Susan Glaspell Symbols

Secondarily, the use of symbolism can been seen throughout the drama as well to create meaning and emotion. The use of symbolism by Glaspell is very important in understanding the concept of the Wrights marriage and lack of women's rights during the time. The major symbols throughout Trifles are the canary, the cage, and the knotted pattern on the unfinished quilt. It is rather obvious the canary is Minnie Foster before she married her husband, the very controlling and secluded, John Wright. Mrs.Hale describes Mrs.Wright before she was married by saying, “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir. But that—oh, that was thirty years ago” (Glaspell, Susan). This quote from Mrs.Hale is a great example of how Minnie Foster was changed by her marriage and lost sight of her original …show more content…
How—she—did—change ”(Glaspell,Susan). This symbolism is a strong example of how suffering all those years of emotional disconnect and neglect from her husband eventually wore Mrs.Wright down into a deep depressed mental state until she decided she had enough and did something about it. Then the cage is a representation of the isolation Mrs.Wright endured because of traditional gender roles that caused her to obey her husbands wishes of consistent silence (Bangga, Ariang). The cage isolated Minnie Foster by keeping her from being the lively, involved, and happy person she had been in the past. It was only a matter of time until the negativity of Mr.Wright began to take a toll and turned her into a depressed and lonely woman. The cage is found with the door violently ripped off which directly implies Mr.Wright must have damaged it while on his way to snapping the birds neck because it made