. But if she could not sing, perhaps she could have a bird that could. What the women discover, however, is that apparently the bird that Mrs. Wright purchased to keep her company and to provide some element of warmth in the house had its neck broken by the husband.

Here was a symbolic action: the tyrant despising nature, attempting to control it to his own liking, and wringing its neck when it refused to conform to his own tastes. What Mr. Wright did to the bird, was like what Mr. Wright did to the soul of his wife: he choked it.

From Mrs. Peters we learn that as a girl she had watched her kitten be cruelly decapitated by a boy with a hatchet and that if there had been no one around to stop she might have done something equally as horrifying to him in retaliation. The women fall silent upon this reflection. It becomes obvious to them now who has killed Mr. Wright. But because they empathize and see the reasons behind it -- not as a result of scouting about looking for clues like the men or asking puzzling questions of the neighbors -- but simply by going about their seeming "trifles" -- which now appear as no trifles at all, but rather as important and serious work that is not to be taken lightly -- both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters keep their revelation to themselves. They see that while Mr. Wright's death may have come directly from the hands of Mrs. Wright, indirectly he himself was responsible.