Trifles - Insignificantly Important

This in turn made most women feel trapped. Both Glaspell and Chapin used these ideals to set a basis for their stories. In Chapin's story, her protagonist even goes as far to say "Free! Body and soul free!" (Ronson 216) This helps show that women of this era wanted nothing more than to be free, but short of her husband dying, it simply was not in the cards for them. Women were seen to be less than able in every aspect; strength and intelligence especially. Another example of how the women were viewed would be the case of Lizzie Borden. She went on trial for allegedly killing her father and step mother. The defense was solely based on her being a woman. She was seen as incapable of killing them as she simply was not strong enough to even wield an ax. Mrs. Hale in Trifles also shows support for this notion. She says "You know juries when it comes to women" (Ronson 223). Without stone cold evidence, women could not possibly be considered for things that did not follow the stereotype of the times. In this male driven time, Glaspell used her writing to bring to light what women were really feeling.
             There was irony displayed throughout the short story. As stated above, women had a place, a role they were supposed to play. The men of the story where trying to solve the murder of John Wright, while the two women were asked to simply stand aside while they did their job. The irony of it all was that the women deemed useless were actually the ones who solved the murder. Although other areas are mentioned, the story mainly took place in the kitchen. While searching for clues the County Attorney and Sheriff discussed the kitchen saying that there was "Nothing that would point to any motive. Nothing here but kitchen things" (Ronson 218). Their blasé attitude toward the women's "trifles" is why they missed key details. Continuing on, the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs.