The Importance of Trifles

Michelle Eva Morholt

July 22, 2013
Essay #2
ENGL-2600-Su-13-Maenhardt
Salt Lake Community College
Prof. Stephanie Maenhardt

Susan Glaspell, respected American author of the early 1900s, has a commendable body of

work, including the award winning 1931 Pulitzer Prize for drama for the play Alisons House.
Glaspells writings primarily focus on realistic feminist drama. Her most famous work is also her
first published play Trifles. In preparation for analysis of Trifles, Elisabeth Howes
explanation of literary criticisms in Close Reading: An Introduction to Literature has proven to be
valuable. Howe instructs, Different types of criticism can illuminate different aspects of a work
(188). Analyzing Trifles through the lenses of all the criticisms Howe covers is valid due to the
fact that each critiquing style illuminate(s) different aspects of the work (Howe, 188).
In an effort to understand what aspects of Glaspells life have influenced and inspired
Trifles, this submission will primarily focus on an analysis of biographical criticism. What
motivated Glaspell to pen Trifles? What experiences induced this fictional one act play? How
will an understanding of Glaspells life guide our interpretation of the symbols and themes
encompassed in Trifles? How will an exploration into the biography of Susan Glaspell impact
our reader-response to Trifles?
In her biographical work, Susan Glaspell: Her Life and Times, Linda Ben-Zvi offers
incite on the events that shaped Susan Glaspell. At one time, the Glaspelles were a wealthy and
prominent pioneering family. However, the fortune had dwindled by the time Susan was born in
1876. She was reared in a traditional household in rural Iowa outside of Davenport. Her father was a
farmer and her mother a teacher. True to the pioneering spirit, Glaspell was raised to honor
conservative values and hard work (17). The setting outlined in Trifles stage directions describes
the play takes place in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright in an unnamed rural town
near Omaha, Nebraska (Glaspell). It is reasonable to assume this rural town harkens to Glaspells
birthplace.

Glaspell excelled in academia throughout her life and graduated from Drake University in

1899. She was especially gifted in debating and writing. At age 24, Glaspell began working for the
Des Moines Daily News as a journalist. Ben-Zvi explains she was one of only a few women of her
time that reported hard-hitting news. Her assignments concentrated on state legislature and murder
trials (38). Glaspell was an exceptional woman who was a pioneer of sorts in her own right. Though
not unheard of, it was extremely rare for a young woman in the early 1900s to enjoy Glaspells
esteemed education and varied accomplishments. Even more improbable was it for a woman to be
successful and respected in a male dominated profession and society. Just consider for one moment
how monumental it was for a woman to be a professional journalist reporting on legislature and
politics 20 years before women gained the right to vote nationwide in the United States. Glaspell
certainly must have faced prejudices as the lone woman reporter on Capital Hill in Des Moines.
Occasionally, by her cohorts, she must have been ignored and spoken downjust like the women in
Trifles. It is realistic to infer that Glaspells experiences as a legislative reporter not only inspired
the conversation and dialogue in Trifles but more importantly, ignited her feminist sympathies,
inspiring her to compose literature that challenged her contemporary social norms.
After covering politics for 18 months, in December 1900, Glaspell was assigned to be to
investigative reporter for the murder of John Hossack. Byron and Wolfs book Midnight Assassin,
describes Hossack as a prosperous farmer who had been blundered to death with an axe while
sleeping inches away from a loaded Winchester rifle and his wife Margaret (69). Midnight Assassin
includes a passage that demonstrates the profound effect visiting the Hossack homestead had on
Glaspell.
A few days after Margaret Hossacks arrest, Glaspell visited the scene of the crime, probably
on the same day that Deputy Kimer searched for evidence at the farmhouse. It was a moment
that stayed in her memory for the rest of her life. Reflecting in that event twenty-seven years
later, Glaspell wrote, When I was a newspaper reporter out in Iowa, I was sent downstate to do
a murder trial, and I never forgot going into the kitchen of the woman locked up in town (74).

As Glaspell continued to investigate the Hossack case, Barbara Ozieblo, author of Susan Glaspell:
A Critical Biography writes that Glaspell learned Mr. Hossack would regularly beat Mrs. Hossack
(28). Beginning to understand the hopelessness of escaping from an abusive marriage, Glaspells
submissions for the Des Moines Daily News took on a softened stance from her initially harsh
critique of Mrs. Hossack. This is reflected in December 12, 1900 headline entitled "Mrs. Hossack
May Yet Be Proven Innocent" (midnightassain.com).
The Hossack murder mystery clearly served as the foundation for Trifles. The timeperiod, location, details of the murder, kitchen, investigation of the crime, and even the demeanor of
Margaret Hossack herself is reflected in Trifles. Glaspell reports December 6, 1900 in the Des
Moines Daily News, that Margaret Hossack, much like Trifles Minnie Wright, took her arrest
calmly and declined to make any statement concerning her guilt or innocence (Midnight Assassin,
72). Even the character names in Trifles take on a liking to the real-life investigators Sheriff Lew
Hodson, coroner Dr. Harry Dale, and defense attorney John Henderson. Recall the county attorney
and neighboring farmer were named George Henderson and Lewis Hale respectively, in Trifles.
Also, Margaret and Minnie both start with M. While the Hossacks had a large family, The Wrights
had no children. Perhaps through her investigations, Glaspell discovered Margaret to be lonely in
spite of having many children. As a reader I reflected on this. Sometimes, when you are beyond
hope, feeling trapped in the circumstances of life, being surrounded by people who cannot identify
with your plight is lonelierand may even add to the lonelinessthan being alone.
The authors of Midnight Assassin write that Glaspell suggested that Barry and Henderson
(Margaret Hossacks lawyers) might attempt to mount and insanity defense (77). This implies that
Glaspell had become emotionally invested in the case and at least was sympathetic to Mrs. Hossack.
If nothing else it proves she was not maintaining distance from her assignment. However, in the
same aforementioned December 6th article, Glaspell retains her professionalism reminding readers

