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Mrs. Hale
The wife of the murdered John Wright, and his killer. Mrs. Hale remembers Minnie for her youthful innocence and happiness before she was married (when she was Minnie Foster). Back then, she sang joyfully in the local choir. But in marriage Minnie became timid, sad, and isolated. (It is interested that even Minnie’s name connects her to a sense of smallness and powerlessness: “mini”.) Minnie killed her husband by strangling him in retribution for his final cruelness of killing her pet bird, the only being that provided happiness and company for her in the loneliness of her home and the patriarchal society that isolated her (and all women).
Minnie Wright Quotes in Trifles
The Trifles quotes below are all either spoken by Minnie Wright or refer to Minnie Wright. 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:
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Trifles Quotes
“Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.”
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George Henderson, the county attorney, accompanies Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters, and their wives, to the home of a man who was recently killed. The murdered man's wife, Mrs. Wright, has been taken into custody, and the men search the home for any evidence. They find that Mrs. Wright's hard labor of canning fruit has been ruined, as the jars have frozen and exploded in the cold weather. The women's sympathy for Mrs. Wright's ruined project draws scorn from the men. Mr. Hale dismisses their concern by stating that women "are used to worrying over trifles." This statement reveals both Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi e
“They say it was such a—funny way to kill a man, rigging it all up like that.”
“That’s just what Mr. Hale said. There was a gun in the house. He says that’s what he can’t understand.”
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Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discuss the murder of John Wright while alone in the kitchen. What is notable about this murder is the means used to kill Mr. Wright, who was strangled by a rope around the neck. This brutal method was used even though a gun—which would certainly have been quicker and more effective—was available in the house. This passage is an example of foreshadowing, as the women discuss the method of murder early in the play, emphasizing that this question will be key in understanding of the mystery of Mr. Wright's death. The men state that they're Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque o
“Mr. Henderson said coming out that what was needed for the case was a motive; something to show anger, or—sudden feeling.”
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Here Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters foreshadow the discovery of evidence showing a motive for Mr. Wright's killing. A motive is assumed to be evidence of "anger" or "sudden feeling," which supposes that Mr. Wright was killed out of passion rather than through a cold-blooded plot. George Henderson may be indicating that he already suspects Mrs. Wright, assuming that a woman might have cause to be angry at her husband, but not assuming that a woman would kill with planning and forethought. Women are pigeonholed as creatures of instinct and emotion, rather than rational beings.The idea of motive is an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hi
“Oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who’s going to punish that?”
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Mrs. Hale's sympathy for Minnie Wright shifts into personal guilt as she comes to understands how much the other woman must have suffered alone at her house without the support of friends. She knows that if Minnie Wright had had the support of other women--to complain to, to talk with, to help her feel that she wasn't suffering alone at the hands of her husband--she might not currently be a murder suspect. Mrs. Hale could not have solved the larger problem of inequality between the genders, nor the specific problem of Mrs. Wright suffering at the hands of her husband, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Delen
“We all go through the same things—it’s all just a different kind of the same thing.”
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Mrs. Hale points out that all women have suffered isolation, mistreatment, and unhappiness because of the structure of a society that treats them as inferior to men. She speaks here in the first person plural, which includes herself and Mrs. Peters in a group with Minnie Wright. The context further implies that she uses "we" to refer to all women. She acknowledges that there are differences in the way women are treated from town to town and household to household, but these treatments are fundamentally the same thing. These "same things" are the products of oppression. In one case, a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis
“Well, Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to—what is it you call it, ladies?”
“We call it—knot it, Mr. Henderson.”
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During this loaded resolution to the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have concealed the dead bird that shows Minnie's Wright's motive for killing her husband. The quilt, too, shows evidence of her emotional distress in its poor stitching. The women have already discussed whether Minnie was planning to sew the quilt or knot the quilt to complete it. These two techniques take on metaphorical resonance because to "knot it" sounds like the tying of ropes, and Mr. Wright was strangled with a rope. In a subtle way, the women are revealing the truth of what happened and their knowledge Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia solu
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Minnie Wright Character Timeline in Trifles
The timeline below shows where the character Minnie Wright appears in Trifles. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Trifles
The play opens on the scene of John and Minnie Wright’s abandoned farmhouse. The kitchen is in disarray with unwashed dishes, a loaf of uncooked...
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Mr. Hale tells the story of arriving at the Wrights’ home the previous day. He had been hoping to convince John Wright to invest in...
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...cautioned him to not touch anything and to preserve any evidence. Before leaving, he questioned Minnie Wright about who killed her husband. She said that despite having been sleeping in the...
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...unimportant, as being only kitchen things. The county attorney discovers that the mess comes from Minnie’s canning jars of fruit, which have exploded. Mrs. Peters says that she knew Minnie was...
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...looking over the mess in the kitchen and noticing in particular the dirty towel, says Minnie seems to be a poor housekeeper. Mrs. Hale stiffly points out that there’s a lot...
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...Peters asks George Henderson if his wife can collect a few items to bring to Minnie Wright in jail and the attorney says yes, but that he’d like to see what...
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The women collect some clothes for Minnie. Mrs. Hale recognizes in the clothing that Minnie had very little money for herself and...
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Abruptly, Mrs. Hale asks Mrs. Peters if she thinks that Minnie killed her husband. Mrs. Hale says she doesn’t think that she did. Mrs. Peters whispers...
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The women discover a quilt that Minnie Wright was in the process of making. The men reenter and, overhearing Mrs. Peters and...
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Mrs. Hale expresses her frustration with herself for not visiting Minnie more often in her lonely home. She says she stayed away because she didn’t like...
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...not grow up in the neighborhood and so Mrs. Hale starts to tell her about Minnie as a girl (back when she was Minnie Foster). She says that Minnie Foster was...
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...got to punish crime.” Mrs. Hale cries out in response that her failure to visit Minnie and her lack of support for the isolated girl was a crime, and “who’s going...
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...Mr. Peters asks if he wants to look over what Mrs. Peters is taking to Minnie in jail, but the attorney says that she’s trustworthy because, after all, “a sheriff’s wife...
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...in her pocket. The attorney returns and jokingly acknowledges that at least they found out Minnie wasn’t going to finish her quilt by quilting it. He appeals to the ladies for...
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