Judith

I think the MDQ is "Will Judith sleep with Holofernes?" I did not know much about this play when I started reading. I thought the main conversation was about sex. When we first see Judith we assume she is there to sleep with Holofernes. She wanted to get him into a vulnerable position. She thought sleeping with him would accomplish this. They do not sleep together. When he decides to go to sleep I think she knows he will be vulnerable then.
I found it strange that he says he was pretending to sleep. It makes me think he wanted to die, or maybe he didn't care either way.
When she tries to sleep with him after he is dead, I think she feels bad for killing him and wants to have his child in order to carry on his name. Although Judith does not sleep with Holofernes, I think she fell in love with him and was driven mad by what she had to do.

'Night Mother

I do not think the question "Will Jesse kill herself?" is a very good choice. When reading the play i found myself asking, "Is Thelma going to let Jesse kill herself?" This Major Dramatic Question seems much more interesting to me. Throughout the entire play Jesse is trying to prepare her mother for life after she kills herself. It is something she has thought about for a long time and is set on following through with her plan. The mother reacts as any mother would. She is of course shocked, in total disbelief, and devastated. We know Thelma is going to try and convince Jesse to live out her life. The question then is, is she going to succeed? I would say the answer to the question is no because Jesse does kill herself. However, right before Jesse goes to leave the room, Thelma does agree to do what she has asked. Now I do not think that this mean Thelma allowed Jesse to kill herself by any means. She immediately gets up and blocks her way to the bedroom. I do believe Thelma fought to keep her daughter alive till the end. Once Jesse was dead what else could Thelma do, other than the things her daughter asked of her?

Trifles

I personally do not like the idea of a minimalistic set. I think that this play needs a very elaborate set due to the nature of the show. I found this piece to be very funny. It kind of reminded me of slapstick comedy. Although the show is dealing with the death of a person, which is very serious, it is comical that two women of the time would be hiding the evidence. I also think that once the audience realizes that the show is a kind of murder mystery they will find themselves playing along. Once the two women find the first piece of evidence the audience is going to try and guess what the next piece is. If the only props onstage are the evidence, then the mystery is gone completely. I think the play would lose its significance because we never see the Wrights so the only connection we have to them is their house. Someones house can say a lot about them. The way it is decorated. Is it cozy like a cabin or cold like a museum? Overall I think the production needs a very realistic, elaborate set with little pieces of Mr. and Mrs. Wright in each prop and set piece.

Overtones

Harriet and Margaret represent the presence that is physically there. They can see each other but not each others alternate forms Maggie and Hetty. Margaret cannot see Hetty and Harriet cannot see Maggie. This represents their true inner selves or their true thoughts. Their inner selves do interact with each other. These interactions are usually one ignoring the other. They are too preoccupied with their own problems. I think it could possibly be Harriet and Margaret's choice to not see each other's inner selves. When you think about it, it's the same thing people do everyday. Sometimes we do not want to see people's true identities.