Talk:Trifles (play)

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment[edit]

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page.

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment[edit]

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ncast3. Peer reviewers: Ncast3.

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment[edit]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 14 January 2020 and 30 April 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Lauren.matthews, Ivy.sapp.

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Why is the play titled Trifles?[edit]

Why is the play titled Trifles? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.85.128.24 (talk • contribs) 11:36, 24 April 2008

I believe it's called Trifles because the two women understand why Mrs. Wright murdered her husband which is important. It would be a trifle hence the definition "a thing of little value or importance".Robertforleo3 (talk) 03:18, 26 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]
"Women are used to worrying about trifles." The women in the play use their knowledge of "the little things" as clues to a murder mystery that the men investigating it don't notice or are not able to interpret. One essay describes "Legally Blond" as the latest reincarnation of Trifles, despite some major differences in the two stories. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.251.254.172 (talk • contribs) 19:33, 3 November 2008

Film Adaptation[edit]

New film adaptation, directed by Pamela Walker at Pixar. http://talesofcolossus.blogspot.com/ http://munchanka.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.251.254.172 (talk • contribs) 16:45, 3 November 2008

We can't use a blog as a citation - it's not a reliable source. Do you have a better source we can use? --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 17:16, 21 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. I was present at the screening at Pixar and have an advance copy on DVD. The blog entry is actually by someone who participated in the creation of the film at Pixar, so it's a good source. I've noticed it popping up on participants' resumes on the web as well. It's also mentioned in the director's bio on the Ghost Ranch Productions website: http://www.pamelagayewalker.com/ghostranchproductions/
"She just finished directing the half-hour short film TRIFLES, which is presently being submitted to film festivals."
Trifles, Directed by Pamela Gaye Walker (Ghost Ranch Productions), with an all Pixar cast and crew, Premiere Screening Sat, Mar 28 2009, 10:00 pm, Laemmles Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills, CA, as part of the Reel Film Festival for Women.

https://reelwomen2009.withoutabox.com/festivals/festival.php?festID=&schedule_id=5141&filter-section=&filter-country=&radiobutton=radiobutton&fetch=main-view&filter-letter=T+-+T —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.251.254.172 (talk) 13:26, 6 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Film Trailer[edit]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpNuw0vFU5E —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.251.254.172 (talk) 09:16, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Film listing at IMDB: http://amazon.imdb.com/title/tt1380961/

Television Adaptation[edit]

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV series 1955–1962) A Jury of Her Peers (#7.12)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508107/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clever9 (talk • contribs) 21:13, 20 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Original research[edit]

Don't you kids understand what an encyclopedia is? At least two of you have worded comments in the first person: "gave me an indication". Such stuff is bound to get deleted. Why don't you post your essays on this page where they are unlikely to be deleted. — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 01:19, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

FisherQueen has quite rightly deleted some of your essays from here because even this is not the correct place for them. I am sorry, but the best place is somewhere other than Wikipedia. I strongly endorse FisherQueen's request - please let us hear from your teacher. — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 11:36, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry- I missed that you had suggested putting them here. It was a reasonable suggestion, except that it's a little confusing for someone who might happen along with a suggestion for making the article better. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 11:48, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

A suggestion[edit]

It appears that we have a large number of young people editing this article as part of a class project. However, I don't see this project listed at Wikipedia:School and university projects, and it isn't going very well so far- we are getting a lot of edits which are written in the first person, which are original research or unsourced, which are ungrammatical, and which don't go together as a coherent article. In order to prevent this article from becoming unreadable as a result of this project, I've temporarily protected it. Is there a more effective way of learning what you are trying to learn in a way that doesn't disrupt the encyclopedia? Perhaps you could work on your version of the article in a sandbox instead of in the encyclopedia proper? -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 01:28, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There is no mention of the short story version, "A Jury of Her Peers", other than a quotation from it. I believe it is a good addition to this page. On the "A Jury of Her Peers" Wikipedia page, there is a brief explanation of "Trifles", and therefore, it should be reciprocated.Meghancichon (talk) 23:32, 13 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There are some links that can be added to the words "psychology" and "social roles". Meghancichon (talk) 00:05, 14 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

A note to students[edit]

This talk page is a place to discuss specific ideas for making the article better. It is not a place to place excerpts from essays you're writing for your class. Please understand that Wikipedia is not your class web site. If you post here, it should be with a specific suggestion for making the article better. Teacher, please contact Wikipedia:School and university projects for help creating an assignment that will teach your students to use Wikipedia without disrupting Wikipedia's work. Thank you. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 11:22, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

