Exploration Notes
1. What clues lead the women to conclude that Minnie Wright killed her husband?
In the Wright household, the men are searching for
something out of the ordinary and its prove that Minnie has been provoked into killing her husband. The women find the clues, it is even more ironic that they find
them in the household items to which the men attribute so little
significance. For example “Nothing here but kitchen things,” the men mistakenly think. Because of their weak intuition, they do not see the household as
indicative of John’s and Minnie’s characters. They do not see beyond the
cheerless home to John Wright’s grim nature, nor do the dilapidated furnishings
provide them with a clue to his normal habits. Minnie’s depression and
agitation are not apparent to them in the dismal, half-cleaned kitchen;
instead, they consider Minnie an inept, lazy housekeeper then the three gentlemen do not have a clue.
2. How do the men differ from the women? from each other?
Trifles is a
murder mystery that explores gender relationships, power between the sexes, and
the nature of truth. Trifles suggests that men tend to be aggressive, brash,
rough, analytical and self centered; in contrast, women are more cautious , deliberative,
intuitive, and sensitive to the needs of others. It is these differences that
allow Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale to get to the truth. There are three men that are involved on the case and
two women accompany, but are not there to really help solve the murder. These
two women will solve the murder and protect Mrs. Wright of any wrongdoing. The
women will dispose of any evidence they find and justify to themselves, that the murder was
justifiable. The three men seek out to find motive, but they never do and the
case will go unsolved. The men would not think this
was a valid reason for murder. It was only a little canary but in this story explores the fact that women pay attention to the
little things that may lead to the solving of a bigger problem. The men seem to think the women only worry about
the little things, or trifles. What the men do not realize is that the women
are actually solving the murder by worrying, or trifling, over the small
details.
3. What do the men discover? why do they conclude "Nothing here but kitchen things"? what do the women discover?
Men do not discover anything because of a little thing that will not being a proof for the murder. For the statement "Nothing here but kitchen things”, regarding to a women’s viewed , the men make it crystal clear that a women’s opinions is not important. When the small pieces come together you will see the
bigger picture. The small things is the piecing of
the quilt that the women think some kind of proof. The women were wondering if she was going to knot it or quilt
it. The women take a closer look at the and Mrs.
Hale points out that all the sewing was nice and neat until the point where the
sewing was all messy. Mrs. Hale points out that because is a sign of
nervousness. Mrs. Peters disagrees and tries to defend Mrs. Wright by saying
that when she gets tired her sewing becomes messy. The quilt is a symbol of
Minnie's agitation-her anger. The men though, laugh at the women's wondering
about the quilt. To them it is of little importance. The quilt showed a
disturbance in Mrs. Wright's life. The knotting of the quilt seemed to be the
same type of knot used to strangle Mr. Wright. The women noticed that trifle,
but the men were too busy looking at the dead body and making inferences about
how Mr. Wright was killed that they overlooked the similar knotting of the
quilt and of the rope around Mr. Wright's neck.
sources:
http://www.enotes.com/trifles/14148
