Response to Trifles

Posted: March 26th, 2020

Name

Instructor

Course

Date

Response to Trifles

The setting is very important in the play. It reveals a lot concerning the characters in the play. The fact that the two women find evidence in the kitchen is also shows that the kitchen is more than just another room for them. Mrs. Wright plans her strategy in the kitchen. She devises a plan of how she will kill her husband. The kitchen is important because it is seen as a source of refuge. Mrs. Wright feels confident enough to hide the evidence in the kitchen. When the men come to look for evidence, they do not even bother to look in the kitchen. They consider it women’s domain. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters also decide to conceal the evidence they have found in the kitchen. This is despite the fact that they know that it is against the law to do so.

The author’s decision to set the play during winter is symbolic. It reflects the nature and character of Mr. Wright and it contrasts it with the character and personality of his wife. Mrs. Wright can be described in terms of spring using the same approach. The women say that she was lively and she used to wear pretty clothes. This contrasts deeply with Mr. Wright, who is compared to the raw wind that gets to the bone. It is clear that this raw wind penetrated in Mrs. Wright and this lead to her changed personality.  She was not strong enough to resist the cold nature of her husband. In the end, she ended up like him. She became cold and calculating as can be evidenced in her decision to strangle her husband in her sleep. She did not consider using a gun although she had that option. She even laughs when she tells Mr. Hale that her husband is dead.