Comparison Of Glory Of Living And Trifles

Five of the thirteen plays we read this semester have killers who see their options limited due to the value that they place on life, either their lives or others’. Lisa from The Glory of Living by Rebecca Gilman, Mrs. Wright from Trifles by Susan Glaspell, Jo from Self-Defense, or Death of Some Salesman by Carson Kreitzer, Jessie from ‘night Mother by Marsha Norman, and Medea from Medea by Euripides all shared this common theme. However, they also have differences and similarities of how they value themselves, and the worth that they place on others’ lives. Lisa from The Glory of Living grew up in a trailer in where her mother prostituted from behind a curtain. She had no father, and she was never taught self-esteem. She married Clint at
Peters and Mrs. Hale find the dead bird inside of Mrs. Wright’s sewing box, Mrs. Peters said, “When I was a girl—my kitten—there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes—and before I could get there— if they hadn't held me back I would have—hurt him” (988). This shows that Mrs. Peters had a moment of valuing her kitten’s life above a boy’s life. For Mrs. Wright, the bird was the only thing she cared about. Mr. Wright was cold and possibly abusive, although that is never clear in the play. Mrs. Wright’s neighbors never visited. She had nobody except for her bird, so she snapped and killed her husband for murdering the one bright spot in her
Mrs. Wright in Trifles does kill because of love, but she does not kill what she loves. Jessie, from ‘night Mother, has a lot in common with Medea. Jessie sees her suicide as a way of saving herself. She tells Mama that she’s trying something she knows will work, not something that might work. I think that Medea feels the same: there are other things that might protect her children, but there is only one thing that will protect her children, and that is killing them. To her, there is no other choice besides murdering them; she needs to do something that she knows will keep them