Trifles by Susan Glaspell - Essay Example

Essay, English Literature ic and Modern) Trifles “Trifles” is a drama by Susan Glaspell about the marital conflict between a couple, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Wright, leading to the murder of the former. Detailed investigations are carried out to identify the alleged murderer by the local legal authorities and the astute women friends of the Wright family. What is the reason for the serious differences between the bard-like Mrs. Write and the hard-hearted Mr. Wright? The drama takes an interesting turn on finding the bird whose throat has been throttled, more or less in the same manner in which Mr. Wright has been murdered. How the killed bird provides the vital clues to the possible motives and identification of the murderer, is one of the important issues detailed in “Trifles”. In the play “Trifles” amongst the many symbols Susan Glaspell has employed the bird is the flagship symbol (tragic though) viewed both from the philosophical as well as the secular angles. It provides the important evidence in the murder of Mr. Wright. The sixth sense of women plays the part in identifying something special in that dead bird which they happen to see in Mrs. Wright’s sewing basket. They realize that the bird has been smothered by a rope around its neck. Mrs. Hale concludes that Mr. Wright does not desire the presence of the bird in the house because he does not like singing. Mrs. Wright has been an artist of the choir when she is young and her voice is liked by the audience. She is known as Minnie then. Mrs. Hale asserts that Mr. Wright “killed his wife's singing"(Glaspell, n. p).This symbol is significant because it is liable to be interpreted from different angles. Who is responsible for terminating the life-force of the bird by strangulation? Mr. Wright might have mangled the bird’s neck as he is the one who stifles his wife’s singing habit and career and Mrs. Wright must have strongly resented the ill-conceived action by her husband. Or else, Mrs. Wright might have killed the bird in antagonistic protectiveness as the bird is free to sing and she is barred to do so as Mr. Wright does not like the sound of music in his house. This puts the audience in a dilemma. The dead bird provides the symbolic meaning of the working of the mind of Mrs. Wright. Her every move is calculated. The broken neck of the bird indicates that its death is not due to natural causes. She has lodged the bird in a box and keeps it in the sewing basket. It appears that she is not afraid of her action and she desires someone to see the dead bird. She does not bury the bird or throws it in some conspicuous, ordinarily not-noticeable place. The married life gives her lots of internal tensions and she is finding it intolerable to listen to the melodious notes of the bird that sings spontaneously and she desires that all positive noises in her life need to end and as such she ruthlessly kills the bird. The bird is thus the most significant piece of evidence in Trifles. It is the symbolic way to tell the spectators the manner in which Mr. Wright treats Mrs. Wright and stifles her aspirations to live the life of her choice. He kills her emotional world every day without murdering her physical body. To cause agony to her is his pleasure! The dead bird creates issues whether Mr. Wright or Mrs. Wright kills the bird. The sewing bag is the one of the dearest utilities from the point of view of a woman, and Mr. Wright, the music-hater must have killed the bird and he carefully wraps it and keeps it in the sewing bag to enable Mrs. Wright to see it. Mr. Wright knows that this will cause the maximum pain to Mrs. Wright and he wants it that way. The sight of the dead bird must have shocked Mrs. Wright, and with uncontrollable rage, she must have treated him in the same manner as he does to the bird. In the unhappy state of relations of their marital life, bird is the saving grace for Mrs. Wright, the spark of hope to carry on with her miserable life, and when that too is denied to her, she turns cynical and takes to the desperate option of killing Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale says Mr. Wright took something away from her that she could relate to. "She-come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and-fluttery". (Glaspell, n. p.) Thus the killing of the bird by Mr. Wright results in his own killing. The killing of the bird does not relate to other themes directly though, yet they reveal something tangible about the dispositions of Mrs. Wright which ends in disastrous consequences for the bird as well as for Mr. Wright. George Henderson’s observation that Mrs. Wright “wasn't much of a housekeeper," (Glaspell n. p.) refers to the kitchen that is left a mess. Perhaps the untidy kitchen is not to the liking of Mr. Wright and it is one of the reasons for their unhappy marital relationship. Susan Glaspell intelligently depicts the theme of the mental projections of Mrs. Wright through the design of the quilt. She is creating a quilt before the murder occurs. Ms. Hale is able to notice that the quilt is a log cabin pattern. This pattern signifies the notion of constraint and desolation. With no evidence that the cabin is warm and comfortable the quilt exemplifies the restrictions and negativity in their marital relationship. Knotting the quilt means to “knotting” her husband’s neck. Each symbol used by Susan Glaspell is part of the total argument that men restrict women’s freedom and Mrs. Wright when driven to desperation, commits the murder of her husband. Women tolerate the highhandedness of menfolk to certain extent, but will never accept the subservient position willingly. They are waiting for the opportunity to strike back and Mrs. Wright thinks that the time is right for her for the final assault. The theme of emancipation through retaliatory action highlights the incident of the killing the bird. When her abusive husband goes to the extent of killing the singing bird that is dearest to her heart, (music is her soul force as well), she thinks of taking a step that will silence Mr. Wright forever. Mr. Wright is the product of the male-dominated society against whom Mrs. Wright thinks of striking hard, so that there no necessity to strike again and again. She does the job with ruthless efficiency by strangulating him to death. It is reasonable to assume that Mrs. Wright plans to kill her husband, when she discovers the dead bird in the sewing box. All her subsequent actions are the consequences of the shock that the dead bird gives to her. Mr. Wright is perfect about the art of making the quilt and she knows how to tie a knot. She makes a faultless and procedurally perfect knot to make a loop to put around his neck. When she is sewing the quilt, she goes out of line which is due to her nervousness and losing concentration. Mrs. Hale observes this and says “Mrs. Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on..." (Glaspell, n. p.)She has expertise in sewing the quilt but the thought that she is going to kill her husband impacts her sewing skill process, state of mind and movements of the body parts. The bird symbolizes the fraternity of women, whose plight is like that of Mrs. Wright in one way or the other. The abuse can be emotional blackmail, verbal or physical. When one of the partners does not know the true meaning of love in marital life, the casualties like the bird happen. In the case of Wright family, perhaps the bird receives the share of love that belongs rightfully to Mr. Wright. One final observation by Mrs. Hale about Mrs. Wright: “I wish you'd seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang...she was kind of like a bird herself -- real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and -- fluttery. How -- she -- did -- change." (Glaspell, n.p.)The death of the bird symbolizes the death of Minnie Foster. Being neglected by the husband, her only solace is the songs the bird sings, but Mr. Wright chokes them out like the life of the bird he snuffs out. Mrs. Wright’s action is only reciprocal. In the entire story, the ‘spirit’ of the killed bird hovers all through, leading to various interpretations about the murder that takes place. Who is the killer of the bird is never told but the evidence of various symbols that result in throttling of the bird’s neck raise the finger of suspicion against Mr. Wright. Work Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles, n. d . . Read More