Susan Glaspell Quotes

Powerful Susan Glaspell for Daily Growth

About Susan Glaspell

Susan Glaspell (1876-1948), an influential figure in American literature, was born on July 1, 1876, in Davenport, Iowa. Raised in a family of journalists, her love for storytelling was nurtured from an early age. She attended the State University of Iowa and later studied drama at the Art Institute of Chicago. Glaspell's career began as a journalist, working with her brother and future husband, George Cram Cook, on the Davenport Democrat. However, it was her foray into playwriting that brought her international acclaim. In 1912, she co-founded the Provincetown Players in Provincetown, Massachusetts, along with Cook and Eugene O'Neill. One of her most renowned works, "Trifles" (1916), is a seminal piece of American drama. The play, set in rural Iowa, explores themes of gender roles, social norms, and the power dynamics between men and women. It is often considered a precursor to the feminist movement. Glaspell's novel, "Favor" (1906), tells the story of Hepzibah Pyncheon, a descendant of the Salem witch judge. The book showcases Glaspell's ability to blend realism with supernatural elements, reflecting her interest in both genres. In 1930, Glaspell published "Amt Paddock Number Ten," a novel set in her hometown of Davenport. The story revolves around the investigation of a murder at a factory, mirroring real-life events that Glaspell had covered as a journalist. Throughout her life, Susan Glaspell was inspired by her experiences as a journalist and her observation of society. Her works continue to resonate with readers and audiences alike, making significant contributions to American literature.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Truth is a river with banks that shift."

This quote by Susan Glaspell suggests that truth, like a river, is not static or absolute but dynamic and fluid. The "banks" symbolize our understanding or perception of the truth, which can change over time as new evidence, perspectives, or interpretations come to light. In other words, truth may need to be continually reevaluated and adjusted in response to shifting circumstances or insights. This idea emphasizes the importance of an open-minded, adaptable approach to uncovering and understanding the realities of our world.


"A play must have a soul of its own without the author's dictating it."

This quote by Susan Glaspell emphasizes the idea that a play, like any form of art, should have an inherent life and spirit beyond the intentions of its creator. In other words, once written, a play should be allowed to breathe, evolve, and reveal its own unique essence during performance. The author sets the stage but ultimately the characters, themes, and emotions belong to the actors and audience who interpret and experience them, making each production a living, dynamic entity.


"Facts are tenacious things."

The quote "Facts are tenacious things" emphasizes that facts have a strong, persistent nature. This means that once established or acknowledged, facts do not easily change or disappear. They endure despite any efforts to alter or deny them. This is important in our society because it underscores the significance of truth and evidence in shaping our understanding and decision-making processes.


"We build our ideas of each other out of words."

This quote emphasizes that our perceptions and understanding of others are primarily constructed through communication, specifically language or "words". The choices we make in describing others shape the mental images we hold of them, and these impressions can significantly impact our interactions and relationships. Essentially, the words we use to define each other play a crucial role in how we understand and relate to one another.


"It is only by looking at what we have done that we see what we are."

This quote suggests that understanding our actions (what we've done) provides insights into our true nature or identity (who we are). Essentially, our behaviors, choices, and experiences reflect our character, values, and beliefs. By examining our past deeds, we can gain self-awareness and develop a deeper understanding of ourselves.


I live by the sea, but the body of water I have the most feeling about is the Mississippi River, where I used to row and skate, ride on the ferry in childhood, watch the logs or just dream.

- Susan Glaspell

Childhood, Feeling, About, Log

I would supplant the ox with the automobile and pave instead of plowing the fields. 1 have a theory that if a corn field were paved, leaving out a brick for each hill, it would increase the yield, do away entirely with the mud, and give the farmer plenty of time to meditate on lofty subjects. That is only one theory. I have many others.

- Susan Glaspell

Corn, Out, Away, Subjects

I admire Virginia Woolf so much that I wonder why I don't like her more. She makes the inner things real, she does illumine, and she makes relationships realities as well as people. But I remember the intensity, the thrill, with which I read 'Passage to India.' How I would have hated anyone who took the book away from me.

- Susan Glaspell

I Remember, Away, Passage, None

Declining to go to church with my parents in the morning, I would ostentatiously set out for the Monist Society in the afternoon, down an obscure street which it seemed a little improper to be walking on, as everything was closed for Sunday, upstairs through a sort of side entrance over a saloon.

- Susan Glaspell

Church, Down, Through, Saloon

I often think of the different ways Goethe and Darwin got at evolution. Goethe had the poetic conception of it all right; Darwin worked it out step by step. Who's ahead? And which has any business scoffing at the other?

- Susan Glaspell

Ahead, Other, Different Ways, Darwin

Women are used to worrying over trifles.

- Susan Glaspell

Over, Used, Worrying, Trifles

There is good and there is bad in every human heart, and it is the struggle of life to conquer the bad with the good.

- Susan Glaspell

Conquer, Bad, Human Heart, Struggle

We all have a fight - some an easy one, and some a big one, and if you have formed the idea that there is a kind of dividing line in the world, and that on the one side is the good, and on the other side the bad, why, all I can say is that you have a wrong notion of things.

- Susan Glaspell

Some, Dividing, Big One, Formed

We don't see the Bible as it is itself. We see it in relation to a lot of people who surround it. And because we don't care for some of them, we think we shouldn't care for it.

- Susan Glaspell

Bible, Think, Some, Surround

I'm not sure I would be a good godmother. I have read about it, and I found that the godmother's position is to take care of the morals of the child. I don't know how good I would be at that.

- Susan Glaspell

Sure, About, Read, Godmother

I'm an American. We've translated democracy and brotherhood and equality into enterprise and opportunity and success - and that's getting Americanised.

- Susan Glaspell

Opportunity, Enterprise, Translated

Humility's a real thing - not just a fine name for laziness.

- Susan Glaspell

Humility, Name, Fine, Real Thing

Chicago is many things to many people, and to me, it is a place where you can write.

- Susan Glaspell

Me, Things, Where, Chicago

Love always, in one way or another, means pain as well as joy.

- Susan Glaspell

Love, Always, Means, Love Always

The biggest stories are written about the things which draw human beings closer together.

- Susan Glaspell

Stories, About, Which, Closer

Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to us.

- Susan Glaspell

Apply, Conquered, None, Poets

We're all made of the same kind of stuff, and there's none of us made of stuff that's flawless.

- Susan Glaspell

Kind, Same, Made, Flawless

I am glad I worked on a newspaper because it made me know I had to write whether I felt like it or not.

- Susan Glaspell

Newspaper, Like, Made, Glad

Most of the people of this world are coated round and round with self-esteem, and they're afraid to admit any understanding of the things which aren't good.

- Susan Glaspell

People, Self-Esteem, Which, Round

I go about in the world - free, busy, happy. Among people, I have no time to think of myself.

- Susan Glaspell

Happy, Myself, Think, No Time

As I grow older, I think friendship between women is a thing to cherish.

- Susan Glaspell

Grow, Think, I Think, Cherish

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