Reflection on Trifles

     The drama Trifles presents us with a few themes that allow us to understand the plot.  In the action we are presented Henry Peters and his wife, Lewis Hale along with his wife, and the county attorney.  They are placed in the home of John Wright who was been murdered by his wife.  Although she denies killing him, we are presented the evidence that suggests she did.  The themes of tradition and gender roles are presented in the play.

     We see how the traditional society affects the gender roles directly.  In this period, we have men who work at farms doing all the hard work to come home to rest; the man is also the one to set the does and don’ts in the house.  Women are to keep the house clean, cook and sow.  We can immediately see that there are problems in the play when the wife of John Wright does not follow her role.  At the beginning we see dirty pots, pans and a piece of clothing that was not sown correctly.  These indicate that something is wrong with the wife. 

     We learn throughout the women in the stoiry that Mrs. Wright used to sing in a choir, but she was silenced by her husband and never sang again.  Some time later they recall that a man was selling canaries, although they did not know if Mrs. Wright bought one.  Once they find an empty bird cage, they ponder and what must have happened, and if the Wrights had a bird in the first place.   Both women conclude that they husband must have silenced the bird as he silenced his wife because he did not like peoples' singing.

    The themes of tradition and gender roles can be summed, and we can say this is discrimination, in one word.  We can see how the men treat the women as if they were inferior when they are the leading characters in the drama.  The author presents this and uses irony; the author allows the women to hide the evidence and help Mrs. Wright not be sent to jail.

Here is a link to a drama representation of the play:
--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1LGwPFeSz8