In the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell the hero is one that, at first, seems unclear.  This is a story about a woman and her controlling husband.  The question is which women is the story really about.  If we take a look at the characters involved and answer the question, “who falls as a result of a flaw” the signs point to Mrs. Hale who has gone through a transformation of character throughout the story and is, in fact, the hero in this play.  In the following, I will describe the story and how Mrs. Hale’s character develops throughout the play.  Events that take place in this play allow the reader to see her as a character that has depth and complexity (round) and who is also dynamic or changes due to her conflicts she faces.  As the play unfolds the reader is able to logically follow her realization of herself and Mrs. Wright.

 

The play is about an investigation of John Wright’s death.  It  is set at the Farm House where the body of John Wright was found.   Mrs. Wright’s unhappy life is retold through Mrs. Hale, the neighbor, and Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife, while gathering items to bring to Mrs. Wright in jail.

 

It is clear early on that Mrs. Hale feels guilty for not being apart of Mrs. Wright’s life.  Could she have changed her life?  There were many similarities of Mrs. Wright’s life to her own.  At first, this leads the reader to believe that Mrs. Hale is a stock character.  The farmer’s wife – housekeeper, servant, well behaved wife.  She, just as Mrs. Wright, knew how difficult is to maintain a farm house.  This is why she is quick to defend the uncleanliness of Mrs. Wrights home clarifying to the men that it is not easy:  “Farmers’ wives have their hands full” (1251).  Mrs. Hale, too, is a hard workingwoman.  This is the first sign that maybe there is more to Mrs. Hale then first thought.

 

As the play continues the focus is placed on the quilt Mrs. Wright was working on. At this point Mrs. Hale’s character begins to change.  She starts to fix the errors to the quilt that Mrs. Wright had recently made as though she had made the mistakes herself.  She has to correct them so no one discovers this.  It is at this point when her character becomes more dynamic.  She is conflicted by the idea of the perfect role of farmers’ wife and sticking together with the women like her. Mrs. Peters, however is remaining flat and static throughout this play.  She is unaffected by this event.

 

Mrs. Hale speaks of John Wright.  She implies that he seems like a good man on the surface but relays concerns of his possibly being controlling of Mrs. Wright.  Is she re-telling a story of herself and how she may feel about her own husband?  Maybe he, too, is subjecting Mrs. Hale to a life of sadness.  Her responses to this is feeling guilty for not coming over and spending time with Mrs. Wright. She thinks it may have made a difference in Mrs. Wright’s life. She may have been able to ease some of her loneliness and sadness by having a friend to talk with about her life with Mr. Wright.

 

The broken door on the birdcage is found, and soon after, the dead bird.  Mrs. Hale decides to keep the dead bird from the investigators.  The way the bird was killed could have been key in this investigation.  She tells the Sheriff that we think that a cat got the bird.  This is another sign of her character becoming more complex.  She is a round character.  She has depth and continues to surprise the reader with her actions in this play.  She has now covered up potential evidence that could implicate Mrs. Wright. 

 

Mrs. Hale’s flaw as a hero is that she never visited Mrs. Wright, “That was a crime! That was a crime! Who’s going to punish that?” (1256).  A tragic realization for Mrs. Hale, and even though we don’t know for sure how close their lives really were she continues to say “We all go through the same things-“ (1256).  She is conflicted by the life that Mrs. Wright led and knew that she could have helped Mrs. Wright’s own conflicts with Mr. Wright. 

 

Mrs. Hale is round, dynamic and the hero in this play.  She goes through a journey of discovering the sad life of Mrs. Wright, and as this is done her character grows.  These discoveries are what cause her character to be dynamic.  Since she is so good at discovering the clues to Mrs. Wright’s life, it causes Mrs. Hale to make decisions about what to disclose as a part of the investigation.  A proper farmer’s wife would never defy their husbands or provide a “cover up” in a crime.  Mrs. Hale has done just that by discovering herself through Mrs. Wright.