A jury of her peers susan glaspell summary. Book Review: ‘A Jury of Her Peers’ by Susan Glaspell 2022-11-01
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"A Jury of Her Peers" is a short story written by Susan Glaspell in 1917. It is a story about a woman named Minnie Wright who is accused of murdering her husband, John Wright. Minnie is being held in custody while the men in the town, including the sheriff and the county attorney, search for evidence in the Wright household.
During the search, the sheriff's wife and the county attorney's wife, Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters, accompany the men and observe the search. As they explore the house and its contents, they begin to understand the difficult and oppressive circumstances under which Minnie lived. They notice how small and cramped the house is, and how little personal agency Minnie had in her own life. They also see how John Wright had controlled and belittled Minnie, and how he had neglected to provide her with basic necessities such as food and heating fuel.
As the search progresses, the two women become increasingly sympathetic towards Minnie and begin to feel that she may have had good reason to kill her husband. They also become aware of how the men are disregarding evidence that may support Minnie's innocence, such as a broken birdcage and a dead bird that symbolize Minnie's suppressed spirit and desire for freedom. The women decide to keep this evidence to themselves, knowing that the men would not understand its significance.
As the story comes to a close, the women are left to ponder the fate of Minnie and the flawed justice system that is stacked against her. "A Jury of Her Peers" is a poignant commentary on the ways in which gender and power dynamics can influence the legal system and the pursuit of justice. It is a thought-provoking and powerful work that highlights the importance of empathy and understanding in the face of injustice.
A Jury Of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
Hale unearths a fancy red box. Hence, the ladies unanimously decide not to tell their husbands about their discovery of the missing links, and successfully hide the bird and the quilt. The main focus of this story is another farm housewife who is only spoken of and who is suspected of killing her husband. He asked after her husband and she calmly told him that he was there, but Mr. The reason they decide to not give away the clues is because of how they are depicted in the story.
Hale Speaks with Mrs. Both are based loosely on the Hossack case and both are considered feminist works because the leading female characters gain an understanding of the case that eludes the men in the story. The house appeared as if it was built within a tiny hollow. Hale explains, "Wright wouldn't like the bird. Hale exhibits a feeling of guilt for not visiting her friend Minnie Foster after her marriage to Mr. Wright, fed up with her husband's meanness, murders him.
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell Plot Summary
They are particularly looking for any evidence that would point to a motive for the crime. Hale disparages them saying, "But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it? In spite of this, parliament did not ratify the Reform Bill of 1867. Hale, caught up in her own train of thought, says that John Wright must have broken the neck of the songbird. It is seen as an example of early feminist literature because two female characters are able to solve a mystery that the male characters cannot. Peters, in a sudden burst of determination, tries to hide the dead bird in her handbag and is flustered as the bag is too small. When we homesteaded in Dakota, and my first baby died- after he was two years old- and me with no other then-".
Order custom essay A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell with free plagiarism report The conflict is, of course, the murder of John Wright; or, to be more specific, the finding of clues to solve the murder of John Wright. Hale rubbed his face after the fashion of a show man getting ready for a pleasantry. The two women sat motionless, not looking at each other, but as if peering into something and at the same time holding back. Scholar Leonard Mustazza has stated that in the story Glaspell explores the concept of good and bad in her writing by making the detectives out to be typical heroes of justice via their stating that they wouldn't rest until they find the murderer of John Wright. Hale defends her saying that being a farmer's wife is a tremendous amount of work. The day before, Mr Hale and his son, Harry had called in to the Wrights on the way to town, and found Mrs Wright, Minnie Foster that was, twenty years before, sitting in the rocker in the kitchen, her husband John hanging by the neck from a beam upstairs in the bedroom. .
A Summary and Analysis of Susan Glaspell's 'A Jury of Her Peers'
And they decided to do something about it. Martha mends a stitch or two, effectively tampering with the evidence. Sure they snatched clues like female equivalent Holmes and Watson by merely observing the life of a woman in their societal times. Peters kept me enthralled as they solved the murder mystery to the scoffing eyes of their clueless male counterparts. The county attorney was bending to one side of the buggy, and kept looking steadily at the place as they drew up to it.
However, the evidence shows Mr. They even went so far as to hide the most significant clue for Mrs. There is a lot being said by Ms. This act shows the deeply ingrained distrust Mrs. Wright's guilt and of her provocations and motives.
On reaching the house, Martha has a moment of difficulty in entering as she guiltily remembers that she had ought to visit Minnie Wight, who she has known as Minnie Foster ever since they were children, but never quite found the time and opportunity for it. It is very hard to discuss in any detail without giving away too much of the plot, and I hope that others will read this gem, so I do not want to do that. They understood that it was a living hell for her to live with a person who was nonidentical from her. She knew that Mrs. I got Harry in, and we went upstairs. Minnie wanted to make her husband experience the havoc which he wreaked on her as well as her poor bird. Wright about the possibility of putting in a telephone line, which makes Mrs.
Book Review: ‘A Jury of Her Peers’ by Susan Glaspell
Hale, and then the sheriff came running in to say his wife wished Mrs. Wright was not friendly, and Mrs. I love how it was written in the early 1900's and adheres to the gender constructs of the time, while pointing out the problems and limitations of those constructs. Indeed, the story anticipates the feature-length film The Burning Bed and the legal issues debated in the 1970s and beyond: When is a wife justified in murdering her husband? I tell you, it's quiet, Mrs. They could now come to a conclusion that Minnie was sad of her marriage, her lack of social life, her childless state, and the horrifying killing of her bird.
Upon coming, he met Minnie seated on her rocker in the kitchen. Hale, in a resolutely natural voice. Wright is guilty, and Mrs. An excellent and thought provoking short story and a reminder of the responsibility we take on ourselves when we choose to judge others. Hale agrees saying, "women are used to worrying over trifles. As they are about to head to the coroner, Mrs.