What is your teacher's username? I would be glad to talk with him or her about what the goals are with this project, and how they can be met without disruption to the project. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 11:27, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Elsewhere[edit]

Other inappropriate submissions that I have deleted are Susan Glaspell Trifles and Different freedoms.pdf. — RHaworth (talk · contribs) 18:59, 18 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Since the schoolchildren are continuing to use this talk page as a place for their school essays, and none of them seem to be responding to our requests to please cut it out, I've temporarily protected this talk page from edits by new and unregistered users. Note that students are welcome to edit Wikipedia, but they're expected to do so in ways that make the encyclopedia better. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 02:23, 19 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Summary and Citation[edit]

The plot summary of the play is too short. More details can be added about the sequence of events in the play, especially leading up to the women hiding the evidence against Minnie. There are also some grammatical errors. In the “Feminist drama” section, there is no reference or citation that states that the play was seen as an example of feminist drama. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marisacaramiello (talk • contribs) 21:32, 10 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that more could be added to the plot summary. For example, it could be mentioned that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are looking for things to be brought to Mrs. Wright in jail. Also, it is mentioned that "Mr. Wright killed the bird" but no information about the bird earlier on in the summary.Samharris11 (talk) 02:27, 23 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

In addition the article claims that "the play is frequently anthologized in American literature textbooks" and that "the caged bird [is] a common symbol of women's roles in society," both without a citation. Oeparker1 (talk) 01:22, 18 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I have a slight suggestion for the character section. Although this play was first performed in 1916 and had the original actors, it is still being performed in various locations. Is it possible to get remove the original actors next to the characters' names and place them in the "Adaptations" section? Cornonthecob44 (talk) 18:28, 24 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I think in the summary where it mentions that through evidence the wives realize Mr. Wright killed the bird does not give much context. I think if someone were to read the summary without actually reading the play they would not know the significance of the bird.

Suggestions for Organizing Information in Certain Sections[edit]

       The structure of the entry appears to be very sparse in terms of organized thoughts and whatnot. For example, it might be a little bit more informative for the average entry reader if the "Characters" entry had sub categories with each covering the seven main characters in more detail than just their occupations or relationships with other characters. Additionally, the section labelled "Performance History" appears to only contain a singular sentence, which reiterates a fact already discussed in the paragraph before the table of contents. Therefore, unless there are other specifically documented adaptations or recitals of the script available, removing this section might make this page look more professionally organized. Finally, the "Performance History" and "Adaptations" sections can be combined as an adaptation of a theatre production is technically part of the play's performance history. Ncast3 (talk) 15:25, 16 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Im going to add a new section titled "Literary criticism and significance" and include under that section, the feminist research in developmental psychology to better understand the moral dilemma throughout the story.Cdebo3 (talk) 16:59, 16 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I think there should be a section about something else. 192.132.64.3 (talk) 13:15, 18 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Annotated bibliography of new critical sources, spring 2020[edit]

  • Bazregarzadeh, Elmira (2019). ""Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" in the Light of Ecofeminism"". A Biannual Publication on the Study of Language and Literature. 21 (2): 10–16. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |first 2= (help)
The article "Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” in the Light of Ecofeminism” by Elmira Bazregarzadeh discusses the unequal balance of social systems in which men hold dominance over women in literature. The article goes in-depth to debate the motives behind this trend in publications. The author examines "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell through the lens of Ecofeminism.

haley.carter1 (talk) 19 April 2020 (UTC)


This article discusses the case that Susan Glaspell reported on which became the basis for Trifles. It notes how Glaspell's style of reporting changed once she visited the accused's farm, and how she then became sympathetic to the accused. It also discusses theories of gender in regards to murder, and how female killers are viewed differently than male killers. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 21:53, 17 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
This article discusses domesticity and sisterhood in Glaspell's Trifles. The article analyzes the role of 19th century women in society, especially focusing on living conditions, such as domestic obligations. The article pays special attention to the play's male characters and the way that they view the home and the role of women, in comparison to the women. The shared domesticity is what forges sisterhood in the play. The article argues that women's domestic roles create a sense of sisterhood among women.

