Plays by Susan Glaspell (British and American Playwrights) by Susan Glaspell

Plays by Susan Glaspell (British and American Playwrights) Reviews

• 
  Drew

  In college, I'm pretty sure the only female playwright we studied was Lillian Hellman but I would've welcomed learning about Glaspell, too, whose four plays here show a great deal of risk, introspection, stagecraft, and complexity. I don't think I've ever fully appreciated her one-act "Trifles" until now and her politically-informed "Inheritors" -- about the founding of a midwestern college and then its legacy -- has lost none of its relevance. "The Verge," an expressionist bit of madness, is pretty fascinating, too. The fourth play, "The Outside," went over my head.
• 
  Renaissancecat22

  As many people do, I read Trifles in school. Years later, I thought I'd revisit Susan Glaspell. I do think her writing is really worthwhile, both in the prose and the ideas but the three other plays in this collection strained my patience though the scripts are not very long. If I had to rank the plays, they would go... 1. Trifles 2. Inheritors 3. The Verge 4. The Outside
  
  Trifles works the best because it's a fairly simple concept and the subtlety Glaspell is forced to employ because of the "mystery/detective" aspect works in the play's favor. There is no question of sympathizing with the women in Trifles.
  
  Inheritors was frustrating because I found Felix Fejevary the second to be the most reasonable character in the play once the set up of Act I was over with. I did enjoy the characters in Act I, particularly the Grandmother. Holden began as a very uncompromising idealist and I found his willingness to adjust compelling but I don't think Glaspell did. The problem with Inheritors for me, is that she frames the moderate characters as villains who've compromised their ideals and raises up the extreme revolutionaries as angelic heroes even when they're violent and unreasonable. The arguments of the moderate characters are just brushed aside. That's fine if those are your beliefs but to me, it reflected a larger pattern in her writing. Felix is noticeably absent towards the end of the play so that other characters can step in with an undercurrent of racism/classism and an us vs. them mentality that makes the extreme position more sympathetic. It wasn't quite a strawman but it was also playing dirty from a rhetorical standpoint. If your argument is strong enough, you shouldn't need such tricks. I will say I didn't find the characters themselves as irritating...
  
  Which is not something I could say for The Verge. Claire drove me up the wall. I wanted to go along with this play but she was monstrous and she fully admitted to it. I will say it was somewhat compelling to have this wholly unlikable female character, but for the fact that I don't think Glaspell saw her that way. She's selfish and horrible to everyone and yet espouses this blatant privileged, white feminism that maybe held more weight when this play was written but is hard to stomach now. As her sister says, I don't agree that Claire has the right to hurt please and there's no good reason for her to act this way. Then there's the tawdry soap opera aspect and they would have to cast some actress to make the audience believe all these people (especially the adoring men) would put up with this woman. Also, personally I think Glaspell undercuts all her messages with the ending she chooses.
  
  The Outside annoyed me less than Inheritors and The Verge but it ranks the lowest because I had trouble remembering that I read this play. It's a pretty simple message. Of the four plays it seems to have the least ambition to say something. I did find the Captain annoying. I wish he would have gotten some comeuppance.
• 
  Rachel

  I've never read anything by this author, so reading Trifles was an intrigue that kept me going. What a great perspective to show for an old-fashion crime story. The women had figured everything out, but the men only belittle and ignore them. I love that they had it all figured out because they understood what it was to be a woman in that setting.
  
  Outside was still from the perspective of a woman. Seeing the world's fascination with death, but if you take it too far, wherever that is, then it's considered bleak and unhealthy. Unfortunately for this piece, I didn't get more from it than that. This one was rather vague.
  
  The Verge was sassy. I can't imagine there were many pieces written about affairs from the perspective of a woman in those days. How bold! It can be argued, however, that while she feels that her family are not understanding her, she is taking the stance of just cutting them off instead of also understanding their perspective. Understanding doesn't mean you have to agree or even participate.
  
  Inheritors is a must-read. I don't understand why it's not more famous than Trifles. Why an intense look at immigration. It breaks my heart that this girl is going to prison, but what a hero. At first I thought this was going to be about how the youth always forgets the struggles of those in the past, and it was. But it also shows that not everyone forgets. Those who continue the fight are struggling all over again. Even though everyone "says" they remember, when it comes to action, they don't actually. How bold!
• 
  Bobby Sullivan

  Susan Glaspell is as great a playwright as Eugene O'Neill. It's a shame she's not as well known.
• 
  M

  I have no idea why Susan Glaspell isn't more famous - I don't know how well her plays would translate to the stage (and, to be honest, I can't imagine them being very successful in performance) but they read like Virginia Woolf writing drama. "The Verge" in particular was mindblowing, with a stunning control of symbolism, language and pace. Would love to read more.
• 
  Mandy Jones

  An often overlooked female playwright. This collection is amazing, and is based on an actual countryside murder that was never actually solved.
• 
  Bibi

  Required reading for college course. Nothing to write home about.
• 
  Wendy Fall

  Trifles is a good short play.
• 
  ina

  - Trifles - 4/5
  - The Outside - 2/5
  - The Verge - 1.5/5
  - Inheritors - 3/5
• 
  Brenda (aka Grandma)

  I read this because I couldn't find the short story A Jury of Her Peers to read again, and found out it had been adapted from the play Trifles. The two are almost identical and I was really glad to find this. I also really liked Inheritors, although it took a bit for me to warm up to it.
  
  I can't remember the others except that I thought they were literary feminism, but I liked Trifles and Inheritors enough to read again.