Glaspell's play Trifle focuses on the dismissive treatments of women by men. The story centers around a murder case investigation where Mrs. Wright is the main suspect of the murder of Mr. Wright. The investigation involving both men and women showcase the discriminative nature of men as they look down upon women and ignores the most valuable pieces of evidence that could lead them to the murderer. At the center of this drama is the use of situational irony to make it clear for the audience that the men undertaking the investigation consider women as a trifle or minor things, a situation that lead to their failure in the investigation.
The author uses situational irony in a scene where the County Attorney and Sheriff ignore the kitchen and leaves women at the kitchen despite their motivation to search for evidence. In the scene, the County Attorney asks the Sheriff, "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive?" sheriff responds by saying, “Nothing here but kitchen things" ( Glaspell). The irony is that it was at the kitchen that the women found most vital pieces of evidence. The irony usage, in this case, is to showcase that the men were discriminative in their view of women.
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Another instance of situational irony is on the scene where the two men ignore and do not get an interest in examining the items which the women got from the kitchens. It is summed up in this conversation between scenes the County Attorney asks the Sheriff, "Oh, I guess they're not very dangerous things the ladies have picked out. . . . No, Mrs. Peters doesn't need supervising. For that matter, a sheriff's wife is married to the law" ( Glaspell, 1916). The irony, in this case, is that despite them assuming that women have picked up appropriate things, the audience understands that the women have with them critical links to the murder. Also, they assume that Mrs.Peter is innocents and does not need any supervision, yet she has pieces of evidence linking Mrs. Wright to the murder, and she needs supervision. Lastly, the two me also think that since Mrs. Peter is married to an officer, she cannot hide evidence. The irony is that she is the one holding crucial pieces of evidence in the case. The use of situational irony in this play reveals the impact of discriminating women in this case. The County Attorney and the Sheriff were not successful in the case because of their ignorance and discriminative look at the women.
References
Glaspell, S. "Trifles." The Norton Anthology Of American Literature , (pp. 241-250).
Glaspell, S. (1916). Trifles - a one-act play by Susan Glaspell. Retrieved 6 October 2019, from http://www.one-act-plays.com/dramas/trifles.html
