Trifles and Symbols

In the play titled Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is being accused of murdering her husband, John. In this production, Mrs. Wright is consistently referenced, and although she is not witnessed, she is very recognizable. There are important symbols in this play that signifies Mrs. Wright and her existence as it once was and as it currently exists to be. Particularly the canary, this symbolizes Mrs. Wright's long forgotten past. Additionally, the birdcage, this symbolizes her life as it currently exists. Certainly the quilt is a symbol, which is an important clue on how Mr. Wright was killed. In addition, the rocking chair, this symbolizes her life as it has diminished throughout the duration of her most recently survived years. Lastly, but not least, the containers of cherry preserves that seem to be a symbol of the warmth and compassion that she has yet to discover in her life. Every one of these symbolizes and characterizes Mrs. Wright's character and her existence in the play.

The canary and the birdcage are symbolic to Mrs. Wright's life in the way that the bird represents her, and the cage represents her life and the way she was made to live. Mrs. Hale compares the canary that she and Mrs. Peters discover to Mrs. Wright, when Mrs. Hale refers to Mrs. Wright as "kind of like a bird herself--real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and--fluttery." Minnie Foster was a distinctly different woman than Minnie Foster Wright, which was, evidently before she and John were married. She dressed appealingly in eye-catching clothing, and was one of the town girls that sang in the choir. While the canary was incredibly lively and sang beautifully, so did Mrs. Foster. John Wright was awfully abusive towards Mrs. Wright, in the means that he required her to live her life comparable to a caged bird. He obtained her freedom from the outside world, in return, explains why she recognized herself in the bird. This explains for the reasoning of their house being far set back into the woods and having no telephone service. She ventured out, only when she was allowed, and assuming that John also did not allow her to have friends, this led to the killing of the canary.

The quilt is one major clue as to how Minnie killed her husband. The women were trying to figure out if she was going to sew or not the quilt. Well, Mr. Wright was strangled in a strange manner, just how the knot was messed up in red string. The men laughed it off butt Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters knew what had happened.

Mrs. Wright is referred to when Mrs. Hale speaks of her by using her maiden name, when saying "I wish you'd seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang." The old rocking chair symbolizes Mrs. Wright