Lucy Burke
Digital Theatermaker Profile
Theater and Society III
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BIOGRAPHY​
Early Life...
​Susan Glaspell, born in 1876, grew up with two brothers and her parents, Elmer Glaspell and Alice Keating, in Davenport Iowa. Glaspell was always an avid learner who did well in school, however her family did not have the means to support her attending a private school and after her public-school graduation, she was continue her education at a university right out of high school. [1] Although she wished to further her education in order to break out of a conventional life as a housewife in Iowa, that part of her life was put on hold for three years until she could finally afford it and was accepted as a junior at Drake University. [2] In these interim years, Glaspell explored her love of writing while working to save up for college. After graduating Drake University, she remained in Des Moines and worked for the Des Moines Daily News. It was at this newspaper that she covered the Hossack Murder, which would go on to be the foundation for her most famous play, Trifles. [3]
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Career...
Glaspell began her writing career as a journalist, but then went on to write novels and short stories before she began writing plays. Over the course of her career she wrote five short plays along with five longer dramas, as well as a couple of plays with her husband. Glaspell married George Cook inn 1913. Their relationship began with a rebellion; he was married and had already been divorced once. [4] Despite this fact, Cook and Glaspell shared many of the same views both socially and politically, and they moved together to Provincetown where they opened their own theater and performing group known as the Provincetown players. [5] Since she was a founder, she was able to write and produce the shows, which gave her the liberty to be bold and not worry about government censorship of commercial theaters in early 20th century America. [6] However, As the years went on, and the people who both wrote for and attended performances of the Provincetown Players changed, Glaspell and Cook no longer aligned with their values and style, and thus left the Players to explore their beliefs and travel the world. [7]
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Later Life...
In the later years of their marriage, Cook and Glaspell began to grow apart, but when Cook died in 1924, it shook Glaspell and emotionally wounded her. [8] Despite this, she continued writing plays and novels, yet her most notable works are from her earlier days working with the Cook and the Provincetown Players. While her social and political views were seen as unconventional within the context of America, Glaspell worked hard to move past these norms and change society at large both through her novels and plays, as well as her activism and education.
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Footnotes:
1. Obiezlo, Barbara. Susan Glaspell: A Critical Biography. 28
2. Ibid, 28.
3. Ibid, 28.
4. “Susan Glaspell.” Susan Glaspell Biography, The Davenport Library.
5. Makowsky, Veronica. Susan Glaspell’s century of American women: a critical interpretation of her work. 1993
6. Richardson, Gary A. American Drama from the Colonial Period Through World War I: A Critical History. New York, Twayne Publishers, 1993.
7. Shafer, Yvonne. American Women Playwrights, 1900-1950.
8.“Susan Glaspell.” Susan Glaspell Biography, The Davenport Library.