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NEB ENGLISH GUIDE CLASS 11: ALL NOTES [ C. ENGLISH |M. ENGLISH] NEB ENGLISH SUPPORT
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Trifles Exercise | Susan Glaspell
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Class 11 English | Neb English Notes
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
ABOUT THE PLAY
This suspenseful and mysterious one-act play "Trifles" has been written by American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress Susan Glaspell.
This play has been presented, showing various aspects related to women's lives and their self-priorities.
The whole play is about an investigation related to the murder mystery of Mr. John Wright. For his murder, his wife, Mrs. Minnie Wright has been accused and arrested. This play has shown this particular murder's investigation as well as the different perspectives of Mrs. Wright's neighbours about her and different proofs related to this murder.
Here in this play, the major topic of discussion is Mrs. Wright, who is off the stage. The entire task of investigation moves on along with hypotheses, proofs, and Mrs. Wright's discussion.
MAIN THEMES
This play has presented various themes related to women's lives, such as isolation, loss of identity, male dominance, revenge and violence, feminism, freedom by rebellion, etc.
MAJOR CHARACTERS
ON STAGE MAJOR CHARACTERS
☆ County Attorney: Mr. George Henderson
☆ Mr. Henery Peters
☆ Lewis Hale:
☆ Mrs. Peters
☆ Mrs. Hale
Mr. George Henderson
Mr. George Henderson is the county attorney. He is mainly called to investigate the murder of Mr. John Wright. He serves as the attorney for the prosecution in the event of a trial. He seems young and professional in his manner. He often dismisses the woman's interest in minor details of domesticity. He ridicules women's acts during his investigation and complains about Mrs. Wright and her housekeeping abilities.
Henry Peters
Henry Peter is a middle-aged local sheriff and husband of Mrs. Peters. He is present at John Wright's farmhouse to examine the scene of the crime. Like Henderson, he also gently teases the women about their interest in Mrs. Wright's quilt.
Lewis Hale
Lewis Hale is a neighbouring farmer of Mr. and Mrs. Wright. He is the person who entered the Wright farmhouse to ask John about acquiring a telephone line. He was informed by Mrs. John Wright about the strangled condition of Mr. Wright. He found Mrs. John Wright acting very bizarrely while sitting on the rocking chair. He is the person who says, "Women are used to worrying about trifles".
Mrs. Peters
Mrs. Peter is a relative newcomer to the town who never knew Mrs. Wright before John Wright married her. She is "a slight, wiry woman" with a "thin, nervous face". She is married to the sheriff, Mr. Henry Peters. She prefers to follow the law, often apologising for the behaviour of the men because they are only doing her duty. She understands loneliness and the world of the female domestic.
Mrs. Hale
Mrs. Hale is the wife of the neighbouring farmer, Lewis Hale. She is a quite bold woman who doesn't like men's dominance. She feels quite angry when men ridicule women's activities and their domestic occupations. She knows about Mrs. Wright and remembers Mrs. Wright as the young Minnie Foster. She feels sorry for Mrs. Wright. She regrets not having come to visit Mrs. Wright for a long time.
OFF STAGE TWO MAJOR CHARACTERS
☆ Mr. John Wright
☆ Mrs. John Wright [ Minnie Foster ]
Mr. John Wright
Mr. John Wright is a local farmer and the husband of Mrs. Wright. He was considered a good, dutiful man, but he was also a hard man and neglected his wife's happiness. He paid little attention to his wife's desires and happiness. He prevented her from singing. The entire play centres on the motive for his murder.
Mrs. Wright
Mrs. Wright is the wife of a farmer, Mr. John Wright. She was recognised as Minnie Foster before her marriage. She used to be a happy, lively girl who sang in the local choir, but after she married John Wright, her life became unhappy and forlorn. Although she does not appear in the play, she is the main suspect in her husband's murder. She sends Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to collect a few minor items for her from the farmhouse.
