Trifles

Compare and contrast Trifles to any contemporary work of art that delves into violence perpetrated by women; for example, choose something like the television show Killing Eve or the miniseries Sharp Objects. Within your analysis, be sure to attend to the differences in time period between the two works. How do each of them represent the tensions and conflicts specific to their era, and what do they have in common? Focus both on the literary and dramatic conventions each work uses, as well as the thematic and social content. 

Choose two character foils and explain how the pair advances the themes of the play. Foils that are composed of opposing genders may work particularly well for this prompt, but you can also choose to analyze two women as foils. Mrs. Wright’s absence from the play, for example, can be seen as a foiling mechanism to either Mrs. Hale or Mrs. Peters. 

Using direct quotation and a careful parsing of each recurrence of Mrs. Wright’s unfinished quilt, write an essay that explains the quilt’s significance as a symbol in the play.