ipl-logo

Summary Of Susan Glaspell's An Inspector Calls

518 Words3 Pages

By using her story based on the real-life murder investigation and trial, Glaspell uses

suggestions throughout in order to comment on the dominance of males in society at the time

and supported the women’s rights movement which continued at that time. Her two main

characters are focused on during much of the story as they talk about the woman who is

suspected of the crime, and it is shown that Mrs. Hale clearly believes that she didn’t do it. At one point,

Mrs. Hale asks Mrs. Peters if she thinks Mrs. Wright committed the murder, to which she

responds “Oh, I don’t know” and Mrs. Hale quickly affirms “Well, I don’t think she did.” There is

also reference made to the likelihood that Mrs. Wright was being abused by her husband, …show more content…

Wright’s presence there,

and she goes on to say that Mrs. Wright had once been a much more lively, happy person

before becoming reclusive and not as energetic of a personality after being with her

husband. This part of the story both shows female characters who think for themselves and

conduct a sort of investigation of their own, while also suggesting that Mr. Wright was viewed

inaccurately by most people in the male-dominant society.

The meaning that is contained within Glaspell’s story is latent and must be made obvious

by a reader through drawing inferences and knowing what events were happening in America

during that time frame, but unlike The Crucible, this fictionalized tale takes the form of a mystery.

The story is based on the real event that took place in December, 1900 in Iowa and involved a

woman committing a crime, and after her career writing for the local newspaper, Glaspell found

ways of spreading her message implicitly through her fictionalized story of this case. For

example, it is never directly asserted that the men are in control or view the women there as

inferior, but there is evidence seen in their behavior. The men laugh about “the ways of

Open Document