Plot Structure in Susan Glaspells Trifles :: Trifles Essays

Plot Structure in Susan Glaspells Trifles   The play Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a whodunit type of murder mystery. But in this case, the professionals, whose job it is to attend out what happened, failed in their task. The County Attorney (Mr. Henderson) and the Sheriff (Mr. Peters) attempt to piece together what had transpired on the day when John Wright was murdered. They interviewed Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mr. Hale who told them that Mrs. Wright, Johns wife, had been acting strange when he had found her in the kitchen. After taking in exclusively of this information, they left Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in the kitchen.    Instead of focusing on the work force and their quest to solve the case, Glaspell concentrates on the women in the kitchen. It is at this point, when the men leave the kitchen and go upstairs, that the women begin to, perhaps inadvertently, find out for themselves who had killed John Wright. I believe the rising action of this play begins whe n the men leave the women alone in the kitchen. Without even knowing it, the women are using the tactics that a trained detective would use asking many questions and make inferences. They engage in small talk and comment on how the kitchen was left after the murder. For example, when Mrs. Peters was looking through the cupboard, she discovered that Mrs. Wright had a bread set. Mrs. Hale past concludes that she was tone ending to put this in here, referring to a loaf of bread beside the breadbox. Another example is when Mrs. Peters noticed that Mrs. Wright had been piecing a quilt. As the two women are wondering whether she was going to quilt it or knot it, the men come down the stairs and overhear them. The Sheriff repeats out loud what he had heard them say and the men all laugh, obviously making fun of the women. This situation is interesting because the men have no idea that the women were actually making valuable conclusions. I think the attached line that Mrs. Hale says is very important   I dont know as theres anything so strange, our takin up our time with little things while were waiting for them to get the evidence. I dont see as its anything to laugh about.   This line shows that even the women themselves believe that they are not finding anything of importance.