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Reconsidering Women-Men in Trifles

Question:  In what ways do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters make judgments or draw conclusions?  How do their methods of making judgments differ from the methods used by Sheriff Peters or the County Attorney or even Mr. Hale?

            This is a classic example of how men and women have very different perspectives.  I agree with Chinyelu Talley that “men tend to draw quick conclusions on what evidence they see in front of them” and that “women are more intuitive”.  This was evidenced when the men made a general inspection of the kitchen and the women paid more attention to details.  In this play the two ladies immediately see that something is very wrong in the kitchen while the men hardly notice.  But because in that era the kitchen was the woman’s domain, the men were at a disadvantage.  The women observed the condition of the kitchen, the quilting, the bird and the birdcage and came to their conclusions based on that evidence.  Evidence that the men simply overlooked.  This student brought out one point that I had not considered, ..”they knew she would not get a fair trial.”  I agree that in that time, the jury would have been composed of only men.  Because of this consideration, it makes me feel a little better about them concealing the evidence.

            Joanne Snook stated that the two women were compassionate and I agree.  I think they could relate to Mrs. Wright because during the time in which they lived, women had very few rights and were dominated by their men.  They had a to chance take control of a situation and display some power over the men.  When Mrs. Hale responds to the attorney’s statement about the towel being dirty, “Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be,” she is saying that men are sometimes guilty of wrongdoing.  In other words, they are not always “squeaky clean” themselves.  This gives us a peek into her feeling about men in general.  Ms. Snook calls the men “close-minded” and I agree.  They are sure who the murderer is and only want to find enough evidence to convict her.

            It’s rather humorous that the men don’t even consider that the women could possibly find evidence.  They figure they’re only chatting about Mrs. Wright’s quilting.  It’s really a put down and probably an incentive to the women to continue their own small investigation.

Reconsidering John Wright

I would characterize John Wright as emotionally abusive to Minnie in that he was cold, absent, and withdrawn from her.  At the same time he was controlling and possessive of her, he was probably very unhappy with himself and his life and he wanted Minnie to be miserable too.  Over the years of their marriage he took away from her anything that would have brought her joy, such as singing in the choir and socializing with other women in the community.  Traci made a good point when she said that Mr. Wright was probably attracted to Minnie Foster in the early days because she was so full of life.  He was probably always a cold person and she initially brought something into his life that was different from anything he had experienced.  In the beginning perhaps Minnie saw John Wright’s coldness as just a quietness or shyness that endeared him to her.  A hard-working non-drinker would be important qualities to look for in a husband.  It is said “opposites attract.”  I agree with Traci in that he could not change the person that he was and he ended up resenting her cheerfulness and was jealous if she ventured out of the realm of his control.  They not only grew apart, but as was typical of marriage in that time, she changed and gave up her life for her marriage.  The play is set in the era before women were able to vote.  They had few rights within their marriages, and even less outside of marriage.  With few options to make a living Minnie would certainly stay in her marriage, even if unhappy. 

So, what would trigger a woman resigned to an unhappy marriage with a cold and distant husband to commit murder?  The only thing good in her life was her canary.  The canary was more than a metaphor for the caged Minnie.  It was upon the canary that Minnie lavished her affection.  When John killed Minnie’s bird, in essence, her child substitute, Minnie’s spirit died too, and her mind twisted irretrievably.  Shirah proposes that John killed the bird because it was making too much noise.  I agree that was part of his motivation.  But his main incentive, as Madeleine suggests, was to take away the only thing that brought delight into Minnie’s otherwise dismal life. 

Jeff is of the opinion that Minnie killed her bird out of jealously, and killed her husband out of rage.  Shirah suggest that Minnie had to be distraught to have killed her husband and then continue to knit and prepare bread as normal.  I see the scenario differently. 

The story does not say that Minnie witnessed the strangling of her beloved bird or if she found it that way.  Either scenario would have caused the complete halting of Minnie’s daily functions and thought processes.  She put the bird in a beautiful box, possibly intending to bury it, or maybe to keep it close to her while she sewed.  The kitchen, which was her whole world, her very identity, was left with unfinished work, frozen in time.  Bread rising never made it to the stove.  Bread removed from the stove never went into the bread box.  Pans used for preparing the bread were left piled and the table was not wiped.  That day, everything for Minnie just stopped.  I agree with Shirah that the bird’s method of dying determined John’s but I don’t think Minnie was acting out of any real sense of anger, rage, or a need for freedom.  This would have required cognitive thought, or an emotional response.  I don’t think Minnie was feeling anything at the moment she killed her husband, or even afterward.  People who have endured years of abuse, loneliness and neglect seldom just bounce back after one catastrophic event to reclaim their identity.  Often, years of therapy can’t heal the damage caused by the systematic squashing of one’s self-esteem.  Minnie would have been left as cold and lifeless as her oppressive husband had been and she would have premeditatedly killed him with the same pitiless detachment he had shown her.  After she killed her husband she did not attempt to flee, but instead, sat in her rocker and trance-like, with no ability to concentrate on her stitching, she waited.

            (County Attorney) How did she look?

            (Hale) She looked queer.

            (C.A.) How do you mean queer?

            (Hale) As if she didn’t know what she was going to do next.

            (C.A.) How did she feel about your coming?

            (Hale) I don’t think she minded—one way or other.  She didn’t pay much

            attention.  I said, “How do you do Mrs. Wright, its cold, ain’t it?”  And