SOURCE: "Dramatic Achievement," in Susan Glaspell, Twayne Publishers, 1966, pp. 66-91.

In the essay below, Waterman surveys Glaspell's major plays and assesses her significance as a playwright.

If the Provincetown's chief contribution to American drama was its dedication to the American playwright, Susan Glaspell proved the merit of that faith. Since most historians of American theater equate the Provincetown with the accomplishment of O'Neill, they overlook that theater's devotion to the new dramatist and misconstrue both its purpose and final triumph. When he met the Players, O'Neill was already a confirmed playwright, who would have reached greatness without them. It was great luck that brought the Provincetown and O'Neill together; both profited enormously from the relationship. O'Neill found a stage where he could experiment and develop; the Players found a potentially major dramatist whose work would time and again save their sagging treasury. Although the Players knew they had...