Discussion:
Glaspell "Trifles"
Q1. Describe the setting of this play. What kind of atmosphere is established by the details in the opening scene? Does the atmosphere change through the course of the play?
Q2. Consider the staging. Where are Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters while Mr. Hale explains to the county attorney how the murder was discovered? How does their location suggest the relationship between the men and the women in the play?
Q3. Why do the men fail to see the clues that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover? What is the significance of the bird cage and the dead bird? Are the bird and its cage symbols? If so, of what? Why do Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters respond so strongly to them? Why don't Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters reveal the evidence they have discovered?