Compare And Contrast Trifles And A Jury Of Her Peers

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Susan Glaspell, author of the play “Trifles”, and author of short story, “A Jury of Her Peers,” was born in 1876, and is a well-known feminist whose stories did not become popular till later in life. Men believe they are superior to women, and Susan Glaspell shows through her short stories how this belief has affected women throughout history. In this case, the women was driven to kill her husband because she was in desperate need of freedom. Susan Glaspell’s play “Trifles”, and short story, “A Jury of Her Peers,” compare and contrast changes between the two writing such as, plot change, character change, and theme change. To begin, the first change between the two stories is the plot. One way the plot changes between the two different types …show more content…

In addition, when watching a play the climax come more quickly due to the fact the play is being acted out. However, downsides to the play “Trifles” is there are not enough details for the audience to grasp onto, to give them a deeper understanding. On the other hand, both stories have the same climatic excitement, for example, when Glaspell talks about the bird cage in both pieces of writing, they both bring the same perception to the audience. In like manner, both stories conclude that Mrs. Wright, aka, Minnie Foster committed the crime of killing her husband. This theory is backed up when both of Minnie’s friends start covering for her while the men are searching for evidence. One example of this would be when Mrs. Hale tempers with the stove in the Wright’s house, “The law is the law- and a bad stove is a bad stove” (575). Another way the plot changes with both stories is the dialogue within the play …show more content…

One way character change occurs between the two stories is through Mrs. Wrights behavior. When Mr. Hale is explaining what he saw on the day Mr. Wright was murdered, he explains that Mrs. Wright was behaving strangely in the play “Trifles.” He goes on to say that, “Well, as if she didn’t know what she was going to do next. And kind of done up” (559). On the contrary, when he explains what he saw in “A Jury of Her Peers,” Mrs. Wright is behaving odd, but has a calmer sense to herself. Mr. Hale explains that, “Why I don’t think she minded” (570), when asking if he could come into the house. Another character change that occurs between the two writing is with Mrs. Hale. This character change is one of the more significant character changes within the story because in the play she is just another character, but in the short story her point of view is being shared. The character Mrs. Hale is more built up in the short story giving the reader not only a broader understanding of the situation, but more factors that play into the story. The foundation of Mrs. Hale’s character stays the same through both writings, the difference is in the short story her character is better understood. When Mrs. Hale explains, “locking her up in town and coming out here to get her own house to turn against her” (575), gives the impression that Mrs. Hale has unresolved feelings of her own. Knowing the

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