In Susan Glaspell's one-act play, "Trifles," what are the major tensions?

The major tensions in the play "Trifles" are found in the
two "sides" represented in the room of the Wright
household.

Mrs. Wright has been discovered rocking in her
chair, as her murdered husband lies dead in their bed.

The
men are investigating the scene of the crime, looking for clues to convict Mrs. Wright
of murder. This is where some tensions lie.

The other
tensions in the play come from the women, but they are many in number. At first, Mrs.
Hale and Mrs. Peters are simply there to gather a few belongings to take to Mrs. Wright
at the jail. When one of the men dismisses the hard work women do and the "trifles" of
keeping a household over which they worry, tension erupts as the women resent the men's
dismissive attitudes.

Tensions also arise with the women
when they find an empty bird cage in the cupboard, and ultimately, the body of a dead
canary—wrapped in a sewing basket as if waiting to be buried—looking like it was
intentionally killed. Two different kinds of tensions arise here. They develop a sense
of sympathy for the woman in living with such a cold man, and they finally understand
how she could have been driven, by her husband's hateful act, to kill him for destroying
the one beautiful thing she had in her life.

On the heels
of this tension is their decision to keep their discovery
secret.

Finally, the women feel a tension of wishing they
had done more to befriend Mrs. Wright, they feel less connected to the men for their
casual lack of concern for the plight of a hard-working wife, and they decide, though
they have been "well-behaved, traditional" wives up until now, to keep what they have
learned a secret in an effort to not only protect Mrs. Wright, but perhaps in an effort
to thwart the men's attempts to prove Mrs. Wright's guilt.