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The title of the play refers to the concerns of the women in the play, which the men consider to be only “trifles.” This includes such things as the canning jars of fruit that Minnie Wright is concerned about despite being held for murder, as well as the quilt and other items that Minnie asks to have brought to her at the jail. Trifles symbolize the importance of the topics and items that concern the women in the story, as these concerns provide the women with the insight to understand the motive of Minnie’s crime. The men, who arrogantly assume that women’s interests are “trifling” and unimportant, are blind to the importance of these items in the investigation of John Wright’s murder and to the importance of women’s concerns and situations in general.
Trifles Quotes in Trifles
The Trifles quotes below all refer to the symbol of Trifles. 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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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Trifles LitChart as a printable PDF.
Trifles Symbol Timeline in Trifles
The timeline below shows where the symbol Trifles appears in Trifles. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Trifles
...fruit when she’s held for murder. Mr. Hale says “women are used to worrying over trifles.”
(full context)
