Trifles: domestic conflict and female agency

Social Inequality in Trifles

Literary works of fiction are common modes of presenting social issues. For instance, Susan Glaspell's play, Trifles, examines gender issues in society, presenting a story of a woman who killed her husband as a result of her decision to end the mental and physical abuse she suffered at his hand. Through the symbolic use of physical elements, such as the canary and the cage, the quilt, and half-finished tasks, as well as non-physical elements of speech, Glaspell presents a feminist viewpoint that social inequality allows women to be dominated by men, and suffer from isolation and abuse as a result.

Symbolism to demonstrate gender inequality is evident in Trifles through the display of half-finished tasks in the Wright home. The story opens with reference to the kitchen, where there are "unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dishtowel on the table" (973). Minnie Wright, the woman accused of killing her husband, has failed to complete her expected domestic tasks, and is initially presented as a failure in her subservient role as housewife. The incompleteness of her work also demonstrates that she cut short her assigned duties as a woman to end the cycle of expectation and abuse.

The canary and the cage is another use of symbolism, and is an historical analogy that women are like pretty ornamental fixtures in the home, yet trapped like birds in a cage. When considering the times that this play was written, canaries were then used in mines to provide warnings of danger to the miners. Minnie Wright, viewed as the canary in this context, would have the ability to read warning signals of danger, such as the indication that violence was about to occur. When Mrs. Hale finds the concealed dead canary and Mrs. Peters remarks, "Somebody -- wrung -- its neck," (979) the evidence that the bird was brutally attacked is symbolic of the hidden domestic violence that women can suffer.

The quilt, a traditional work done by women, is often seen as a story pieced together on fabric. The change in Minnie Wright's sewing technique paralleled her intolerance of abuse. When Mrs. Hale examines the quilt she remarks, "I wonder if she was goin' to quilt or just knot it?" (976) as she noted that the neat quilting stitches had changed to knots. For Minnie Wright, the change to tying knots in the quilt was symbolic of her designing an end to her husband's abuse and tying the knot in the noose that killed him. As the physical elements in the story symbolize gender inequality and the resultant abuse that women can suffer, the speech elements also present verbal signals of male dominance.

Speech and non-speech are modes of communication that symbolically infer male dominance and female subservience throughout the play. For instance, Minnie's husband, John Wright, prevented her from communicating with other people and forced her isolation. As Mr. Hale, when inquiring to Minnie Wright about their not having a phone line, remarked, "I didn't know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John" (973). Also, the non-verbal communication between the women is dominated by the constant conversation by the men. The varied communication styles presented by Glaspell infer that women are silenced in society, especially when physical and emotional abuse are concerned.