In Trifles who are the protagonist and antagonist?

Such an interesting question!  At first, it seems the
protagonist is John Wright, the deceased, who has obviously (maybe) been murdered by his
wife, Minnie Wright.  This would make her the antagonist as she is the "murderer" and in
clear violation of the law.  Further, both of these characters are never on stage.  The
play begins with Mr. Wright's body having been removed and Mrs. Wright down at the
Sheriff's station awaiting trial.

Now, on further
investigation, the story flops.  We see through the story of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters
that Minnie was a bright child, happy and carefree, who loved to dress up and sing.  Her
hard life, her isolation, and the fact (presumed from the evidence the ladies find) that
John Wright broke the neck of her canary, drove her to kill him in the same way.  This
angle of argument creates pathos in favor of Minnie, who becomes the protagonist.  John
Wright, then, the cruel and abusive husband, is the antagonist who got what he
deserved.

Ironically, the men who are in charge never see
it this way, and they will never learn of the evidence their wives have discovered since
the women are the true jury of Minnie's peers (this play was based on a short story by
Glaspell called "A Jury of Her Peers"--all based on a newspaper story Glaspell read
about a woman who allegedly killed her husband), and having related to Minnie on many
levels, the women have found her not guilty.  In this way, all the women of the play
seem to be collectively the protagonist.  The men, therefore, are collectively the
antagonist as they do not see any importance in the women's "trifles" and the smallness
of their lives.  They are all, then, somewhat guilty of taking their wives for granted
and not treating them with as much love and respect as they probably
should.