Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Susan Glaspell was an American playwright, novelist, short story writer, journalist, and actress. She took birth on July 1, 1876, and died on July 28, 948. She married George Cram Cook who was a drama producer, playwright, novelist, and poet in 1913. Along with George Cram Cook, Susan Glaspell established the Provincetown Players on Cape Cod which was considered the first modern American theatre company independent of Broadway. Glaspell joined the feminist group Heterodoxy founded by Merry Janie Howe whose other members included Emma Goldman, Charlotte Perkins Gillman, Ida Rauh, Alice Kimball, Alison Turnbull Hopkins, Doris Stevens, and Paula Jakobi. Heterodoxy was a major important group that offered a platform for Americans not only to debate the basic women’s rights of suffrage and women’s club but also the other aspects of feminine individuality and freedom. Heterodites were considered important for the origins of American feminism. Glaspell’s work offers an insight into early feministic ideas at a time when American women were still struggling for the right to suffrage and women were not allowed to be members of any jury considering a criminal case.
In 1914, Susan Glaspell co-wrote a drama titled Suppressed Desire along with George Cram Cook that was based on Freudian psychological principles. George Cram died in 1924 and after that, Susan started working as a journalist for Des Moines Daily Newspaper in Iowa. She covered the murder case of John Hossack whose wife informed the police that an unknown person murdered her husband with an axe at night while she was sleeping beside him. Hossack’s wife Margaret was arrested for his murder. Initially, Susan Glaspell strictly wrote against Margaret, depicting her as the possible murderer. However, after visiting Hossack’s house, her attitude turned soft towards Margaret and she wrote many articles describing Margaret as a fine woman, mother, and lady unable to commit such a heinous crime. Later on, she resigned from her job and decided to begin her career as a fiction writer. In 1916, her first play solely written by her was performed by the Provincetown Players and it was titled Trifles. Trifles is a one-act play that was loosely based on Susan’s experience of the John Hossack murder case. Women were not supposed to be a part of any jury listening to a criminal case. Because of this aspect, a truly fair trial by a jury of one's peers, as promised by the American Constitution, was impossible for a female defendant. Susan Glaspell published this drama Trifle as a short story titled A Jury By Her Peers to highlight the discrepancy between the law and the Constitution.
Characters of Trifles
George Henderson is the county attorney with the charge of investigating the case of John Wright’s murder and will probably act as the prosecution advocate in case of a trial. He is a young and disciplined professional with a typical male attitude who won’t give too much importance to the female interest. Henry Peters is the local sheriff assisting George Henderson in the investigation of John Wright’s murder. He is a dominant married man who keeps his wife under his control, not allowing any individual identity of her except as his wife. Thus, his wife is known as Mrs. Peters, with no first name ever mentioned throughout the play. Mrs. Peters accompanies Henry Peters to Wright’s house for investigation because John Wright’s wife has been imprisoned for her husband’s murder and she demanded a change of clothes, a shawl, and a pleated apron that Mrs. Peters could easily gather from her house. Lewis Hale is the neighbor of the late John Wright who visited Wright’s house to meet him but was informed by his wife that he had been strangled to death while she was sleeping. He informs the local sheriff about the murder. He is also a dominant married man who says "Women are used to worrying about trifles." Mrs. Hale is the wife of Lewis Hale. Like Mrs. Peters, her first name is never revealed in the play as her own identity means little or nothing in the men’s world that recognizes her as the wife of Mr. Hale. She knew John Wright’s wife even before their marriage. She remembers how bubbly, enthusiastic, and optimistic she used to be. She complains about how lonely, troubled and cynical she turned after her marriage and regrets not having come to visit Mrs. Wright to alleviate her cheerless life. John Wright was a farmer, commonly considered a good dutiful man. However, he was a strict husband with no consideration for his wife. He wouldn’t allow his wife to mingle with neighbors or sing. For him, his wife had no right as an individual as she existed only as his wife. Mrs. Minnie Wright is the suspected murderer of her husband John Wright. She is the only woman whose first name is mentioned in the play, indicating that she somehow struggled and maintained her individual identity.
