English 111 – BXM
11/3/13
Essay #2
Question 2
Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” dwelled on the investigation of the murder scene of Mr. Wright. In the beginning of the play, Mr. Wright was found dead in the upstairs bedroom with a rope hung around his neck. Lewis Hale recalled how he discovered Mrs. Wright acting bizarrely, and that she told him that her husband was murdered while he was sleeping. Mrs. Wright’s strange behavior and body language caused Mr. Hale and the Sherriff to believe that Mrs. Wright was the main suspect in her husband’s murder. There are three significant reasons for Mrs. Wright’s strange behavior. Mrs. Wright’s relationship, lifestyle, and the patriarchal dominance during that era caused Mrs. Wright to act inappropriately. One significant reason for Mrs. Wright’s behavior was her relationship with Mr. Wright. Their relationship wasn’t good at all. Mr. Wright was seen as a good man, but he was known to neglect his wife. Mr. Wright showed no interest in anything that pleased Mrs. Wright, and he wouldn’t allow her to sing in the choir. Mr. Wright oppressed Mrs. Wright by not allowing her to leave the house or have any interaction with the outside world. The dead canary was also symbolic of how Mr. Wright wanted to kill anything that gave Mrs. Wright pleasure. The bird represented Mrs. Wright’s personality, and how sweet she was as an individual before she was married to Mr. Wright. The dead canary is the motive for why Mrs. Wright killed her husband. When Mr. Wright killed the bird, he killed her along with it. Mr. Wright’s cruel attitude and control over Minnie Foster caused her to change as a person. Her lively attitude had eventually decreased tremendously due to the ways she was treated by her husband. Clearly, Mrs. Wright’s relationship with Mr. Wright had caused her to behave abnormally. Another significant reason for Mrs. Wright’s strange behavior was her lifestyle. One significant symbol that plays an important