Plays by Susan Glaspell

Motivated to read at least one play by Susan Glaspell from doing library instruction for an English class, I found a 1920 book with eight of Glaspell's plays first performed between 1916 and 1918 in Provincetown, MA. One of the fascinating things about this brittle edition was, that it included the original cast for each play, and I found that Glaspell herself had played in almost all of them and her husband George Crook was in a few. One even included Edna St. Vincent Millay.

I understand why Trifles is the play that is reprinted the most, though I enjoyed almost all of the one act plays. The only one I really didn't care for was the three act Bernice. Bernice has just died and her father, husband, sister in law, friend and maid thrash things out, a bit long windedly and mellodramatically. it works better in the short plays.

In Trifles a woman has shot her husband and the sheriff , attorney and a neighbor have come to investigate, The sheriff's wife and neighbor's wife fome to get some things for the woman in jail. The "official" investigators don't uncover anyuthing, while the women discover the evidence and realize the woman had been abused and decide to keep this evidence from the men. Very interesing for a 1916 play.

The People is about a publication "The People" ready fo fold and various types (artist, firebrand, philosopher) offer suggestions for saving it. But only a woman, touched by the editor's words has the power to move it forward.

Close the Book is a comedy about the class system. Jharsi is the rebel in love with Peyton, but his family is stuck-up, but then someone brings out a book of family histories with some interesting facts - which is the book that they want closed at the end of the play.

The Outside was a bit strange. A woman has moved to an abandoned life-saving station to run away from her past and has hired a soman who speaks only when absolutely necessary. An incident makes them reevaluate their choices.

Woman's Honor is a silly comedy where a man arrested for murder refuses to give an alibi, because he is shielding a woman's honor. a whole line of women show up as the one being shielded.

I really enjoyed another silly comedy - Surpressed Desires, which pokes fun at psychoanalysis, which cames close to destroying a marriage.

Tickless Time, another comedy poking fun at intelletualization, didn't come off as well. One couple tries to give up clocks and watches and relies on a sundial.