Trifles Short Summary

“Trifles” is a play authored by Susan Glaspell in the year 1916. The events are depicted in Mr. & Mrs Wright’s house. This play begins with two women and three men walking into the wright’s house that is now abandoned. Everywhere you look, there is unfinished business. A loaf of bread and dirty dishes are over the counter. It is obvious that someone hurriedly left the place or was unexpectedly taken from the place.

An investigation is about to start at the Wright’s deserted farmhouse, for it is in this place that John Wright has been murdered apparently through strangulation with a rope. The primary suspect of this horrendous crime is his wife. Sheriff Peters, the county attorney, and Mr Hale, a nearby farmer, are the ones in charge of the investigation. They ransack the house for any clues. However, the real investigators turn out to be Mrs Peters and Mrs Hale.

Even though the male investigators constantly poke fun at the women for showing too much concern for feminine things, such as Mrs Wright’s incomplete quilt. However, these women’s’ obsession with “woman stuff” essentially allowed them to crack the case.

These ladies came across a pet canary owned by Mrs Wright. Its wrung neck led them to the uncovering of the mystery. Mrs Peters and Mrs Hale immediately knew that the cruel Mr Wright broke the Canary’s neck. What’s more, they also discovered that after many years of emotional abuse and neglect, Mrs Wright retaliated on her husband. She had decided to offer him a taste of his own bitter medicine by doing unto him what he did to her pet canary.

The play culminates with the ladies concealing the canary from the male investigators. This effectively denied them evidence of motive needed to prosecute Mrs Wright. Eventually, the events leave a lot of questions about justice for women and the oppressed.