Domestic Violence In Susan Glaspell's Trifles

In this section of Drama and Dramatic Poetry, my English class read “Trifles” and “POOF!”. “Trifles” is a one-act play that is dramatic and serious. In this play, the husband, John Wright, was found strangled with a rope in his bedroom and all of the evidence points to his wife, Minnie Foster. The question explored throughout the play is why she killed him. The story hints that she was a victim of domestic violence, but the audience cannot be absolutely sure because it does not outright say it. On the other hand, “POOF!”, is a one-act play that takes a more comedic and fantasy route when her abusive husband disappears into thin air after she damns him to hell. Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” takes a more dramatic route in exploring the issue of

The audience is constantly trying to figure out if Minnie actually killed John, more than if John abused Minnie. Because of this, “Trifles” is distracting and thinking about the murder takes attention away from the theme of abuse, while “POOF!” is directed on the abuse and what to do with her husband’s ashes the whole time. By staying on the topic of abuse and clearly laying it out, the audience can learn about domestic abuse and genuinely understand the meaning behind the

In “POOF!”, Loureen says goodbye to Samuel and at the end, she decided to sweep the ashes under the carpet. In “Trifles”, Minnie also accepts her husband’s death. When Mr. Hale talks to Minnie about where her husband is and if he can visit John, she simply laughs and says no because he’s dead. It is clear to understand that she accepts his death because she can already confirm it out loud.
In conclusion, “Trifles” and “POOF!” focus on similar issues and have some similarities, but they also have a ton of differences. “POOF!” is more successful because of its comedy and focus on the issue of domestic violence, while “Trifles” focuses on the murder. Lynn Nottage decided to take the riskier route to create a comedic play about domestic violence, and by doing this, she became extremely successful and shared her issues and views quite well. “POOF!” is more successful because it takes a comedic route, while Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” takes a more dramatic route in exploring the issue of domestic