Susan Keating Glaspell, The People

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Susan Glaspell's

The People

opened on 9th March 1917, during the first New York season of the Provincetown Players. Even though

The People

is considered one of Glaspell's lesser plays, its significance relies on its novel form as well as on the topics she treats: the relationship between artist and audience, radical journalism and the role of women in revolutions.

The People opens in the office of “The People: a Journal of the Social Revolution”, a morning in March 1917. This is “the office of a publication which is radical and poor” (33), with little furniture strewn with manuscripts and papers, and wads of papers on the floor. Soon the audience is told that the journal is about to close due to financial problems. The one-act starts as a comedy of manners where Tom, the printer,

1915 words

Citation: Hernando-Real, Noelia. "The People". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=15998, accessed 24 November 2024.]

15998 The People 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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