John Hossack was brutally murdered and by her own [Mrs. Hossacks] declaration he was
thus murdered while in bed with her. The fact [is] that all of the evidence against Mrs.
Hossack, as far as has been given out, is purely circumstantial (Midnight Assassin, 78-9).

The assumed emotional investment and suggestions that Glaspell sought to find a way to instill
doubt in the guilt of Mrs. Hossack by steering her lawyers toward and insanity defense, I suspect is
mirrored in the actions of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters by protecting Mrs. Wright and hiding the
necessary evidence required to convict her of the murder of Mr. John Wright.
As a reader, I believe that the Hossack case shook Glaspell to the core. Although Glaspells
life was set on a course vastly different from Margret Hossack, who was a homestead woman
accused of the murder of her husband, I believe Glaspell could identify with her. In Trifles,
Glaspell proves she knows what is expected and required of a nineteenth century farmers wife.
Growing up on a farm, Glaspell knew of the tedious, never-ending, repetitive, thankless tasks
required of a farmers wife. Women of the early 1900s were expected to be subservient,
domesticated, and nameless. The value and favorable perception of a woman was directly correlated
to how well a woman adheres to these guidelines. Glaspell understood the importance of women
subscribing to these oppressive societal norms and prescribed gender roles of her time. As a nonconforming modern woman, Glaspell must have faced these pressures head-on. I suspect that
Glaspells whole course of life and even her character had been shaped by the Hossack case.
Glaspell may have felt it her duty to utilize her ability to wield the spoken and written word on
behalf of those fellow womenher sisterswho had no voice. With this newfound motivation,
Glaspell devoted her life and talents to advocating for womens rights.
Shortly after the Hossack case ended, Glaspell quit her career as a journalist and returned to
Davenport to concentrate on fictional writing. In 1913 Glaspell married George Cram Cook, a
twice-divorced socialist with children. Needless to say, their relationship was the scandal of
Davenport and they moved to Greenwich Village Manhattan. Glaspell returned to her debating roots

and flourished as a member of Heterodoxy, a woman suffrage group. Glaspell and Cook kept a
summer home in a small town in Cape Cod. Ben-Zvi sheds light on why they chose Provincetown,
Cape Cod to summer. her family roots first planted in Massachusetts gave Susan pleasure when
she made the reverse trek across the continent and settled in Provincetown (12). It took Glaspell
ten days to compose Trifles and first premiered the play with the Provincetown Players, a theater
company Glaspell and Cook co-founded (Preface). Further supporting the theory that the Hossack
murder trial had a profound effect on Glaspell, and she was not only emotionally invested in the
case but also held little distance from the event, is the fact that in the original production Glaspell
played Mrs. Hale. Perhaps Mrs. Hale was a character Glaspell devised to symbolize herself. Mrs.
Hale is the woman who questions, speaks out, defends Minnie Wright, destroys the evidence of the
knots and sloppy sewing, convinces Mrs. Peters to bring Minnie her unfinished quilt, and disposes
of the damning evidence against Mrs. Wrighta broken necked canary.
After considering Trifles from a biographical and historical criticism, I believe as a reader
I am better equipped to critique Susan Glaspells influential play. Only after exploring the real-life
back-story of Trifles do I feel I have license to interpret the symbols and themes Glaspell
employs. Moreover, I believe I am in a better position to impart my own reader-response to the
Glaspells play. While my initial perception of the plays symbols, themes, and my reader-response
remains ultimately unchanged, I believe I have more credence and evidence to support my
interpretation of Trifles.
Trifles focuses on societies prescribed gender roles. Women are subservient,
domesticated, and nameless. The value of a woman is in direct correlation to how well a woman
adheres to these guidelines. In Trifles the men hold the dominance in the community and in their
relationships. Mrs. Wright is consistently criticized as a woman because of her untidy kitchen and a
dirty towel. Finally, the only woman Glaspell offers a birth name for is Minnie Fosterher full

