ARTIFACT 1: Drama Forum 1 Letter 1

Dear Classmates,

While reading Glaspell’s Trifles I found an interesting parallel between the broken jars of fruit and the situation which could have possibly led Mrs. Wright to commit the crime she was accused of committing. There is an important meaning behind these shortly mentioned broken jars.

The drama explains through the conversation of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters that the jars of fruit preserved from Mrs. Wright’s hard work in the summer broke because of the cold temperature leaving a sticky mess on the counter. All the jars were broken except one. So what does this have to do with the accusations against Mrs. Wright? Let me explain.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters talked about how the house, and the people in it, composed a quite unfriendly atmosphere, which seems to be what kept Mrs. Hale from visiting over the last year. The cold and unfriendly atmosphere is represented by the cold temperatures that caused the fruit jars to break. Mr. Wright is the cold air causing the jars, which represent Mrs. Wright, break time after time when he would upset her for instance when he possibly killed her bird or told her he didn’t like her singing. Each time he would do something against her, she would burst like those jars. But one jar was left, and in my opinion it represents Mrs. Wright’s last chance to stand and she did not break, but instead she broke him—literally.

This idea is relevant to the 21st century because we hear very often of men abusing their wives physically, and emotionally suffocating them. It could also be paralleled to the pressures women feel in the male-dominated business world.

What does the cold air represent in today’s society that is breaking women?

Sincerely,
Jennifer H. ENGL 202