-RSank17 (talk)17 April 2020

This article discusses the power of silence for the women in the Glaspell's Trifles. The silence that the two women have in the beginning of the play is that of their own trifles, yet by the end of the play their silence is more powerful than it can ever be. Suzy Clarkson Holstein suggests that the women's silence allows them to have power to determine the fate of Minnie Foster. The two women know her secret and choose to disclose it; therefore, the men are left believing it to be a trifle.Bridgett James (talk) 02:43, 21 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Modern Drama Spring 2020 Discussion[edit]

Name Subject
Emma Background section
Haley Summary and Background
Bridgett Themes
Brianna I have already added symbolism, feminist, history of play, and some character descrption. I am going to redo my sources
Example Example
Example Example

What do y'all think the article needs? What would you like to work on? I created an easy reference table you can add your names to. I think most of the sections can be expanded, especially themes, background, and literary criticism. I personally thought the article I found on the Hossack trial was interesting so I'd like to expand on that. Planning to do some work on that tomorrow. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 01:13, 22 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@EmmaKDarnell: Thank you for starting the reorganization of this article.
@Clarkrebekah, Bridgett James, Haley.carter1, Briannamorgan, RSank17, and Ivy.sapp: Please respond to Emma's questions above. First, you should reorganize the article. Perhaps some of the sections could be grouped under major headings? Your next work should concentrate on analysis—using secondary articles to add interpretations to the play. A great way to begin this is add your articles from the bibliography above to the main article. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to begin this process. —Grlucas (talk) 12:08, 23 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I like this idea of regrouping sections under common headings. I think Characters, Summary, and Background could all go under "Plot." Symbolism, Feminist Drama, and Themes could all go under "Literary Criticism." I don't think the "Modern Theatre" section is necessary, that tidbit could go under Plot. The "Titles" section also seems unnecessary, the significance of the title can be discussed under Plot or Criticism. Performance History and Adaptations can be grouped together as well. That's just how I would do it myself, but I'm open to any suggestions. Also, it was helpful to me to look at this featured article to see a good example of sections with subsections. What do y'all think? -EmmaKDarnell (talk) 22:00, 23 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@EmmaKDarnell: This sounds like a good place to begin. You also might consider these featured articles about theatre as they are more germane to this one; esp. e.g., The Unconquered. —Grlucas (talk) 11:34, 24 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Cool, I went ahead and made those changes. I removed the "Performance History" section altogether because it only contained one listing that was already mentioned in the intro paragraph, but someone may want to do some research on other performances and list them. I also realized when editing that the source I listed above is already in the article, but they make very little use of it, and not to the purposes I was intending. - EmmaKDarnell (talk) 17:39, 24 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Grlucas:How do I edit the References? It seems there are several incomplete references already listed that need dates, titles, etc. Whenever I click on edit source it is blank. - Haley.carter1 (Haley.carter1) 2:50, 26 April 2020 (UTC)
@Haley.carter1: They will be in the text of the article. You just have to find them. They need a lot of help, like the use of correct templates and page numbers. I fixed a few obvious errors. —Grlucas (talk) 19:39, 27 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Haley.carter1: I did save my edits to the footnotes for your source. Could you fix them to reflect the correct locations? Thanks. —Grlucas (talk) 17:15, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Haley.carter1: Did you try clicking the small edit button directly next to the References heading? That worked for me. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 17:42, 27 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I provided more detail for the Background section. Next I'm planning to organize the Symbolism section a bit, it's kind of a wall of text right now. Might introduce subsections. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 17:42, 27 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Deleted and Unidentified Sources: Bridgett James (talk) 17:24, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Another theme of this play is isolation and abuse, John kept Minnie locked in the house without any communication to the outside world as the telephone was disconnected, not leaving her any money, not buying her any new clothes thus limiting her interaction with any other women, maybe in fear of shame, as well as killing her pet canary.

One of the constant themes and focuses of the story is the divide between the psychology of men and women. Their respective social roles allow them to perceive very different aspects of Minnie's life. One of the differences in psychology shown in the play is that women need a sense of community and do not fare well with loneliness, while men seem to be able to cope with loneliness.

The theme of individual vs. society is present in the play because readers can get a look at what life was like for many women years ago. Society was very much male dominated with little female interjection. Also living in the rural farmland that there was not many options for Mrs. Wright to express her true feelings because she would receive shame and judgment by men and even some women.

