Susan Glaspells Trifles - Some Observations :: Trifles Essays

Trifles I would like to make three major points. Major 1 Since this is the first play weve rede, the set focus really caught my eye and I tended to consider it very seriously in determining the meaning of the work. The most obvious direction, which the essay by Parrish discusses, is that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Wright ever appear in the play, and Glaspell was the first to use this type of direction (which was later recognized as uniquely her own.) Other important examples of the plays direction (not spoken lines) are ( ... she is disturbed now and looks fearfully about as she enters.) (Stops, his face twitches.) In a manner of returning to familiar things.) Glaspell uses this direction several times. (Silence then as if struck by a happy thought and relieved to get back to everyday things.) (Mrs. Hale glances in a covert way at Mrs. Peters.) (Pulling herself back.) this is an emotional direction, not a physical one Glaspells decision to present Trifles as a play instead of its sh ort story original form (titled A Jury of Her Peers) gives the reader an opportunity to see the action better than usual, and therefore get a clearer sense of the authors meaning. Major 2 What is the significance of preserves? I see the literal meaning, but what is Glaspell saying about a womans act of preserving things? The action in the play keeps going back to this jar of preserves (example if the jar gets too cold, it breaks preserves make a sticky voltaic pile they dont want to let Minnie know the jars broke and are not preserved.) Major 3 Does anyone know about quilting? Im looking for more specific information on burlting vs. quilting? I think Glaspell is using this craft (and it is a way of expression like piece of music and painting) very subtly to get her message across, but I dont have enough information to see it, although I do see the significance of knotting and the knot around Mr. Wrights neck that killed him. Can anyone help?   Parrish writes in her essay that Glaspell wrote and produced many plays, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1931. It is interesting and meaningful to read drama because it finds yet another way for women to find and express their voices. Parrish states that Glaspells writing focused on womens desire for equality and acknowledgement in a mans world.