Trifles be triflin

Trifles is, to me, a classic murder mystery, with a special twist. In the beginning we learn about the murder of Mr. Wright, which was committed by his wife (so is suspected) as he slept defenseless in bed. The men in the play, along with their wives, are coming to the Wright's house to search for evidence that Mrs. Wright was indeed the one who killed her husband. While the action of this play is centered around solving a murder, the feminist aspects of the script was particularly interesting to me. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are underestimated by the men in the play, and seen as simple, silly women. When in reality, these women are the only ones who have the sense and eye for detail to notice essential clues in the mystery of Mr. Wright's murder. They discover an unraveling quilt, amongst other unfinished projects. To the men, this was simply evidence that Mrs. Wright was a poor homemaker. The powers of empathy possessed by the women allowed them to see the significance behind the seemingly trivial things around the house. The men find nothing, but the silly women figure out the entire thing. However, after they discover the bird cage and the dead bird and they discover Minnie's motive for killing her husband, they choose to continue playing dumb and conceal the evidence from the men, thus protecting Minnie's innocence. In addition to empathy, the women feel a great deal of responsibility to one another. They feel genuinely responsible for not being there for Minnie during her seemingly abusive marriage. Instead of viewing Minnie as a deranged killer, they sympathize and genuinely make an effort to understand her motives. In a way, they even justify her. All the while, the men are doing nothing of importance. And in the end, the men suspect nothing. The women hold all the power. They just don't let the men know that they do. Thats my favorite part of the story.