Susan Glaspell’s one-act play‚ Trifles‚ is based on actual events that occurred in Iowa at the turn of the century. From 1899-1901 Glaspell worked as a reporter for the Des Moines News‚ where she covered the murder trial of a farmer’s wife‚ Margaret Hossack‚ in Indianola‚ Iowa. Hossack was accused of killing her husband‚ John‚ by striking him twice in the head with an ax while he slept. Initially it was assumed that burglars had murdered the farmer‚ but a subsequent sheriff’s investigation turned
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effected into action. The short dramatic play‚ “Trifles‚” by Susan Glaspell showcases the repression of American women by a male dominated society during the late 1800’s. The protagonist‚ Minnie Wright‚ remains unseen throughout the play. Just as women of the playwright’s time were silenced in matters that affected their day-to day lives‚ Minnie is helpless to defend herself and is instead‚ defended through the exposure of her circumstances. “Trifles” reminds the audience that women are not to be
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The Capable Women Ain’t Triflin’ Around Susan Glaspell's play Trifles was written in 1916 after she‚ as a reporter‚ covered the court case and conviction of a woman accused of murdering her abusive husband. Based on these events‚ her play is a social commentary put into the form of a murder mystery. In it‚ a man‚ John Wright‚ is strangled to death in bed next to his wife‚ Minnie Foster Wright‚ who had allegedly slept right through his murder. The neighbors begin searching for clues‚ but it becomes
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In Trifles‚ by Susan Glaspell‚ the plot focuses on a single moral choice. That choice is doing the wrong thing for the right reason. “The play addresses the abiding issue of justice and contemporary issues of gender and identity politics.” (Moe). Throughout the play‚ Glaspell interweaves these issues until they are impossible to separate. In the first part of the play‚ Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters enter the now abandoned house of John Wright‚ Mrs. Wright’s husband (Glaspell 330). They are there
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suspect for the unlawful death. The killing baffles investigators; although a gun is established in the home‚ the weapon of John Wright’s demise is a piece of rope (Glaspell 5). This intriguing murder-mystery is the plot of the one-act play‚ Trifles‚ which was written in 1918 by Susan Glaspell. The tragedy is loosely based on a true story Glaspell covered while working as a journalist in 1900 (Reuben 4). The principle theme of the play draws attention to mind-sets‚ moods‚ and misconceptions associated with
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The short story Trifles‚ written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell‚ portrays this type of confusion in the play. The two women questioned their values and their beliefs towards justice when they were struggling against Mrs. Wright’s hidden clues‚ their own concepts of justice‚ and the men’s demeaning
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In the play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell‚ the characters are at the house of the Wrights‚ investigating the murder of Mr. Wright. His wife Mrs. Wright says she slept through the whole thing. The men are looking for her motive to have killed him since they already have her in custody. The women are gathering things to take to her in jail. The men are walking through and criticizing her kitchen and housekeeping‚ the ladies did not like that one bit. They know something had to be wrong for her kitchen
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A director is the heart of a play production. He is responsible for the interpretation of a script – the enlivening of the play. The very first thing to do for any director who wants to choose Trifles by Susan Glaspell‚ one of the earliest feminist dramas‚ for a stage production‚ is to analyze it. Doing so not only enables the director to fully comprehend the characters‚ the structure‚ the setting of the play‚ but also empowers him to instruct the actors during the audition‚ as well as the rehearsals
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Little Things Mean A lot Susan Glaspell‚ the author of the drama play‚ Trifles‚ portrays the miserable reality of men deprecating women and coming second to men. The play’s name conveys the thought of a woman having logical sense. The ladies in the play were the main ones fit for making sense of clues and finding that Mrs. Wright murdered her spouse. George Henderson (the county attorney)‚ Henry Peters (the sheriff) with his wife‚ and Mr. and Mrs. Hale are trying to find out the truth about the
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We all know the one-act play: ‘Trifles’ By Susan Glaspell. We all understand the main moving forces in that the story‚ and the main characters that cause the problems or come up with the solutions. We know that Mrs. Wright killed her husband because she had dealt with abuse and neglect for years‚ and was pushed past the point of breaking‚ we know she was being subjected to pretty much slavery‚ and we know the women empathize with her‚ see‚ we know everything. Or do we? I don’t reccomend you to use
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