There is a theme of justice within the play, while the wives of other men recognize Minnie had been abused by her husband, Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Hale seek to hide the evidence against Minnie so that she will not be found guilty. Mrs.Peter and Mrs. Hale side with Minnie despite her decision to kill her husband. Meanwhile, the male condescension within this play do not see years of abuse Mrs. Wright has gone through. The male condescension, Mr.s Henderson, Peters, and Hale just want to gather the evidence they found against Minnie and have her incarcerated for the murder of her husband. With more that meets the eye, This is where the different types of gender roles play, in how something may look from "the man's" perceptive as compared to "the women's" perspective. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bridgett James (talk • contribs) 02:26, 30 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Bridgett James (talk) 17:20, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I fixed my references in the Background section, and removed some unnecessary detail from the character list. I just don't think the character list is a good place for analysis. I'm pasting the removed text here so it can maybe be reworked in a different place. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 22:51, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Mrs. Peters is able to see herself in Minnie in the early days of her marriage - she sees the isolation and childlessness that Minnie is suffering with. She makes the important connection of seeing female helplessness in the wake of male brutality.
She is never seen in the play, she is isolated in her jail cell throughout the play. Without Minnie being seen by the audience, this gives the audience the ability to not be swayed by what she looks like, her character, or her condition. Audience members can see her quality of life in her home without having to see her, allowing them to deduce their own conclusions.

I changed the title of the "Literary Criticism" section to "Analysis" and cleaned it up a good bit. There was a lot of redundant or unnecessary info and unclear sources. I'm pasting another quote here that could be useful but didn't make sense in its current context. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 23:39, 28 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Friedman states "Feminism as a theme  should not be understood as simply a call for women's rights on the part of the playwright or her characters. Rather, it may be a statement about feminine consciousness, the feelings and perceptions associated with a female character's identity of a woman"
April 29, 2020[edit]

I was fixing a citation and found the source, but I couldn't find anything within the source that reflected the text which had cited it. However, the article may be useful and applicable elsewhere so I'm pasting the citation here. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 16:39, 29 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I went through each source and removed one or two that were unreliable or didn't match what the article stated. For the rest, I cleaned up the footnotes section and created shortened footnotes and moved full citations to the Bibliography section. Also pasting here some text that may be useful if we can find a proper source for it. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 17:48, 29 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Minnie is embodied in her kitchen and sewing things. The cold weather freezes and breaks her preserve jars, symbolizing the cold environment of her home breaking her spirit, as well as the coldness which causes the characters to fail in human empathy towards each other.{{sfn| The cold weather can also symbolize how Mr. Wright treated Minnie. The bare kitchen can be seen as a symbol of the lives of the former inhabitants.

I was thinking we could add this: Friedman states, "Feminism as a theme should not be understood as simply a call for women's rights on the part of the playwright or her characters. Rather, it may be a statement about feminine consciousness, the feelings and perceptions associated with a female character's identity of a woman". Back to the section of feminism as an introduction. I am having problems trying to cite it. I found the quote on JSTOR, "feminism as theme in twentieth-century american women's drama" page 2. I just cannot figure out how to get it in the bibliography. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Briannamorgan (talk • contribs) 03:21, 1 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

User:Briannamorgan I fixed it in the bibliography. Whenever you're ready to add your citation, just put {{sfn|Friedman|1984|pp=9}} with whatever page number you're referencing, and it will put in the short footnote and link it back to the bibliography. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 04:01, 1 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@EmmaKDarnell and Briannamorgan: All correct, except if there's only one page, then there should be only one p: {{sfn|Friedman|1984|p=9}} —Grlucas (talk) 13:22, 1 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
May 1, 2020[edit]

I was able to find and add sources for all the symbols that were listed so far and added more detail to a couple of them. I also found sources for two more symbols that were listed previously but were iffy or uncited (the jar of preserves and the rope). Adding those next. I also went through and changed "Minnie" to "Mrs. Wright" in a couple spots for the sake of clarity and continuity, since that's how she's referred to throughout most of the play. EmmaKDarnell (talk) 23:04, 1 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

talk talk Thank you guys for your help, I went ahead and added it back to the article! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Briannamorgan (talk • contribs) 00:19, 3 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

May 4, 2020[edit]

@Grlucas: Since this is due tomorrow, how is it looking? Do you think we can remove the notice at the top about insufficient citations? There are still a couple themes I want to add tonight/tomorrow but to me it looks like everything that's there right now is well-cited. Also, is there a specific cutoff time tomorrow for our final edits? EmmaKDarnell (talk) 21:57, 4 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Feminism[edit]

The feminism section under the analysis section is a little messy. Instead of flowing and going together, it is more like one line being cited from different sources.Samharris11 (talk) 01:58, 23 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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