Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Exploration to the Text

2. What clues lead the women to conclude that Minnie Wright killed her husband?

Minnie Wright used to be a very happy girl that sang in the choir, but after her marriage      with John Wright, she became unhappy and lonely. The bird she used to have was found dead by Mrs.Hale and Mrs. Peter in a box inside Mrs.Wright sewing basket. The way the bird being killed was same as the way John Wright being murdered. This evidence led the women to conclude that Minnie Wright was the murdered.

3. How do the men differ from the women? from each other?

The men were less attentive and sensitive compared to the women. They just investigated the murder scene which was the room, and went in and out the house but avoided the kitchen where the women found out the evidence. Unlike the women, the men got no any evidence through the investigation they carried on, but the women who just kept staying in the kitchen could concluded that the murderer was Minnie Wright. The men often rejected women’s opinion as the sheriff said that “Women are used to worrying about trifles”.

4. What do the men discover? Why do they conclude “Nothing here but kitchen things”? What do the women discover?

The men discover nothing through the investigation as they walked in and out the house and the upstairs room where John Wright being killed and avoided to step in women’s in charge area like the kitchen which contain the important clues that are merely trifles for the men. This statement can be proved through the line “Nothing here but kitchen things” which obviously minimize women’s in the society. Through the kitchen that the men avoided and refused to enter, the women found out the most important evidence, the dead bird that led them to realize the murderer was Minnie Wright.