Explorations of the Trifles

Q2 : What clues lead the women to conclude that Minnie Wright killed her husband?

The women had found a bird cage, symbolize the loneliness at home. Minnie Wright loves to sing and she used to join choir but then Mr. Wright did not allowed her to do so. That is why he killed the bird. So, the bird represented how Mr. Wright took his wife’s freedom.

Q3 : How do the men differ from the women? from each other?

In Trifles, the character of Sheriff and the Country Attorney obviously showed how they look down upon woman.  For example, during the investigation of the crime. They tries to deny the capability of women. Usually, women will look everything even a small thing. Otherwise, men will just look roughly. Women are more details in doing their job. Therefore, in this story the character of women seemed to be more realistic and professional.

Q4 : What do the men discover? Why do they conclude "Nothing here but kitchen things"? What do the women discover?

The men found dirty towels and conclude that  Mrs. Wright was not a good housekeeper. We can see through the their dialogue which is "Nothing here but kitchen things . The assumed that no evidence can be found in the kitchen and come out with the conclusion Mrs. Wright did not know to do house chores.  But for the women, they found the bird cage and the bird has died which can give hint or clue for their investigation. 

Major Playwright Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20, 1828, in Skien, Norway. In 1868, Ibsen moved to Germany, where he wrote one of his most famous works: which is the play A Doll's House.  A Doll House is one of his major work. He died on May 23, 1906, in Oslo, Norway. During his childhood, Henrik Ibsen showed lisign of the theatrical genius he would become.

 He grew up in the small Norwegian . He isthe oldest of five children born to Knud and Marichen Ibsen. His father was a successful merchant and his mother painted, played the piano and loved to go to the theater. Ibsen himself also showed his interest to become an artist as well.

His family went through poverty when he was 8 years old. It was because of his father’s business. All traces of their previous affluence had to be sold off to pay their debts. Then, they have to move to the farm near town. There Ibsen spent much of his time reading, painting and performing magic tricks.

Ibsen stopped school when he was 15 and decided to work. He landed a position as an apprentice in an apothecary in Grimstad. Ibsen worked there for six years, using his limited free time to write poetry and paint. In 1849, he wrote his first play Catilina, a drama written in verse modeled after one of his great influences, William Shakespeare.

Major Playwright Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell was born in 1882 in Davenport, Iowa. She graduated from Drake University. She was also worked as a journalist. When her stories began appearing in magazines such as Harper's and The Ladies' Home Journal, she gave up the newspaper business. She met George Cook, a talented stage director. In 1915.

Together they founded the Provincetown Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Players were a remarkable gathering of actors, directors and writers. The troupe included Eugene O'Neill and Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Glaspell love to write about feminism. She portrays the roles of woman in society and discussed about humanity in her writings. She wrote more than ten plays such as Women’s Honour in 1918 and Bernice in 1919. Glaspell married to George Cook in 1922. Then, she moved to new York City and continued to write. Mostly, he wrote about fiction.