B.

A LLB
SEMISTER 1

Susan Glaspell (1876-1948)

She was a famous American playwright and novelist, her works were dismissed for
various reasons during her lifetime and later re-discovered in 1970s, as a major
writing in feminist literature, her plays usually explore the themes the difficulties
faced by women in their self-exploration and discovery.
About the setting of the play
The play is set in a rural house in the early 1900, shortly after the murder of John
Wright, who has been found dead in his bed with a rope around his neck and Mrs.
wright has been accused and arrested for her husband’s murder. All the characters
in this play try to find out the motif behind the murder. So, we can say that the
whole play is a Crime story and investigation why and on what reasons the murder
is committed.
Characters
1. Count Attorney (Mr. Handerson),
2. Mr. Peters (Sheriff),
3. Mr. Hale, ( A neighbouring farmer)
4. Mrs. Hale
5. Mrs. Peters,
6. John wright
7. Mrs. Wright
8. Harry
These are the final characters of the play too.
PLOT
The play takes place in the farmhouse of John and Minnie Wright on the day after
John Wright is found strangled in his bed. Minnie Wright has been arrested and
taken into custody, so the house has been empty for a day. The Sheriff, Henry
Peters, and the County Attorney, George Henderson, have just arrived at the house
to investigate the crime scene. They are accompanied by Lewis Hale, the neighbour
who discovered John Wright’s body, and his wife, Mrs. Hale. The Sheriff’s wife, Mrs.
Peters, has also come to collect a change of clothes and a few of Minnie’s
belongings to take to her in jail. The house is very cold inside because the previous
night's temperature had dipped below zero, and the fire had gone out. The Sheriff
explains that he sent one of his men early in the morning to light the fire so that the
group wouldn’t freeze during the investigation, but he assures the County Attorney
that the man didn’t disturb any evidence.
The County Attorney questions Mr. Hale about how he discovered John Wright’s
body. Mr. Hale explains that he stopped by to try to persuade John Wright to buy into
a party line telephone. Upon arriving, he found Minnie sitting in her rocking chair
and acting “queer.” When Mr. Hale asked to speak to John, Minnie replied matter-of-
factly that John was dead and pointed upstairs. Mr. Hale took another man Harry up
to the bedroom, where they found John in bed, strangled with a rope around his
neck. When they asked Minnie how John was killed, she claimed not to know
because she “sleeps soundly.” Mr. Hale decided to call the Sheriff and the coroner,
which didn’t seem to upset Minnie. However, when Mr. Hale mentioned to Minnie
that he had come to ask John about installing a telephone, Minnie suddenly burst
out laughing. Once the Sheriff and coroner arrived, Minnie was arrested and taken
to jail.
The County Attorney seems satisfied with Mr. Hale’s story and announces that they
will begin searching around the property for any signs of a motive. He looks around
the kitchen briefly and concludes that Minnie must be a very bad housekeeper
because it is quite a mess, with unwashed dishes, dirty towels, and bread sitting
outside the breadbox. Mrs. Hale defends Minnie’s housekeeping, quipping that there
is quite a lot of work to do on a farm besides cleaning up after men, who aren’t
always so tidy. The County Attorney jokes that Mrs. Hale is “loyal to her female
gender ” and asks if she is friends with Minnie. Mrs. Hale replies that she has not
visited Minnie in more than a year, partly because she felt uncomfortable around
John Wright.
While looking in a cupboard, the County Attorney discovers that several jars of
canned fruit have exploded, making a sticky mess. Mrs. Peters remarks that when
she spoke with Minnie in jail, she had been worried about the jars exploding in the
cold. The men laugh at the irony of Minnie worrying over her preserves when she
has been accused of murder. Mr. Hale remarks that “women are used to worrying
over trifles.” The men soon decide that there is no important evidence in the
kitchen and resolve to search the bedroom and the barn instead, leaving the two
women alone. Before going upstairs, the County Attorney tells Mrs. Peters that he
will want to inspect everything she decides to take to Minnie, and he asks the
women to “keep an eye out” for anything that might help the case.

