Trifles is a one act play.

Mrs. Peters, the wife of the local Sheriff, is trying to be a loyal wife to her husband as she is as married to the law as she is to him. She is unbiased towards Mrs. Wright unlike Mrs. Hale although she agrees to some extent on who the murderer is. She uses this unbiased point of view as an excuse to get out of stating her opinion of the identity of the criminal.

*referring to Mr. Wright* "Not to know him; I've seen in him town. They say he was a good man." 

Mrs. Peters in ignorant and naive of the new neighborhood she has recently moved to. Her lack of knowledge allows her to be indecisive on the identity of the murderer and hence allows her to be true to her husband but with an underlying understanding of the case before her.

Speech: "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.

Actions: She notices the change in the sewing of Mrs. Wright to indicate the change of behavior. She notices the box with the bird.

Looks: She is larger, "comfortable looking." She appears disturbed and looks fearful.

Thoughts: She exclaims that she would hate to have men come into her kitchen, "snooping around and criticizing."

Mrs. Hale is the real detective in the story. She figures out the evidence of the crime scene before any of the law enforcement. She doesn't speak up because she knows she is "just a woman" and the men will just laugh her off.

In "Trifles," Susan Glaspell uses a variety of details in the description of characters and setting to contribute to the verisimilitude of the piece as a whole.

Trifles uses all three unities perfectly.

"Well, ladies have you decided whether she was going to quilt it or knot it?"

"Here's a nice mess"

"(Kicks his foot against the pans under the sink)"

"He is a young man", "he has the gallantry of a young politician"

Analysis: He talks facetiously to the woman in order to undermine them in a way. He thinks he knows everything about the investigation, and that he can figure it all on his own, showing a rather condescending side of him. He is also very ignorant and close-minded on his job; he doesn't take any info from anyone else.

Mr. Hale is first introduced as the sheriff is asking him how he came upon the body of Mr. Wright in the house. Mr. Hale begins by simply explaining everything that has gone on during the day, and things that are relatively unimportant showing that he may not grasp the full extreme of the situation at hand. However probably the most important part of Mr. Hale’s characterization is the line where he states, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” showing how he may have a somewhat sexist view towards women and is already looking down upon women, even though the two female characters make more ground upon the murder than anyone else does. Further more some of his thoughts and actions such as the repeated need to refocus him upon the more important details alludes to the idea that he may be slightly slow and once again probably doesn’t comprehend the gravity of the situation.

Analysis of Mr. Hale: Mr. Hale is a farmer who a little oblivious. He is married to Mrs. Hale. His function in the story is to help figure out what happened pertaining to the accident.