Trifles Chapter Summary & Analysis | Detailed Summary & Analysis

Summary

The setting of this one-act play is a farmhouse kitchen in the Midwest. Instead of modern appliances, there is a hand pump at the sink for water, and a wood-burning stove for warmth and for cooking. From the kitchen, there are three doors: one to the parlor, one to the upstairs, and one to the shed and then on to the outdoors. In the middle of the room is a rustic dining table and chairs. The room has not been cleaned up and looks as if someone was interrupted in the midst of cooking a meal. Dirty pans are stacked under the sink, a loaf of bread is sitting outside the breadbox and a dishtowel is sitting on the table.

The door to the shed opens and Sheriff Peters, County Attorney Henderson and Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer, enter the kitchen followed by the sheriff's wife and the neighbor's wife.