A Jury of Her Peers

by

Susan Glaspell

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Trifles Symbol Icon
Mr. Hale says that women are “used to worrying over trifles.” This significant quote identifies the way the men in this short story perceive the interests and concerns of the women. The men see women as engaged only with insignificant things, such as the canning jars of fruit that Minnie Wright is worried will have been ruined in her absence after her arrest, and the quilt that Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale decide to bring to Minnie at the jail to keep her busy. Trifles, a term misapplied by the men to everything that interests women, symbolize the blindness of the men to the importance of these very things. It is the “trifles” that reveal the motive behind Minnie’s crime, the piece of important evidence that the men seek. Because the men discount both the women and the women’s interests as “trifles,” they overlook the things that could reveal the truth about Minnie, her situation, and her actions, as well as the truth about sexism in their society.

Trifles Quotes in A Jury of Her Peers

The A Jury of Her Peers quotes below all refer to the symbol of Trifles. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Subjugation of Women Theme Icon
).
A Jury of Her Peers Quotes

“Oh, well, women are used to worrying over trifles.”

Related Characters: Lewis Hale (speaker), Mrs. Peters, Martha Hale, Minnie Wright
Related Symbols: Trifles, Canning Jars of Fruit
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
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Trifles Symbol Timeline in A Jury of Her Peers

The timeline below shows where the symbol Trifles appears in A Jury of Her Peers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Jury of Her Peers
The Subjugation of Women Theme Icon
Crime and Punishment Theme Icon
...face of her serious situation. Mr. Hale responds that “women are used to worrying over trifles.” (full context)