Susan Glaspell, the playwright.

In writing ... remember that the biggest stories are not written about wars, or about politics, or even murders. The biggest stories are written about the things which draw human beings closer together.

SUSAN GLASPELL, Little Masks

Once a strong and intelligent woman, the life of Susan Keating Glaspell (1876-1948) took a 180 degrees turn with her deteriorating health, her miscarriage, the death of her husband and later the rejection of her much younger lover. Glaspell changed her scenery in search of serenity but failed and turned to alcohol to sooth her disturb soul as she had stopped writing at the same time. 

As a young lady, she fought against the social stigma that education kills femininity. She took classes that were dominated by male students and at the same time kept her social life interesting. Her first column as a reporter was called "The News Girl" in which she discussed about the logic of women demanding for the traditional powers of men without losing the traditional protection of a women. Her later works helped her develop a theme in her stories that revolve around characters with personal integrity that was against society's approval.

Despite her downfall personally and creatively, she soar when she received an offer to direct Midwest Play Bureau (MPB) for the Federal Theater Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration. Although she held onto the rocking seat for only two years, her life improved from there. She helped her younger brother, Ray, by giving her royalty checks to those in need. Glaspell gave away her long-kept baby clothes (she lost the baby) to her abused maid to help her start with a new life.

Glaspell  had a creative soul and this was proved as she was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, director, and bestselling novelist. She co-founded Provinceton Players, an idea that was given by her husband. Calling themselves as The Players, Glaspell devoted most of her time writing plays and acting in some of them. It was her darling possession shared with great friends and most importantly strengthen the bond between her and her husband, George Cram Cook, who died of glanders yet his legacy lived on through Glaspell's writings of her soulmate.

After nine novels, fourteen plays and numerous short stories as well as articles, Susan Glaspell passed away at the age of 72. She remained as an inspiring writer, a dear good friend to all. 

Her Works:

Drama

-Trifles (1916)

- Inheritors (1921)

- Alison's House (1930)

Novel

- Fidelity (1915)

- Brook Evans (1928)

- Norma Ashe (1942)

Short Stories

- Lifted Masks (1912)

- A Jury of Her Peers (1927)

References:

1. http://www.davenportlibrary.com/genealogy-and-history/local-history-info/the-people/susan-glaspell/
2. http://blogs.shu.edu/glaspellsociety/sample-page/
3. http://wps.ablongman.com/long_kennedy_lfpd_9/22/5820/1489995.cw/index.html

Trifles

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Explorations of the Text


2. What clues lead the women to conclude that Minnie Wright killed her husband?

- As Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were packing Minnie Wright's personal items, they came across undone and disturbed chores around the kitchen. This suggested that Minnie Wright's daily routine was interrupted by something or someone serious and left her in a state of numbness as she did not cleanup the kitchen afterwards.

The prominent clue was when the women discovered a cage with a broken hinge and later a well wrapped dead canary placed in a small box. Once a beautiful bird, it cheered up Minnie Wright with its singing and sense of freedom, all that was taken away after the marriage. The dead canary's neck was broken almost similar to Mr. Wright's neck. This backs-up the weapon of choice used to kill Mr. Wright, a rope instead of a gun that was owned by him. The usage of a gun would not give the same satisfaction or effect as to revenge by strangulation.


3. How do the men differ from the women? from each other?

- The men in Trifles were portrayed as typical sexist human beings. This was repeatedly shown throughout the play as they kept tying up women to trifle things, in the sense of their chores and topics that concern them. The men blamed Minnie Wright to be incompetent for the dullness of the home that contributed to the failed marriage (concluded as they were figuring out motives). There was not suggestion that the men thought Mr. Wright had any fault in the marriage or leading to his death.

The three men, a farmer, a Court Attorney and the sheriff only differed in the sense of education, age and profession.

The women found comfort in each other as they entered the house of the crime with the men. They only opened up as soon they were left alone in the kitchen to pack Minnie Wright's personal belongings. Mrs. Hale was very particular about the chores left undone by Minnie Wright and even attempted to complete the chores herself, a shown when she mended Minnie Wright's unfinished quilt. Meanwhile, Mrs. Peters seemed ignorant by choice as she was married to the law. She abide by the rules and her husband, repeatedly reminding Mrs. Hale to mind her own business and to not interfere with the works of the men.

Mrs. Hale felt guilty for she stopped coming by and accompany Minnie Wright as she soon found the house to be gloomy. She thought she could have helped Minnie Wright survive the marriage. Although Mrs. Peters was swaying her way from the issue most of the time, she could not help but spilled her own encounter with loneliness after she had lost her baby. Both women, each connected with Minnie Wright in their own ways decided to save her for the last time as they hid the evidences/motive from the men.


4.  What do the men discover? Why did they conclude "Nothing here but kitchen things"? What do the women discover?

- The men went around the house determined to find Minnie Wright's motif for the kill yet they failed to do so. However, they did not inspect the kitchen for their mind had set there were nothing but trifles in the kitchen, thus clouded their better judgments. For having to stay in the kitchen, the women came across an abundant of evidences that lead to their discovery for the Minnie Wright's motif. For both women found connections with Minnie Wright and the understanding of her sufferings during the marriage, they chose to hide their findings away from the men.