Drama

We move here from reading short stories and novels to reading drama -- which is a bit of an oxymoron: how can you "read" something that supposedly only exists when it is performed? And that is one of the dilemmas of reading a play, as opposed to watching it unfold on a stage in a darkened room surrounded by strangers.

Remember in a play there is no third person to reveal the inner workings of a character's mind -- unless the writers uses a convention of a soliloquy or a character whose purpose is to comment on the actions of other characters (the stage manager in Our Town for instance).

Thus, the dialogue, as in real life, means all.

As we've seen, particularly in Carver's "Cathedral," characters reveal themselves by what they say, and here the revelations come fast and furious. Pay attention to the stage directions and be sensitive to the different tones words can have in a conversation.

Trifles
1916

Difference between drama and narrative fiction: consider how things are acted
Define trifle
Gender roles: connect to "Everyday Use"
What role does the setting have to play in the play?
Conventions of a play: differences in reading; stage directions
Historical context: suffrage; Lizzie Borden 1892
Characters: Pull out quotes that define the Wrights.
Play: how the movements of the characters convey meaning
Subtleties
The knot: tied quilt; knotted quilt

Mr. Wright's Character: Quotes

Mrs. Wright's (Minnie Foster's) Character: Quotes

Characters

County Attorney
Henry Peters: Sheriff
Mrs. Peters: Sheriff's wife
Mr. Hale: farmer
Mrs. Hale: farmer's wife
Mr and Mrs Wright

Questions

Why such an emphasis on the way that John Wright was murdered?
How do the stage directions add to our understanding of the motivations and interior lives of the characters?

How to cite

Two speakers

The way Mrs. Wright is characterized by Hale suggests she is guilty. For instance, in response to the Attorney's question on how she looked, Hale says

HALE: Well, she looked queer.
COUNTY ATTORNEY: How do you mean -- queer? (1282)

This response, particularly the word "queer," makes Mrs. Wright seem nervous, as if she was hiding something.

One speaker

The way Mrs. Wright is characterized by Hale suggests she is guilty. For instance, in response to the Attorney's question on how she looked, Hale says "Well, she looked queer" (1282). This response, particularly the word "queer," makes Mrs. Wright seem nervous, as if she was hiding something.