Once the men leave, Mrs. Hale expresses her displeasure with the way the
men have criticized Minnie’s housekeeping. Mrs. Peters, who had not previously
known Minnie, replies that the men are only doing their jobs. As the women collect
Minnie’s things, they notice little clues about what Minnie was doing before she was
taken away. Mrs. Hale says Minnie keeps to herself and rarely goes out anymore,
but she recalls how vibrant and outgoing Minnie was before she married, when she
wore fancy clothes and sang in a choir. Suddenly, Mrs. Hale asks Mrs. Peters if she
thinks Minnie is really the murderer. Mrs. Peters softly replies that her husband, the
Sheriff, seems convinced of Minnie’s guilt, but the County Attorney thinks they must
find evidence of a motive to convince a jury. Mrs. Hale insists that she sees no signs
of a motive and does not believe Minnie is guilty.
The women turn their attention to a half-finished quilt that Minnie was sewing. Just
as the men are returning, Mrs. Hale wonders aloud if Minnie planned to “quilt it or
just knot it.” The Sheriff repeats the phrase derisively, mocking the women for
talking about the quilt. All the men laugh before going outside to inspect the barn.
After the men leave, Mrs. Hale complains about the Sheriff’s comment, and Mrs.
Peters apologetically replies that the men have important things on their minds. The
women then notice that one section of the quilt is poorly sewn, unlike the rest. As
Mrs. Hale wonders aloud what could have led to such “nervous” sewing, she begins
ripping stitches out and repairing them. Mrs. Peters says they probably shouldn’t be
touching anything, but she doesn’t stop Mrs. Hale.
Then Mrs. Peters finds a birdcage in a cabinet. The cage door appears to have been
violently ripped off, and there is no sign of a bird. Mrs. Hale speculates that Minnie
must have bought a canary, which reminds her of how Minnie herself used to sing
like a pretty bird before she got married. Mrs. Hale is overcome with regret for not
visiting Minnie more often. She realizes how lonely Minnie must have been being
married to a cold man like John Wright, and she concludes that Minnie probably
bought the bird to keep her company.
The two women decide they will take the quilt to Minnie in jail so she can finish it.
As they are looking for sewing material, they discover a red box with the body of the
dead bird inside. The bird’s neck is broken, and the women realize someone has
strangled it. Just then, the men return, and Mrs. Hale hides the box with the dead
bird under the quilt. The County Attorney mockingly asks if the women have
decided whether Minnie was going to “quilt it or knot it.” Then he notices the
birdcage and asks what happened to the bird. Mrs. Hale suggests that the cat must
have got it, even though no cat is in the house. But the County Attorney is too
distracted to challenge her lie and quickly leaves to talk to the Sheriff about
something else.
Alone again, the women continue their conversation. Mrs. Peters recalls how angry
she felt as a young girl when a cruel boy killed her pet kitten right in front of her.
Mrs. Hale says she knows John Wright killed the bird. Mrs. Peters, becoming
emotional, insists they do not know who killed the bird or John Wright. Mrs. Hale
laments how lonely Minnie must have felt when John killed her bird, especially since
she had no children. Mrs. Peters then shares that she herself went through a very
lonely time after her first baby died. But she still insists that the law must punish
crimes like the murder of John Wright.
The men return, having found no clues of a motive. The Sheriff asks the County
Attorney if he wants to look at the things Mrs. Peters has packed to take to Minnie.
The County Attorney laughs when he sees Minnie’s apron and quilt and quickly
concludes that they are “not very dangerous things.” Then he jokes that he doesn’t
need to supervise Mrs. Peters because, as the Sheriff’s wife, she is “married to the
law.” Mrs. Peters bristles at the joke. The men leave the room momentarily, and Mrs.
Hale hides the bird’s body in her pocket. As the play ends, the County Attorney
sarcastically remarks that at least they managed to determine how Minnie Wright
was going to finish her quilt. He turns to the women to remind him of the correct
quilting term. With her hand over her pocket, Mrs. Hale responds that Minnie was
going to “knot it.” The play ends here leaves the audience in cliffhanger about the
murderer who has committed the crime.
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