The conversation definitely set the sound for this poem. One of the first things I noticed when reading was the women was never referred to by their names, but was referred only by their husband’s last name. This automatically gives the reader the impression that during this time women were not allowed to have an identity of their own. They were only known by the husband’s identity. They stayed in the darkness of their husband.
As you read the poem, the setting is defined early. The cold brittle wind, the filthy kitchen, the Quickness of the women’s thoughts and feelings, all set a sorrowful dreadful place to be, both mentally and physically. We learn early that Mr. Wright has been murdered and Mrs. Wright has been arrested. One of the major conflicts we see is the ability or inability of both the men and women in this story to pay close attention to detail, perception and processing of information gathered. The men are looking for the obvious, while the woman is able to process, empathize and reveal the unseen evidence.
The men are looking with the naked eye, while the women are feeling Mrs. Wright’s desperation and despair. One of the other conflicts the woman face is actually informing the men of the Information they have. Their compassion and understanding prevents them from making a sound decision. Without motive it will be hard for the men to prosecute to the fullest intent. So the moral obligation ways heavy on the women. With the end result of keeping that information from the men.
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The tragedy of this story is two-fold. Without the motive Mrs. Wright will not be punished to the full intent of the law. The other tragedy is the despair Mrs. Wright had to endure on a daily basis. The fact, that she felt this was her only option, her only way out, even realizing that she had been living In jail with her husband all-alone, going to jail would be any different because she has always begin in jail. Constantly living in the shadows of her husband. We see that when she ask for her apron.
As the men and women continued gathering information, the poem ends with what one would consider an ironical response. As we found out in the play, Mr. wright was murdered with a rope around his neck. The women also discovered messy, unsteady knotting in the wife’s quilting. This revealed the technique of strangulation to the women, while the men were still clueless. Mrs. Hale revealed “we call it-knot it, Mr. Henderson.” An ironical ending to a not so obvious motive.
Work Cited
- Glaspell, Susan Trifles, The Bedford Introduction to the Literature, Ninth Edition, Michael Myers, p1366-1380
