The famous idiom, “Behind every great

The famous idiom, “Behind every great man is a great woman” is a great summarization of the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell. Written in the era of 1916 and in a rural area, this phrase might have been scoffed at by men and quietly understood by women. Trifles, defined as something that is commonly overlooked, can be symbolized to be the women in this play. In the beginning of the play, the stage scene is described as untidy. For example, “…unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish towel on the table”(Glaspell, 1916, Scene 1, p. 844). These can be signs of a busy family, but because of the era it was written in, it shows that the woman of the house is “lazy” and does not take pride in her house. Roles are assigned to this play when the women are instructed to remain in the kitchen/house and the men investigate upstairs at the murder scene and outside the house. A majority of the play was set in the kitchen with the 2 women talking amongst themselves. This space(the kitchen) is rather small and confined. The small kitchen is a representation of how little of a voice and freedom the women have. It is ironic that although the women were overlooked, they were the ones who solved the murder. They paid attention to the small details and concluded the motive for the murder, which was baffling to the men.