Susan Glaspell's Wright Farmhouse

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Primarily, the setting of the drama is important in constructing the tone of the story because time and place affect the reader's perception of the society in which the characters live. The time period of the drama is assumed to be sometime in the early 1900’s., This was a time when women did not have any major rights which explains the meaning of the attitude of the men in the play towards the women. As far as gender roles in the early 1900’ss, women were traditionally expected to be the weaker sex and obedient to a man's superiority. This social stereotype meant women were subjected to any decision made by men in both their private or public lives without any objection (Museum, Albert). The drama includes description of the setting which …show more content…

The setting alone aids in the reasoning for why Mrs.Wright lost sight of her vibrant personality of Minnie Foster before she got married and caused her to go a little crazy after being secluded all those years under the order of her husband. Mrs. Hale supplies details of the home stating, “I could've come. I stayed away because it weren't cheerful—and that's why I ought to have come. I—I've never liked this place. Maybe because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road. I dunno what it is, but it's a lonesome place and always was” (Glaspell, Susan). Reading an outside perspective about the Wright home is a reassurance that Mr.Wright liked keeping to himself and the environment was not welcoming. This description of the setting serves as proof of the sad and oppressed conditions that Mrs. Wright lived in. After illustrating the overall eerie feeling of the home, the drama shifts it’s main setting into the kitchen and its role in understanding how Mrs.Wright lived her daily …show more content…

The stage directions illustrate the kitchen in the Wright house as gloomy, dirty, and abandoned at the very beginning of the drama. It was obvious Mrs.Wright had to leave in a hurry and did not have time to complete her house tasks as she was being taken to jail, the stage directions say “unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the breadbox, a dish-towel on the table--other signs of incompleted work” (Glaspell,Susan). When the County Attorney, George Henderson, questions Sheriff Peters about the crime scene and any evidence that could point to a motive he replies, “Nothing here but kitchen things” (Glaspell,Susan). The kitchen is symbolic of women in general especially during this time because women were housewives with responsibilities such as taking care of all the dishes, laundry, dinner, and whatever their husband desired. Mrs. Wrights kitchen had various uncompleted tasks and all the men perceived from it was that Mrs.Wright was a poor homemaker and a bad wife. Mrs. Hale sticks up for Mrs.Wright and says, “...Farmers’ wives have their hands full” and after the County Attorney continues to mention Mrs.Wright's lack of homekeeping skills, Mrs. Hale replies, “Well, I don’t know as Wright had, either” (Glaspell,Susan). This response by Mrs.Hale

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