Summary of Trifles
Lewis Hale was going to the town to sell his sack of potatoes when he thought of asking John Wright, his neighbor if he would like to acquire a telephone at his farmhouse. However, when he entered Wright’s house, he saw Mrs. Minnie Wright sitting on her rocking chair in a disheveled and disturbed manner. She informed him that John Wright is lying dead on his bed with a rope around his neck. She says that some unknown person strangled him while he was asleep and she didn’t notice it because she “sleeps sound.” Lewis Wright informs the local sheriff Henry Peters and Minnie is arrested as a suspect in John Wright’s murder. Later on, county attorney George Anderson visits Wright’s house for investigation. Henry Peters accompanies him along with Lewis Hale as he is the first witness who informed the police about the murder. Lewis Hale says that though John Wright was a good dutiful man, he was a bit rough towards his wife. However, Henderson stops him from speaking about Mr. Wright’s roughness and non-consideration of his wife. Along with the three men, two women, Mrs. Peters, wife of the sheriff, and Mrs. Hale, wife of Lewis Hale also accompany them at the crime scene to collect some essential items (a change of clothes, a shawl, and a pleated apron) demanded by Mrs. Minnie Wright who has been arrested.
Henderson suggests that the men should investigate the house for some vital clues. Sheriff Peters says that they shouldn’t waste their time searching the room where Lewis Hale found Minnie as according to him, there is “nothing here but kitchen things.” Obviously, he considers women’s work of little or no importance. The other men agree. However, Mrs. Hale doesn’t like their insinuation. Mrs. Peters apologizes for her husband’s statement by claiming that he is merely doing his duty. The men decide to search the bedroom and the barn. As they go through the kitchen, Henderson opens up a cupboard and sees preserves that have frozen and broken their jars. Mrs. Peters remarks that Mrs. Wright was correct to worry about and anticipate this happening when the gas fire went out, and Henry sarcastically marvels at Mrs. Wright’s frivolity amid facing a murder charge. George replies, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles”. Yet, it suggests how attentive and dutiful Minnie is for her domestic work, also, the sign was for women. The men notice that things are not properly arranged in the bedroom and the barn and Henderson comments that Mrs. Minnie Wright isn’t very good at housekeeping skills. Mrs. Hale defends Minnie saying that she worked at the farm too and farms require a lot of work. She further says that John Wright had no homemaking instinct and suggests that homemaking instinct is one's ability to make a home warm and comforting emotionally.
Henry Peters then suggests that they should investigate the bedroom upstairs while the women may collect the essentials for Mrs. Minnie Wright.
As the women are alone, they start talking about Mrs. Minnie Wright while checking her clothes which appear to be old, dull, and shabby. Mrs. Hale sighs and says that before marriage, Minnie used to wear nice, attractive, and pretty clothes. She suggests that John Wright was a cruel dominant man who changed Minnie completely and ruined her inner self. He forced her to wear dull clothes and depress her individual beauty. Mrs. Peters listens to her carefully and feels the pain of Minnie as her own situation is no different than hers. The two women then further notice any such signs suggesting the unhappy and disturbed condition of Minnie as they see the bread left out to get stale, the table only half-cleaned, and a quilt with crooked, erratic stitching that reflects Minnie’s mental state.
Mrs. Hale says that her husband is confounded that there was a gun in the house that went unused during the murder. Mrs. Peters remarks that George needs “a motive; something to show anger or—sudden feeling” Now the women know that situations weren’t great between the couple and Minnie was obviously the victim of her dominant sadistic husband.
Soon they find out the most important clue, a broken birdcage. John broke that cage. Mrs. Hales says that Minnie had a canary as her pet, her only friend in her lonely life. She regrets that she did not come by to see Mrs. Wright more often to reduce her depression and loneliness. This bird was symbolic of Minnie herself, who used to sing in the town’s choir before she married. Looking further, they find a sewing box of Minnie and as they open it, they see the dead canary. John killed her loving pet, and Minnie had revenge to take. Mrs. Peters remembers how she was willing to kill the boy who once killed her pet cat during her childhood. The two women keep mum about it and decide to hide the evidence they have found as to Minnie’s motive. Unsurprisingly, the men take no notice, thinking of these items as mere “trifles.”
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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