Theater leading up to the 19th century was changing along with the people who lived in American society. At the turn of the century, there was still a strong emphasis on the use of realism and naturalism in plays. [1] While there are elements of these theatrical constructs that Glaspell adopted, she moved past this in order to focus more on expressionism and idealism. In the late 19th century, the well-made play became popularized. [2] While this type did deal with the more real issues in society, there was a strict beginning, middle, and end, and when viewing a Glaspell play, one should expect that “…convention will be violated, the anticipated order will be sundered”. [3] It was difficult to break out of the conventional styles of plays of the time, especially because the government worked to censor the plays that national theaters produced. [4] They wanted to ensure that the theaters would be economically advantageous, and this is part of the reason starting the Provincetown Players and other free theaters were so important because it gave avant-garde playwrights the opportunity to release more oppositional pieces.