Trifles: The Rise of Modern Feminism on the Stage, Part 1

Question 1

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.SHERIFF. Nothing here but kitchen things. (The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.) COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here’s a nice mess. (The women draw nearer.) MRS. PETERS (to the other woman). Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (To the Lawyer). She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break.What do the underlined stage directions suggest about the women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

They share a bond as women and are instinctively curious.

Question 2

Which of the following excerpts from part one of Trifles suggests that Mrs. Hale believes Mrs. Wright may have had a motive for killing her husband?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

MRS. HALE. She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir.

Question 3

Which of the following stage directions from part one of Trifles is designed to express emotion?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

MRS. HALE (stiffly).

Question 4

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.MRS. HALE (examining the skirt).What does the word “examining” mean in the stage direction?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

looking very closely

Question 5

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles. MRS. HALE (abruptly moving toward her). Mrs. Peters?Which best describes the effect of the word “abruptly” in the excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

The use of the word abruptly heightens the conflict by revealing to the reader that Mrs. Hale is becoming increasingly anxious.

Question 6

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.HALE. I didn’t hear or see anything; I knocked at the door, and still it was all quiet inside. I knew they must be up, it was past eight o’clock. So I knocked again, and I thought I heard somebody say, “Come in.” I wasn’t sure, I’m not sure yet, but I opened the door—this door (indicating the door by which the two women are still standing), and there in that rocker—(pointing to it) sat Mrs. Wright. (They all look at the rocker.)How does the underlined stage direction affect the mood of the scene?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

The emphasis on the rocker creates a tense mood as everyone is reminded of where Mrs. Wright calmly sat as she discussed her dead husband.

Question 7

Which stage direction from part one of Trifles most adds to the suspenseful tone?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

MRS. PETERS (starts to speak, glances up, where footsteps are heard in the room above. In a low voice.)

Question 8

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY (with the gallantry of a young politician). And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies?What is the primary purpose of these stage directions?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

to indicate a character’s tone of voice

Question 9

Which of the following stage directions from part one of Trifles supports the idea that the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, are stronger than they may at first appear?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

COUNTY ATTORNEY. And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies? (The women do not unbend.)

Question 10

Read the excerpt from part one of Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY (with the gallantry of a young politician).Which best describes the effect of the word “gallantry” in this excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

It characterizes the County Attorney as someone desirous of showing respect to women, even if he does not mean it.

Trifles: The Rise of Modern Feminism on the Stage, Part 1 Answers

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