The play opens with a frame story in which Hale tells the County Attorney what occurred the day he found Mr. Wright dead:
“Well, Mr Hale, tell just what happened when you came here yesterday morning...”
This frame story provides key context for the plot and delivers the play's only depiction of Minnie Wright, the accused. The frame story depicts how the deceased and Mrs. Wright were discovered by Mr. Hale at the scene of the crime:
"She was rockin' back and forth. She had her apron in her hand and she was kind of—pleating it."
Hale describes Minnie Wright as “queer” and mentions that she laughs and “pleats her apron”—unusual behavior for the wife of a man recently murdered. This depiction provides the audience with subliminal information about Minnie's state of mind and connection to the murder.
The frame story also offers the audience Hale’s perspective on the couple. He states:
“I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John—”
Hale describes the personality of the deceased, John Wright, by conveying the neglect and dismissal with which John treated his wife.
As the entirety of Trifles takes place in one afternoon, the frame story serves to illustrate key elements of the mystery that occur before the central characters come onto the scene, such as Minnie's anxious apron pleating. This device broadens the scope of the story and allows the audience insight into the personalities and actions of John and Minnie Wright.
