"Subdued, monotonous, episodic, occasionally eccentric in its style, Machinal is fraught with a beauty unfamiliar to the stage."

Machinal is a play told in nine scenes, or “episodes.” Before the curtain’s first opening, machines can be heard rattling as office workers steadily plod along on their typewriters, adding …

Machinal plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips.

Get ready to explore Machinal and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the …

Machinal serves as a poetic and well-integrated examination of the effects of gender inequity and socioeconomic inequalities, a critique of capitalism, and an artistic synthesis of journalistic and …

This section explores the play Machinal by Sophie Treadwell, focusing on: the structure, setting, staging, characters, themes and the historical and cultural context of the play.

“Machinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/machinal. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.

With “Machinal,” Sophie Treadwell presented her time with a clear feminist statement: Women are forced, in this mechanized urban society, to submit their agency and to relinquish their …

machinal, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

Machinal is a story about a woman trapped in a male-driven, social machine. Compare and contrast Helen's entrapment with that of Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's main character in her …