MAIN SUMMARY
The play begins at the farmhouse of Mr. John Wright. In the beginning, we find all the characters entering Mr. Wright's kitchen. Firstly, County Attorney Mr. George Henderson, Mr. Henry Peters, and Mr. Lewis Hale enter the kitchen. All these men are followed by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. The condition of the kitchen is completely messy. When they reach there, they find everything shabby and abandoned. The dishes in the kitchen lay scattered; a loaf of bread was out of the bread box; a dishtowel was on the table; unwashed pans were under the sink, etc. It seems as if it is a sign of incomplete work.
All the male characters move near the fireplace, whereas the women stand at the door. The county attorney, Mr. Henderson, inspects the things in the kitchen, confirming whether they are touched or not.
He starts his investigation with a question to Mr. Hale about the previous day's events. Mr. Hale is a person who witnessed the dead body of Mr. Wright at first. Mr. Hale relates that he visited Mr. Wright's house to ask about getting a telephone line. He met Mrs. Wright sitting on a rocker (a chair), moving back and forth. She seemed quite strange and nervous while pleating her apron. She strangely behaved with Mr. Hale. She informed Mr. Hale about her husband's death upstairs with a rope around his neck. She said that someone strangled her husband when she was in her sleep. She added that she didn't hear anything from her husband during the night. After that, Mr. Hale informed Mr. Henry Peters about the death of Mr. John Wright and brought him to the spot to see the dead body. He even went to bring the coroner, an official related to the investigation of suspicious deaths. When Mr. Hale talked about the telephone with Mrs. Wright, she laughed and was even scared.
The county attorney, Mr. George Henderson, begins his investigation from the kitchen. He inspects some fruits, preservatives, and broken glass jars in the cupboard's closets. The broken jars' glasses have made the cupboard so messy.
Both Mr. Henderson and Mr. Peters criticise the trifle worries related to the preservative jars of Mrs. Wright, who has been accused and arrested for her husband's murder.
Mr. Henderson keeps on criticising Mrs. Wright's housekeeping skills and a dirty towel. But Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters support Mrs. Wright being a woman. Both women don't like Mr. Hale's dialogue. Mr. Hale says that women worry over the trifles. Both women came closer to each other after hearing his dialogue. The men move upstairs to search for evidence. Mr. Henderson allows both women to gather the belongings for Mrs. Wright. When Mrs. Hale arranges a pan in the kitchen, Mr. Henderson disturbs her. Mrs. Hale doesn't like Mr. Henderson's task of criticising women. Both women take clothes for Mrs. Wright from her closet. Later on, both women start talking about Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale relates about Mrs. Wright to Mrs. Peters.
According to her, Mrs. Wright was a quite famous singer thirty years ago, known as Minnie Foster. She was so beautiful and cheerful then. She used to wear a pretty dress and sing quite beautifully. But, after her marriage, her happiness ended. Her husband was a quite strict person. He didn't allow her to join women's aid. After marriage, she mostly wore an apron with a shawl, which was hung behind the door. Mrs. Hale considers Mrs. Wright an innocent woman who worries about fruit preservative jars. Both women don't think that Mrs. Wright murdered her husband.
According to Mrs. Peters, her husband doubts Mrs. Wright. He didn't believe Mrs. Wright's act of not waking up at night during the murder. Mrs. Hale even mentions that her husband found a gun in the house. It is very suspicious to use a rope for murder instead of a gun. Mrs. Hale is worried about Mrs. Wright, who is locked in the town's prison.
A bit later, Mrs. Hale finds a large sewing basket with a quilt. When they examine the quilt, they find the stitches aren't well-stitched. They infer Mrs. Wright's nervousness while stitching the quilt. When the men hear women's discussions related to quilts and knots, they laugh and ridicule the trifling tasks of women. The men go to the barn to search for the evidence.
