How does irony contribute to the theme or message of the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell?

Irony is central to the play Triflesby Susan Glaspell and is seen from the start in the play's title. The "Trifles" referred to in the title are details of the home that is being searched after the murder of Mr. Wright. The sheriff comes to the house along with an attorney and a neighbor to look for typical kinds of evidence. These men look for evidence of motive, a weapon, and signs of a...

Irony is central to the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell and is seen from the start in the play's title. The "Trifles" referred to in the title are details of the home that is being searched after the murder of Mr. Wright. The sheriff comes to the house along with an attorney and a neighbor to look for typical kinds of evidence. These men look for evidence of motive, a weapon, and signs of a break-in: in other words, anything that a detective would normally look for when investigating a crime scene. The wives of the sheriff and neighbor come along to the house to help gather some items for Mrs. Wright, who is being held at the local jail. As the women wander around the kitchen and living room of the home, they pick up on clues that tell them about Mrs. Wright's mental state when the crime was committed; this, of course, leads them to discover that she killed her husband as well as to learn of and sympathize with her motive. The title is ironic because the details the wives notice are mere "trifles" to the male characters; they do not see the kitchen—with its unfinished tasks of making bread and canning fruit—or the partially botched quilt in the living room as valid clues to the crime. However, the women notice that the flawed stitches in the quilt indicate that Mrs. Wright was upset or disturbed. They pay attention to details their husbands do not even think to look for, like the broken door of a bird cage. Ultimately, the women, who are not professional officers of the law, solve the crime. Furthermore, it could be considered ironic that when they do discover Mrs. Wright killed her husband, they decide to cover her tracks rather than confess to their husbands. They side with the wife, whose life and motives they fully understand.