Which Excerpt From Part One Of Trifles Most Develops The Motives Of The County Attorney?

Q. Which excerpt from part one of trifles most develops the motives of the county attorney?

(a.) County Attorney: “Somebody should have been left here yesterday.”

(b.) County Attorney (To the Sheriff.): “You’re convinced that there was nothing important here— nothing that would point to any motive?”

(c.) County Attorney (with the gallantry of a young politician): “And yet, for all their worries”

(d.) County Attorney: “How did she seem to feel about your coming?”

Ans: The correct answer to this question is option (b).

The excerpt from part one of “Trifles” that develops the motives of the County Attorney the most is “(To the Sheriff) – You’re convinced that there was nothing important here-—nothing that would point to any motive?”

Explanation

The above mentioned excerpt clearly showcases how the County Attorney is clearly suspicious of Minnie Wright. This showcases situational irony as the County actually issued a valid warning to Mrs. Peters without even realizing it.

Situational Irony refers to any type of irony where there’s a vast contrast between what happens and what gets said.

This particular excerpt also highlights the lack of understanding that the County Attorney has of women.

About Trifles

Trifles is a really popular one-act play that has been written by Susan Glaspell. This was written during the times of the First Feminist Movement.

This particular play includes all the awaiting dangers of the imposed gender roles and also the fundamental injustices of the society that is patriarchal in nature. This play was embraced by the feminist critics who have been included in the various literary anthologies.

Keep reading till the end of the article to find out more information about the same!

Main Characters Of The Act

Here is a list of all of the main characters of the one act play “Trifle”:

Minnie Wright

This character is the suspected killer and wife of John Wright ( who has been murdered). Minnie’s character, though, never appears on the stage, so the audience only gets to know about her through the aid of the other characters.

The male characters of the play find her nature to be quite perplexing and are not able to comprehend why she would have killed her husband. On the other side of things, the female characters of the show viewed her with a more sympathetic view – understanding her oppressive marriage and the loneliness/isolation that came with it.

John Wright

John is Minnie’s deceased husband who was found strangled in his own bed – in the prologue of the play. He had a reputation as a good-natured man as he paid his bills on time and was honest as well.

On the contrary, Mrs. Hale knew of him as an exceptionally cold man who was always cruel to Minnie (John’s wife).

George Henderson (County Attorney)

This is the man who is in charge of the murder investigation. His character has been shown to be very self-assured, pompous and young.

He is absolutely confident that he is going to find supportive evidence that explains Minnie’s motive behind murdering her husband.

Just like the other men in the play, he dismisses important clues as being feminine trifles.

Tip: If you have missed out on my answer to the question “which excerpt from part one of trifles most develops the motives of the county attorney?”, then you can go back to the first section of the article to give it a read.

Peters

Mrs. Peters, who is the wife of the Sheriff , was tasked with retrieving a few of the belongings from the farmhouse. A rather relative newcomer to the town, she doesn’t know Minnie too well.

They only met after Minnie had gotten arrested. Even then, Mrs. Peters could easily perceive the clues which made it obvious how Minnie could only have been the murderer.

As a woman, Mrs. Peters also empathizes a lot with Minnie but being the Sheriff’s wife, she feels rather compelled to uphold the law.

Hale

Mrs. Hale is the wife of Lewis Hale and is also a neighbor of John and Minnie Wright. This is the only character who is very well acquainted with Minnie Wright and feels guilty for the latter to not have visited her more often than she used to.

She understands all of the challenges of running a household of a farmer and also specially takes exception to the homemaking skills of Minnie.

The character of Mrs. Hales is the first to notice clues related to Mrs. Minnie is murder but never indulges in informing the County Attorney or Sheriff about it.

Reviews Of The Plot

This play is regarded for being an absolute icon for the feminist type of writing – where men belittle just about anything related to women. This is also evident in the plot as the men of the book only look for concrete clues and dismiss the more crucial clues as “trifle matters” of a woman’s life.

This play is going to remain relevant for the time being and also for the future as well because this is a reflection of the current situation of the society.

To Wrap It Up!

The drama Trifles is based on the true court case concerning the murder of Iowan John Hossack and the trial of his wife. Make sure to read the book “Trifles” to find out whether Minnie really killed his husband or not.

Thank you for reading up till here. I hope you found the information regarding “which excerpt from part one of trifles most develops the motives of the county attorney?” useful.

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