Read the following scene from Trifles. COUNTY ATTORNEY (with the gallantry of a young politician). And yet, for all their worrie
s, what would we do without the ladies? (The women do not unbend. He goes to the sink, takes dipperful of water from the pail and, pouring it into a basin, washes his hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller towel, turns it for a cleaner place.) Dirty towels! (Kicks his foot against the pans under the sink.) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? MRS. HALE (stiffly). There's a great deal of work to be done on a farm. What is one possible disadvantage of hearing the characters' voices in the theater as opposed to silently reading the scene? Readers are unable to envision for themselves the setting of the room in which the county attorney and Mrs. Hale are talking Readers are unable to visualize for themselves the movements of the county attorney and Mrs. Hale. Readers are unable to make inferences for themselves about the emotions and motivations of the county attorney and Mrs. Hale. Readers are unable to create their own voices for how the county attorney and Mrs. Hale might sound live.
