Trifies to Susan Glaspen?

Question

i need somebody who understands this thing to explain it to me .....its like hell to me so plz i need some help

Answer 1

Introduction

Susan Glaspell's one-act play, Trifles, is based on actual events that occurred in Iowa at the turn of the century. From 1899-1901 Glaspell worked as a reporter for the Des Moines News, where she covered the murder trial of a farmer's wife, Margaret Hossack, in Indianola, Iowa. Hossack was accused of killing her husband, John, by striking him twice in the head with an ax while he slept.

Initially it was assumed that burglars had murdered the farmer, but a subsequent sheriff s investigation turned up evidence suggesting Mrs. Hossack was unhappy in her marriage. Ultimately, she was charged with and found guilty of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.

Over the course of sixteen months, Glaspell wrote twenty-six articles covering the case, from the announcement of the murder until Hossack's conviction. The author found herself feeling more and more sympathy for the accused, in spite of the grisly nature of the crime.

Years later, Glaspell and her husband, George Cook, along with some friends, founded the Prov-incetown Players, an amateur theatrical company on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1916 the group presented a summertime series of plays that included Eugene O'Neill's Bound East for Cardiff. In need of a new play to end the season, Cook suggested Glaspell should write a one-act for the company. Her memory of the Hossack trial inspired Trifles.

Trifles is a murder mystery that explores gender relationships, power between the sexes, and the nature of truth. In the play, the farmer and his wife never actually appear; instead, the story focuses on the prosecutor, George Henderson, who has been called in to investigate the murder; Henry Peters, the local sheriff; Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer who discovered Wright's body; and Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, wives to the two local men.

While the men bluster and tramp around the farmhouse searching for clues, the women discover bits of evidence in the "trifles" of a farmer's wife her baking, cleaning and sewing. Because the men virtually ignore the women's world, they remain blind to the truth before their eyes.

Answer 2

Hi,this is Ezz, I,m majoring in English literature, and i had my final exam in criticism last week, i was having ''Trifles'' for my last term, i,ve many essays about it, this is one of them i hope it,ll help u.
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In the play titled Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, John. In this production, Mrs. Wright is consistently referenced, and although she is not witnessed, she is very recognizable. There are important symbols in this play that signifies Mrs. Wright and her existence as it once was and as it currently exists to be. Particularly the canary, this symbolizes Mrs. Wright’s long forgotten past. Additionally, the birdcage, this symbolizes her life as it currently exists. Certainly the quilt is a symbol, which is an important clue on how Mr. Wright was killed. In addition, the rocking chair, this symbolizes her life as it has diminished throughout the duration of her most recently survived years. Lastly, but not least, the containers of cherry preserves that seem to be a symbol of the warmth and compassion that she has yet to discover in her life. Every one of these symbolizes and characterizes Mrs. Wright’s character and her existence in the play.
The canary and the birdcage are symbolic to Mrs. Wright’s life in the way that the bird represents her, and the cage represents her life and the way she was made to live. Mrs. Hale compares the canary that she and Mrs. Peters discover to Mrs. Wright, when Mrs. Hale refers to Mrs. Wright as “kind of like a bird herself—real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery.” Minnie Foster was a distinctly different woman than Minnie Foster Wright, which was, evidently before she and John were married. She dressed appealingly in eye-catching clothing, and was one of the town girls that sang in the choir. While the canary was incredibly lively and sang beautifully, so did Mrs. Foster. John Wright was awfully abusive towards Mrs. Wright, in the means that he required her to live her life comparable to a caged bird. He obtained her freedom from the outside world, in return, explains why she recognized herself in the bird. This explains for the reasoning of their house being far set back into the woods and having no telephone service. She ventured out, only when she was allowed, and assuming that John also did not allow her to have friends, this led to the killing of the canary.
The quilt is one major clue as to how Minnie killed her husband. The women were trying to figure out if she was going to sew or not the quilt. Well, Mr. Wright was strangled in a strange manner, just how the knot was messed up in red string. The men laughed it off butt Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters knew what had happened.
Mrs. Wright is referred to when Mrs. Hale speaks of her by using her maiden name, when saying “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.” The old rocking chair symbolizes Mrs. Wright as she has allowed herself to depreciate, just as the rocking chair has depreciated. “The chair sagged to one side,” Mrs. Hale stated that the chair was not anything like she remembered, referring to the fact that Mrs. Wright has also changed since she remembered. This demonstrates that Minnie Foster, who was once something to look at, developed into the torn down looking Minnie Wright.
It was a detailed task that required hours of difficult labor in the high temperature of the kitchen. She took a great deal of pride in her production because she associated herself with the preserves, as this was the solitary thing in her life that she genuinely cherished. To fill the time in the gloomy household that had become her prison, she canned cherries that would give her a promise of something to look forward to in the cold, crisp winter. When the frigid cold temperatures found Minnie in a jail cell, faraway from her kitchen, and her preserves, she found herself concerned that the jars would freeze up and break. When the coldness positioned it into the house, the jars shattered and produced a sticky mess, comparable to the chaos that she had now placed her life in. Minnie had a trivial amount of happiness in her life, and not a great deal to be pleased with, while being married to an abusive man like John Wright was a difficult burden for her to bear. The jars of preserves burst open from exposure to the cold, just as Mrs. Wright broke from her exposure to her forbidding husband.
In conclusion, Trifles by Susan Glaspell refers to several symbolic references that furthermore depict Mrs. Wright and her existence. The use of symbolism in this play is very important. This play was written in a way that could not be changed due to the effect that it has. Symbolism is what made this play interesting and how we can conclude what happened.

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