Trifles Susan Glaspell\'s 1916 Play

Trifles

Susan Glaspell's 1916 play Trifles is an ideal case study in the emerging feminism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, because although the play is definitely feminist, it is feminist according to a distinctly "first wave" notion of the word. The core twist of Trifles is that the men of the play fail to see the evidence linking Mrs. Wright to her husband's murder because they disregard this evidence as "trifles." In contrast, the two women in the play eventually realize that Mrs. Wright is guilty of murdering her husband, but they decide to keep the secret to themselves, having understood her reasons for the murder precisely by investigating these "trifles." The play corresponds to a first-wave feminist notion of valuing the domestic labor traditionally performed by women, because the resolution of the play revolves around understanding and appreciating this work, and the decision to let Mrs. Wright go free rather than punish her for her crime represents a progressive consideration of women's value and their right to self-determination.

Before addressing Trifles more closely, it is necessary to define what feminism means in this context, because the term has a variety of definitions. In the context of the play, feminism refers to the "first wave" of feminism that accompanied the suffragette movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was only called "first wave" by the second wave of feminists in the 1970s, and the movement had relatively modest goals by today's standards. Universal suffrage was of course a central goal, but the other main effort of these early feminists was a valuation of things deemed traditionally or inherently feminine.

This included things like traditionally feminine personality traits such as compassion and caring, but it also extended to the realm of labor, and particularly domestic labor. Throughout the nineteenth century, there was a pervasive belief that "domestic labor was women's work, [and] that it should be their unpaid contribution to society" (Schecther & Amin 191). Interestingly, first wave feminism was not interesting in breaking down this belief, exactly, but instead was interested in getting society to value this labor more. In other words, first wave feminism did not really attempt to do away with traditional gender divisions; instead, it attempted to demonstrate that even if these divisions exist, both sides of the dichotomy should be valued equally. As Glaspell's play shows, women's labor and interests were frequently considered to be "trifling" things, unworthy of the interest or respect of men.

That the play is interested in the valuation of women's work is evident throughout. The first time the women are able to speak, they discuss how Mrs. Wright's preserves froze and broke their jars, to which Mr. Hale responds "well, women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell). Almost immediately, then, the play indicates that the men of the story have no interest in the domestic concerns of women, even as they expect that domestic work to be done consistently and perfectly. There is an inherent contradiction in the way the men treat women's interests, because they are simultaneously regarded as trifling and insignificant while still existing as a central, constituent part of the men's happiness.

For example, just after the men dismiss the women's concerns as trifling, the county attorney complains that the towels are dirty and accuses Mrs. Wright of not being "much of a housekeeper" (Glaspell). The brief dialogue about the state of the kitchen is instructive, because it demonstrates how the men's indifference to traditionally feminine labor (except for when they need that labor in order to be comfortable) effectively blinds them to the truth. Even though they are supposedly there looking for clues, the men completely ignore the space of the kitchen, assuming that because it is a kind of feminine space there must not be anything of note there. They are automatically incapable of solving the crime, because they dismiss an entire room full of evidence.

This is why the sheriff's explanation "well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worrying about her preserves," is so ironic, because he suggests that the murder investigation and the women's observations about the kitchen are separate things. In reality, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are even more invested in the investigation than the men, because they demonstrate an attention to detail that the men lack. By the time the men return from their fruitless investigations, the women have determined both why and how Mrs. Wright murdered her husband, and they even come to the decision not to supply the evidence without ever alerting the men. Furthermore, their attempts to hide the small box containing the dead bird (whose death was Mrs. Wright's motive for the murder) are successful precisely because the men disregard the value of their work, with the country attorney saying "oh, I guess they're not very dangerous things the ladies have picked out" (Glaspell). In reality, the lawyer simply does not care about closely investigating the things the women have decided to take, because he assumes that they will not have taken anything of any worth.

What makes the play feminist above and beyond its portrayal of the gendered characters is the fact that the women's valuation of their own and Mrs. Wright's labor leads them to a more comprehensive, accurate understanding of the situation. In turn, this understanding leads them to the realization that Mrs. Wright was likely justified in her actions, to the point that they decide to hide evidence for her. As Suzy Clarkson Holstein notes in her essay "Silent Justice in a Different Key: Glaspell's 'Trifles,'" the women's different "way of knowing leads them not simply to knowledge; it also leads to the decision about how to act on that knowledge" (Clarkson Holstein 282). This fact is important because it leads to a larger first-wave feminist theme, namely, that the equal valuation of women's labor will produce a healthier, more cooperative society.

The play reveals that a devaluation of women's work leads to ignorance and misunderstanding, while an equal valuation of that work allows people to actually understand the social world (and not just one half of it). Through the play, Glaspell makes the case that the traditional devaluation of women's labor has resulted in a kind of stunted, malformed society that cannot even achieve the goals it sets for itself because it refuses to recognize or understand the contributions of one half of that society. The women's decision to help Mrs. Wright in the end indicates a moral shift towards a more equitable, truly just society.