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“Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.”

This line, delivered by Mr. Hale, echoes the title of the play and sums up the men’s dismissive attitude toward the concerns of women. Mr. Hale’s pronouncement about feminine trifles follows close upon the other men’s mockery of Minnie for worrying that her jars of preserves might freeze while she sits in jail, suspected of murder. The men care little for the hard work that Minnie invested in canning her fruit. They cannot comprehend why she would worry over the fate of her preserves more than her own fate as an accused murderer. 

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