In Susan Glaspell's one-act play, "Trifles," what is the resolution?A resolution ties up the various strands of action, answers the questions...

The men have come into the Wrights' home to find anything
that could link Mrs. Wright to her husband's murder.

On
several occasions, with uncaring dismissiveness, the men laugh at the very real
responsibilities that fill a woman's life—calling their worries over their
responsibilities, "trifles." They are critical that the towels in the kitchen are dirty
and that the house is not decorated nicely; they dismiss Mrs. Peters being "capable
enough" to sneak something she should not into the jail, and even make fun of the quilt
Mrs. Wright was making. In all, they have greatly alienated the women, Mrs. Hale and
Mrs. Peters, making the women aware for the first time of the delineation that separates
the world of men and that of women.

The women are neighbors
who have come to collect some things to take to Mrs. Wright in jail. Mrs. Peters is the
sheriff's wife. As they look around, they find an empty birdcage and a dead canary,
wrapped in Mrs. Wright's sewing basket, waiting to be buried. Its wrecked body shows
that it was killed purposely: broken, it seems, by a strong, uncaring hand. They realize
that Mrs. Wright probably killed her husband for destroying the one beautiful element in
her sorry world.

This, then, is the missing piece the men
are looking for. However, as the women think on what they have discovered and their own
personal experiences, they begin to have a sense of solidarity with this woman: that
even though they hardly knew her, they had much in common. They can only imagine what
Mrs. Wright's life was like not having children. And Mrs. Hale can remember when "Minnie
Foster Wright" had once sung so beautifully in the church choir, understanding
now that Mr. Wright killed that in her,
too.

The women, struggling about what to do,
decide to keep what they have learned a secret. They take the sewing box with
them, with the bird still in it, knowing that they will not share what they know with
the men, but protect their "sister" who has tried to hard to survive in the uncaring
world of men. They will not give the men what they need
to destroy what is left of Mrs. Wright.