Trifles Research Paper

The play “Trifles” written by Susan Glaspell contains many literary elements that support the theme of the play. There are many themes discussed in this one act play. Some of these themes include: patriarchal dominance and male chauvinism, law and duty, and justice. The main theme, although there are many, is patriarchal dominance, meaning that men believe that they are above women in all circumstances. This mindset is very common among the men in this play; the men infer that the women are not capable of the things that men are. The literary elements of character, setting, and symbolism in this play are used brilliantly to support the theme of patriarchal dominance.
The characters in this play are very crucial to its theme. The County
Attorney, the Sheriff, Mr. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale are all at the Wright Residence looking for clues to the unsolved murder of Mr. Wright. The men, of course, take the lead in the investigation. They are taking charge of the situation and not taking the women’s thoughts into consideration. For example, as the men and women are looking in the kitchen the women point out the jarred fruit. The men immediately come back with a snarky remark about the female sex and disregard their attempts to help. This is the case multiple times throughout the play; a woman will find something that she believes is crucial to the investigation and the men will just dismiss it. The women are able to find crucial clues that the men would not even think of because the women know how girls think. However, because these men believe they are superior to women, they will not take any of their comments seriously. In the end, the women end up solving the murder and realizing the motives, while the men are left clueless. The characters are vital to the theme of patriarchal dominance in this play.
The setting of “Trifles” is another very important element that supports the theme of the play.
This play was written in 1916, which explains the sexist comments made in this play. 1916 was a completely different time from today; women were not treated with the same respect as men and were looked down upon by the majority of people. During this time, women did not have jobs and were only able to work at home and do “women's jobs,” such as cooking, cleaning, and raising kids. The women in this play did not have the rights that the men had and the comments made by the men were common for this time period. If this story, for example, would have been written in a later time period it would be a completely different story; the men would have treated the women with much more respect than they do in the play. The setting plays a huge role in this play. Without the setting, the theme would not be properly
supported.
The symbolism used in this play supports the theme of patriarchal dominance.
The main symbol expressed in this play is the canary. The women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, discover this bird while searching for clues in the Wright house. The bird was found in a box and had been wrapped up in silk. When the ladies unwrap the bird, they find that its neck had been wrung. At first, the women believe that this bird symbolized Mr. Wright—and in a way it does—but it has a more significant meaning to it. They later find a bird cage, and that is when the women, along with the audience, realize what the bird symbolizes. The bird is meant to symbolize Mrs. Wright before she was married. Mrs. Peters says that Mrs. Wright used to sing, just like birds. She also explained that Mr. Wright would not let her sing, she specifically says, “He killed that, too” (Glaspell 1393). The cage symbolizes how she was trapped in her marriage, and she believed the only way to get out was to kill Mr. Wright. This goes right along with the theme of patriarchal dominance; Mr. Wright controlled the marriage and his wife. She had no freedom, just like a bird stuck in a cage. The theme of this play is reliant on the two symbols used: the bird and bird
cage.
The literary elements in this play are used to support the theme presented, which is patriarchal dominance. Without the characters, setting, and symbols used the theme would not be conveyed in the same way. The characters show the theme, the setting enforces the theme because of the time period, and the symbols show how it affected Mrs. Wright. The theme of patriarchal dominance is expressed throughout this play with the help of these literary elements.