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The Setting of the Play Trifles

One vital aspect of a play that communicates the overall message and connects to the audience is its setting. This is not a general assumption, but a requirement of every play. It is indeed true that play Trifles by Susan Glaspell meets this requirement. Every component of the setting plays a role in the achievement of this objective. For instance, in terms of the place setting, Trifles is set in a cold, lifeless, winter that characterizes isolated traditional American farms. This elicits the feeling of loneliness. Indeed, it is true that Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Hale lived some distances apart, so close yet so lonely. A cold winter and a lonely place also convey some message of fear and possible danger. With this kind of arrangement it is not easy to deny the occurrence of death as it is evident in the play. Mr Wright has died; the county Sheriff and attorney are at the place investigating the cause of death.

Trifles employs a time setting that easily unites with the nature of the characters and place. The time is set in 1900s. This was a time when a majority of Americans were farmers. However, the subject of gender roles dominated the lives of the people. Mrs Hale comes to see a woman, Mrs Wright who is not only lonely, but also in torn old clothes. An arrangement that gives implication of male dominance, where women would remain at home taking care of house chores and children, while men would fend for their families in farms (Angel, 1997). However, the loneliness of Mrs Wright could also portray another message altogether. She could have possibly strangled her husband to free herself from the eminent domestic oppression.

References

Angel, M. (1997). Susan Glaspell's Trifles and A Jury of Her Peers: Woman Abuse in a Literary and Legal Context. Buff. L. Rev., 45, 779.