In the opening of the play "Trifles", by Susan Glaspbell, Mrs. Wright has been taken to jail as a suspect in the murder of her husband, John. While in jail, she mentions her preservatives were left out and is very worried about them. Although it is just fruit, this explains what women from that time period were expected to do and how to act - worrying about a domestic problem seems more concerning than the fact that she's in jail. The neighbor, Mr. Hale, states, "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles."(Glaspbell,1387)" This is a common response from a man, who thought that his own wife was his personal property and that she had nothing of real importance to say.
When the neighbor's wives, including the sheriff's wife, came to gather some of Mrs. Wright's personal items, they were told by the men to report anything that seemed suspicious. While looking through the house, they came across a quilt, a bird cage, and a bird; all three important pieces of evidence in the case of the death of Mr. Wright. When they came across the quilt, they noticed that it was "all over the place!"(Glaspbell,1390). They then noticed a bird cage with the door broke off the hinges and just so happened to also find the bird that had been strangled, wrapped in a silk and placed in a little box. The women of the play had found the most evidence to convict their friend, even though the men thought that they would not find anything because they were considered the weaker sex.
Even though the women found the most vital pieces of evidence, they covered their friend's tracks because they realized that it was the only way for her to finally recover her freedom. The women reminisced about how Mrs. Wright used to act before she was married. She was joyful and loved to sing and be cheerful, just as the canary would have been. This however changed once she was married; she was then trapped in whatever life her husband wanted her to live.
