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Originally published in Red Book Magazine in July 1911, "One's Self-Respect" is a fairly early story of Susan Glaspell that had been neglected and forgotten through decades of collection and study of her work, but was brought to light (along with a few other stories) by Noelia Hernando-Real in a chapter of Susan Glaspell in Context, edited by J. Ellen Gainor (Cambridge, 2023); in one section of the chapter, Veronica Makowski offers an analysis of the story, which depicts Edith Stuart, the main character, spending a requisite period of residence in Reno, Nevada, in pursuit of a divorce. (At the time, Reno was known as the "Divorce Capital of America" on account of the relative ease with which this could be obtained there.) In the process, she finds new female friends and ultimately ponders what she really wants and what she is willing to put up with, while maintaining her "self-respect." This exploration of the difficulties faced by women in the early 20th century when it comes to marriage and divorce in a general way prefigures Glaspell's 1915 novel, Fidelity.
By New Athens PlayersOriginally published in Red Book Magazine in July 1911, "One's Self-Respect" is a fairly early story of Susan Glaspell that had been neglected and forgotten through decades of collection and study of her work, but was brought to light (along with a few other stories) by Noelia Hernando-Real in a chapter of Susan Glaspell in Context, edited by J. Ellen Gainor (Cambridge, 2023); in one section of the chapter, Veronica Makowski offers an analysis of the story, which depicts Edith Stuart, the main character, spending a requisite period of residence in Reno, Nevada, in pursuit of a divorce. (At the time, Reno was known as the "Divorce Capital of America" on account of the relative ease with which this could be obtained there.) In the process, she finds new female friends and ultimately ponders what she really wants and what she is willing to put up with, while maintaining her "self-respect." This exploration of the difficulties faced by women in the early 20th century when it comes to marriage and divorce in a general way prefigures Glaspell's 1915 novel, Fidelity.