Symbolism in Susan Glaspell’s, Trifles.
Trifles, a book authored by Susan Glaspell is a book surrounded by symbolism. Embedded in the story are the little things that men find trivial that are the real propellers of the play. Men’s ignorance blinds their vision on the investigation of john wright’s homicide. Their deeming of woman as non-factors and as people whose issues don’t matter in the society is their downfall “We live close together, and we live far apart. We all go through the same things-it’s all just a different kind of the same thing” (Glaspell, 143). Such as things as the fruit jar canings, the quilt among other items that Minnie Wright is interested in even though she is in custody are among things that men pay less attention to. Trifles manifest the usefulness of items imperative to women in the play that help to unravel Minnie’s motive to commit the crime under investigation.
The first symbol is the quilt that portrays the life of Minnie. Secondly, it symbolizes the piecing together of Mrs Peter and Mrs Hale story. A Minnie is putting together a quilt that has a hearth at the centre of it. Basically. A fireplace signifies the prevalence place of a woman in society. According to Minnie, the hearth is not in good condition, and the stove is not hot is it ought to be. The women reach to a conclusion that Minnie intends to mend the quilt. This is a representation of the knotted rope utilitarian in the murder of John Wright. The jars also represent Minnie’s sanity in totality. Every time the stove would go of, the heat would slightly drop inside the house rendering the pot to break completely. The breaking of the jars is a symbol of her breaking down and choking Mr Wright. The quilt is seen, therefore, as her mind’s instability. By her being home for most of her time, Bennie utilizes most of her time to make quilts. Mrs Hales makes it a point that the quilt she was working on was so beautiful even though the pattern was scattered. She substitutes sewing to knotting, and that enables her to knot a rope.
The second symbol is a birdcage. It is a representation of Mrs Wright life and the restrictions that bind it. A clear point of limited freedom that she enjoys. Mrs Hale and Mrs Peter arrive at the evidence through the presence of the cage. In their quest to complete the quilt that Mrs Wright was working on, they find a dead bird. Mrs Peters says that somebody must have twisted the bird’s neck. The caged bird is a manifestation of how she is forced to spend her time at home when her husband, on the contrary, spends his time at his job place. This is a clear indication of the definition of a woman’s place at home. Besides, Mrs Wright was a very social being in her young age, and she was fond of singing “she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir. But that was thirty years ago” (Glaspell, 558). When she marries John, she finds herself in a world of utter isolation. She gets herself a bird has a way of getting rid of loneliness, but instead, it becomes a symbol of her younger self. Therefore when Mr Wright kills it, it signifies the death of her young self. The ability of the bird to fly is a portrayal of Bennie’s freedom. Therefore, when the bird is deceased, it is a signal that there is no liberty in Mrs Wright Marriage.
The third symbol is the rocking chair. When the play starts, Mr Hale says that when he let the door, open Mrs Wright was seated on the rocking chair “died of a rope around his neck” (Glaspell 3). The chair can be said to symbolize a moment of peace for Mrs Wright. On the other side, the same chair is characteristic of fright of what she has done. The chair is a kind of fear for her. Seated on the chair, Minnie tells Hale that her husband is dead. The symbolism of the chair as wooden can be said to depict the turbulence of Mrs Wright in their marriage. Because of her absence throughout the act, the rocking chair, therefore, represents her, the loner.
Susan Glaspell in the play utilizes symbolism as a way of arriving at the truth of the murder of John Wright. She makes use of the names of the characters, the rocking chair, the bird and the quilt to bring to the surface what transpired in the mind of Mrs Wright and what led to her husband’s homicide. It is through symbolism that the audience is able to unravel the mystery of John’s murder. The bird is the central symbol as it represents Minnie. How caged she is, just like a bird in a male-dominated society. The utilization of symbolism is what unfolds the sequence of the play to the last bit.
Works cited
Kolls, Selina. Play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell. a Look at Gender and Role. 2016.
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. 2014.