Both women want to complete the unfinished quilt. While searching for paper and string, Mrs.Peters finds a birdcage in a cupboard. There isn't a bird, and the door of the cage is broken. Mrs. Hale remembers a man who was selling singing bird canaries around the previous year. They infer Mr. Wright must have bought a canary from him. Mrs. Hale guesses that the cat might have caught the bird in the cage. But Mrs. Peters informs Mrs. Hale that Mrs. Wright didn't have a cat. She says that her cat once went into Mrs. Wright's room and made her upset. Mrs. Hale worries about not visiting Mrs. Wright's house these days. According to her, she never liked this lonesome and gloomy place, which is quite hollow and too far from the road. Mrs. Hale adds that Mr.Wright was quite a hard man to live with. There were no children in the house. Mrs. Wright had to spend her time in loneliness while Mr. Wright was at work. Mrs. Hale guesses that Mrs. Wright must have bought a canary for her company. Mrs. Hale says that she was like a bird, real sweet and pretty, singing beautifully in a choir before marriage. She wonders how she changed.
Later on, Mrs. Hale finds a pretty red box in the sewing basket while searching for scissors to fix the stitches made by Mrs. Wright. Both of them are quite surprised to find a dead canary wrapped in a silk cloth. They feel terrified to see the wrung neck of the bird. When they hear the sound of men coming back from the barn, they hide the red box among the quilt pieces. Mr. Henderson again ridicules the women, asking about the blanket and whether it was knotted or quilted. Mrs. Peters answers decisively, saying that Mrs. Wright wanted to knot it. The men discuss finding no evidence in the barn.
Next, the men discuss the rope, which was the house's rope and was used for murdering Mr. Wright. They move upstairs again to make an analysis of the rope, inch by inch.
Now, both women get a new insight into Mrs. Wright's situation. Mrs. Hale says that Mrs. Wright was trying to bury her lovely bird in a pretty red box. Mrs. Peters recalls an incident from her past and becomes sad. According to her, she had a beautiful kitten when she was a girl. But a boy killed her kitten brutally with a hatchet before her eyes. Quite interestingly, she says that if she had been bold enough, she would have hurt the boy. Here, Mrs. Peters opinions reveal the concept of revenge. Both women try to connect the case of killing a bird to the murder of Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale concludes that Mr. Wright was a strict man who didn't like his wife singing or even a singing bird-like canary. After many years of emptiness in the house, a bird started singing. She is sure that Mr. Wright must have killed the bird, being furious.
Mrs. Peters relates her own experience of stillness (emptiness). She lost her first two-year-old baby in the past. After the death of the baby, she passed her tough time without her baby. But she adds that the law has to punish the crime. Mrs. Hale also recalls Mrs. Wright as a signer. She feels guilty for not visiting and supporting Mrs. Wright in her needs during these days.
Mrs. Hale becomes sympathetic towards Mrs. Wright and decides not to tell her about broken jars of preservatives. Mrs. Peters wraps a fine jar of preservatives in a petticoat for Mrs. Wright. They don't want to make her sad. Mrs. Peters knows that the men would laugh at them being upset over the dead canary.
The men come downstairs, saying they need definite evidence for the culprit. Mr. Henderson doesn't seem satisfied. To proceed with the case further, he wishes to stay there for any other clue. Mrs. Peters asks Mr. Henderson to verify the belongings of Mrs. Wright, which she has taken. Mr. Henderson verifies them randomly, saying that she is also tied to the law as a sheriff's wife. The sheriff and coroner move to the other room's window to look for evidence. Mr. Hale also goes out.
Both women conceal the evidence related to Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Peters tries to hide the box in her bag, but the box is too big. She tries to catch the canary but cannot touch it. Mrs. Hale snatches the box from Mrs. Peters and puts it into her big coat's pocket as she hears the door's sound in the other room.
This play ends with the conversation between Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Hale. Mr. Henderson asks the ladies sarcastically about Mrs. Wright, saying that she was not going to quilt it. But Mrs. Hale defends Mrs. Wright, saying that she was going to tie the knot.
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