ANALYSIS: PLOT ANALYSIS

Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict,
complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the
recipe and add some spice.

Exposition (Initial Situation)

The whole gang shows up at the Wrights' gloomy farmhouse, and we get a heaping scoop of back-
story and also find out what everybody is here to do. Basically, Mrs. Wright is in the slammer
because she most likely strangled her jerk husband with a rope. The County Attorney and the other
men are here to find clues, and the women are going to collect some things for Mrs. Wright.

Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)

The menfolk hunt for clues that will convict Mrs. Wright, but take a few breaks to hurl sexist remarks
at Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Mrs. Hale gets more and more ticked at the men's drive-by misogyny,
while she and Mrs. Peters grow to understand Mrs. Wright's bummer of a life with her awful
husband. The first big complication happens when the ladies find a dead canary, most likely
murdered by Mr. Wright, which is evidence of Mrs. Wright's motive for murdering him. 

Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)

No doubt our point of highest tension is when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters decide to hide the dead
bird from the County Attorney and the other men. The ladies are taking a stand for Mrs. Wright…
and women as a whole.

Falling Action

This is a super short one-act play. After the climax, we jump right to the end. 

Resolution (Denouement)

Mrs. Hale delivers a snarky comment to the County Attorney while pressing her hand against the
dead canary in her pocket. The men are clueless, but we know the women won this round. The story
is resolved, and the case is closed—for the ladies and the audience at least.

TRIFLES THEME OF WOMEN

AND FEMININITY
Trifles is thought of as one of the first feminist dramas, so we're guessing there's a
pretty good chance that the theme of Women and Femininity is in there somewhere.
Okay, we're not guessing—we're absolutely, positively sure.
And this theme isn't just in there somewhere; it's screaming at us from every page.
The play shows us a time in America where women are neglected, ignored, and
generally belittled by men. All this comes to a head when two women hide evidence
that could convict another housewife of murdering her husband. Why? Because just
like the murderess, they're sick of being neglected, ignored, and belittled.

TRIFLES THEME OF JUSTICE

AND JUDGMENT
Trifles flips typical ideas of Justice and Judgment totally on their head. Typically,
when somebody murders another person, we think they ought to be punished,
right? Trifles says, "Meh, not so much."
When the super sleuth farmwives of this play decide to help a murdering woman go
free, we're guessing a good part of the audience roots for them to succeed. Showing
a world where law is created entirely by men, this play dares to ask the question of
whether women should be expected to follow rules they weren't allowed to help
create

TRIFLES THEME OF
ISOLATION
Isn't it weird that one of few things that bring us all together is the fact that we all
know what it's like to be alone? Hey, we're not trying to get all mopey on you—we're
just trying to be as real as Susan Glaspell is in Trifles.
This one act play really packs a wallop as it and paints a heartbreaking picture of
one woman's lonely life in an isolated farmhouse. The theme is bigger than one
woman's story, though. The play also makes think of the isolation of all women—
from their families, from other women, and from society as whole. Thanks for giving
our brains a workout, Susan Glaspell.

TRIFLES THEME OF MEN AND

MASCULINITY
Menfolk don't come off looking so great in this feminist classic—and that's putting it
mildly. The nicer dudes in Trifles are blatantly sexist against women, while the
meaner guys are blatantly sexist… and also kill small animals.
Of course, even though the play might be a little harsh on the hairier sex, the male-
centric society of its time was incredibly harsh on women. Most critics will tell you
that Trifles is an honest expression of the frustration and simmering rage that was
building among American women not long after the 20th century dawned.

TRIFLES THEME OF FREEDOM

AND CONFINEMENT
We've got a lady in jail for murdering her husband in this play, so we dare anybody to
say that Freedom and Confinement isn't a theme. On top of the literal
imprisonment, Trifles also paints an incredibly sad picture of the murderess's years
of metaphorical entrapment by her husband's neglect and emotional abuse.
As if that weren't enough, the play also makes it crystal clear just how confined by
male-dominated society all women were at the time the play was written. If that's not
enough Freedom and Confinement for you, we don't know what is.

TRIFLES THEME OF VISIONS

OF AMERICA
Are you dying for a vivid picture of rural Midwestern life at the turn of 20th century?
Well, you're in luck. Are you just reading Trifles because some teacher made you?
Well, you're still in luck—by peeking into the past, we all get a clearer perspective on
why the present is like it is.
Trifles gives an authentic taste of what farm life was like back in the day, and more
importantly gives us a female perspective on what life was like at a time when
women's options were way more limited than they are today.

TRIFLES THEME OF VIOLENCE

Trifles is a murder mystery, so there's no doubt the theme of violence is going to
come into play. Things aren't quite so clear cut when comes to this theme, though.
Usually, we see the violent murderer as the bad guy (or gal), and the murdered as
the victim.
But what happens when we begin to sympathize with the murderer? What happens
when a play seriously asks us to question whether violence is might actually a
justified solution to a problem? You'll wrestle with these questions and more
in Trifles. Be careful while you're wrestling, though—this play has a violent streak.

Literary Devices Used in Trifles

Because Trifles is a play it is written in a little different format. First off it is written in dialogue
form so there are lines of speech from the different characters. Accompaning that there is also
Stage buisness which are nonverbal actions that attract the attention of the audience. These
actions could be gestures or movements done by the actors to make a point that words cannot.
Not found in trifles but are common in plays are asides and sililoquies. An aside is when an actor
addresses the audience directly but the rest of the characters do not hear it even though they are
on stage. A sililoquy is much like an aside where a character talks directly to the audience but
this time they are alone on stage with no other charcters. All of these devices are used frequently
in scripts but like I said before only stage buisness appears in this play. 
Crucially, the biggest literary element that is utilised in this excellent play is irony. You cannot really
grasp the message of the play if you do not identify that there is a conflict between men and women
in this play. Consider the scenario: The Sherrif, County Attorney and Mr. Hale have come to the
Wright's house to find some evidence that would convict Minnie Wright of her husband's murder.
They are patronising and dismissive about any observations that the women make. Yet it is the
women themselves, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who, by using their knowledge of how households
operate, find the motive for the murder and are able, with their "trifles," to achieve what the men
are unable to.

Note how this theme is established. The men look at the kitchen and see nothing but "a nice mess."
When Mrs. Peters expresses concern about Minnie Wright's preserves, Hale responds:

Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.

Ironically, it is the trifles that the men are so quick so dismiss and overlook that prevent them from
piecing together what happened. This irony runs throughout the play, right up until the end when
the County Attorney "facetiously" makes reference to the quilt that the women have identified as a
piece of evidence.