Final answer:
In the play 'Trifles', Mrs. Wright is symbolically represented by a bird, which reflects her feelings of entrapment and loss of identity in an oppressive marriage. The correct answer is option a.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Wright, the character suspected of murdering her husband, is symbolically represented by a bird. Throughout the play, various references to birds and a bird cage draw parallels to Mrs. Wright’s life and her feeling of entrapment and lost identity. This comparison is further reinforced when Mrs. Hale remarks that Mrs. Wright ‘was kind of like a bird herself-real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery,’ highlighting the transformation of Minnie Foster into Mrs. Wright due to her oppressive marriage.
The play takes place in a kitchen, a traditionally female space, and the actions here reveal critical insights into Mrs. Wright’s life. The men dismiss the women's domain as concerned with trifles, yet it is there that the women uncover the dead canary, its neck wrung, mirroring the way Mr. Wright was killed. The dead bird, the ruined preserves, and the unfinished quilt all symbolize Mrs. Wright’s stifled domestic life and her ultimate act of rebellion against it.
Despite finding the evidence of the bird’s death, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters choose to protect Mrs. Wright from the law, implying a shared understanding of her plight and a condemnation of the oppressive situation she endured. The bird serves as a poignant symbol of Mrs. Wright’s lost freedom and joy, ultimately connecting to the central theme of gender and the role of women in society.