name before she is the accused murderess Mrs. Wright. We as readers never learn the names of
Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. Even in their conversation with each other, these two women do not
address one another by their first names.
The birdcage is symbolic of the prison that the life of Mrs. Wright has become. The only
description of the birdcage in Glaspells play is that it has a broken hinged door. This could be
symbolic of Mrs. Wright outward and inward healthshe is broken. The bird itself can be symbolic
of Mrs. Wright as Mrs. Hale infers on line 131 Shecome to think of it, she was kind of like a
bird herselfreal sweet and pretty, but kind of timid andfluttery. Howshedidchange.
The bird could represent Mrs. Wright because they are fragile and delicate, just as the perception
that women are. Ironically, while the birdcage is a cage or prison itself, perhaps inside it, living
through the bird, Mrs. Wright was free. She was able to reclaim a former part of herself through the
bird. Perhaps she sang again and was reminded of her liveliness and beauty she enjoyed as Minnie
Foster and her oppression for just a brief moment lifted away. Furthermore, she could be safe
inside the cage. Consider, if Mr. Hossack did abuse Mrs. Hossack, perhaps the birdcage served as a
symbol for a safe haven.
The quilt is symbolic of Mrs. Wrights anger and nervousness that is reflected in the messy
sewing. Perhaps in the stage direction notes between lines 99 and 100 Glaspell offers us a clue,
Mrs. Hale has pulled at a knot and ripped the sewing. Perhaps this knot is a reference to the knot
used in the rope that strangled Mr. Wright. Also, the quilt could represent a device for Mrs. Wright
to exert some control or a situation. As she pieces or knots the quilt together, she pieces a bit of
herself together.
The preserved fruit represents the hard work performed by women who homestead. As they
tirelessly can their fruit over boiling hot water in the scorching heat of summer, they prepare for a
bounty that will be enjoyed in the winter months. Long cold months where mens work is alleviated

by the shear fact the weather prohibits them from the strenuous labors of farming. However,
womens work is never done. All year long despite the season, food needs to be cooked, clothes
need to be laundered and mended, houses need to be cleaned and families need to be tended.
Finally, considering Glaspells inspiration for naming her play Trifles should be analyzed.
The first definition Merriam-Webster Pocket Dictionary offers for the word trifles is something of
little value, substance, or importance. This definition aligns itself with 1900s societal views of
women. The play demonstrates how the women, their concerns, desires, skillset, and contribution to
their community are not respected, celebrated, and valued. Throughout the play the women pay
attention to all the little details around them in just one room. By doing so, they solve the mystery of
who killed John Wright but also why he was killed. Ultimately, I think this is why Glaspell chose to
name her play Trifles. In general, women pay attention to small details and typically, this is
considered trifling by menat least it is by Mr. Hale who in line 34, of Trifles declares "Well,
women are use to worrying over trifles (Glaspell). Another interpretation of why Glaspell would
entitle her play Trifles is perhaps it symbolizes the importance of John Wrights murder/death
was to Mrs. Wrightsomething of little value, substance, or importance (Merriam-Webster).
Through her experience of covering the Hossack case from December 1900 to April 1901, I
believe, Glaspell gained a new perspective and thankfulness for the unique station and quality of
life she was able to possess as an independent professional woman. The fact she understood
Margret Hossack and her life so intimately, not only by studying her for five months but because
Glaspell herself grew up on an Iowa farm. Glaspell could empathize with these opposing realities
the one she was living and the other she had escaped. This unique understanding of contrasting
existences may have ignited the passion to become an active feminist and compose stories that
stressed the Importance of Trifles.

Works Cited

Artist Unknown. School Worker Helper. Digital Image. Google Images. Web. 16 July 2013.
http://www.schoolworkerhelper.net.
Ben-Zvi, Linda. Susan Glaspell: Her Life and Times. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.
Print.
Bryan, Patricia L., and Thomas Wolf. Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland.
Algonquin Books, 2005. Print.
Bryan, Patricia L., and Thomas Wolf. MidnightAssassin.com. Web. 14 July 2013.
Glaspell, Susan. "Mrs. Hossack May Yet Be Proven Innocent." Des Moines Daily News. 3 Dec
1900. Accessed www.midnightassasin.com. Web. 18 July 2013.
Glaspell, Susan. Prominent Farmer Robbed and Killed. Des Moines Daily News. 3 Dec 1900.
Accessed www.midnightassasin.com. Web. 18 July 2013.
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. 1916. Reprinted. Howe, Elisabeth A. Close Reading: An Introduction to
Literature. Boston: Longman/Pearson, 2010. Pgs 278-286.
Howe, Elisabeth A. Close Reading: An Introduction to Literature. Boston: Longman/Pearson, 2010.
Print.
Ozieblo, Barbara. Susan Glaspell: A Critical Biography. University of North Carolina Press. 2000.
Print.
Ozieblo, Barbara. About Susan Glaspell. International Susan Glaspell Society, 2010. Web. 15
July 2013. http://blogs.shu.edu/glaspellsociety.
Webster, Merriam. The New Merrian-Webster Pocket Dictionary. Pocket Books, 1971.