The central theme of Trifles is that small, insignificant things (trifles) are often very important, as the title suggests. They may not be important themselves, but they certainly are to others. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters pay close attention to all they encounter while in the Wright residence. Even though they were restricted mainly to the kitchen, they were able not only to determine Mrs. Wright murdered her husband, but also what caused the murder and subsequently Mrs. Wright's motive
From the beginning of the play we can see a difference in how the women approach the ordeal and how the men handle their investigation. From the get go the men, who are supposed to determine guilt and motive, handle their investigation sloppily. The day bef
After the men go upstairs, the women begin they're own informal investigation. Looking through the cabinets and sewing basket, they begin uncovering the clues that lead to the reason why Mrs. Wright would want to kill her husband. The first clue they uncover is Mrs. Wrights quilt. Every block except one is "so nice and even." This established that Mrs. Wright could sew well. The "all over the place" block indicated to the women that something went wrong. Something had affected Mrs. Wright so much she couldn't even sew straight. Next was the birdcage, with the broken door. It looked "as if someone must have been rough with it," which foreshadows the next discovery: the canary with the wrung neck. It is through the discovery of these small "kitchen things,"
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