Question

make inferences about symbols
read this passage, which develops the symbols of the bird and the birdcage.

mrs. hale: (with a slow look around her) i wonder how it would seem never to have had any children around. (pause) no, wright wouldnt like the bird — a thing that sang. she used to sing. he killed that, too.

—trifles,
susan glaspell

remember that violence was inflicted on the birdcage and the bird. what inferences can you make about mrs. wrights experience in her home? check all of the boxes that apply.
□ she may have felt trapped and confined.
□ she may have felt limited as a housewife.
□ she may have been able to sing freely.
□ she may have suffered physical or emotional violence.
□ she may have been lonely.
□ she may have loved to travel.
done

Explanation:

1. The bird, a singing creature, represents Mrs. Wright's lost freedom; the cage mirrors her trapped life as a housewife, so she felt confined.
2. As a housewife in an isolated, childless home, her lack of companionship points to loneliness.
3. Mr. Wright killed the bird (her last joy) and likely suppressed her own voice, indicating she endured emotional (and possibly physical) violence.
4. Mr. Wright hated the bird's song, meaning he would have silenced her own singing, so she could not sing freely.
5. There is no text evidence to support she loved travel.

Answer:

• She may have felt trapped and confined.
• She may have felt limited as a housewife.
• She may have been lonely.
• She may have suffered physical or emotional violence.