Glaspell a jury of her peers. A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell 2022-11-02
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Susan Glaspell's short story, "A Jury of Her Peers," explores the theme of gender roles and the limitations placed on women in a male-dominated society. The story is set in the early 20th century, a time when women were expected to adhere to strict societal norms and were often not given the same opportunities or rights as men.
The story follows two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, as they accompany their husbands to the Wright farmhouse to gather evidence in a murder investigation. The victim is Mrs. Wright, the farmer's wife, and the primary suspect is her husband. As the men search the farmhouse for clues, the women are left to observe and explore the domestic spaces where Mrs. Wright spent her days.
Through their observations, the women come to understand the isolation and boredom that Mrs. Wright experienced in her role as a farmer's wife. They also recognize the ways in which Mrs. Wright's husband neglected and mistreated her, leading them to suspect that he may be responsible for her murder.
Despite their suspicions, the women are unable to speak out or bring their evidence to the attention of the men. They are silenced by their societal roles as women and are expected to remain passive and subservient to the men. In the end, the men find the evidence they need to arrest Mr. Wright, but it is the women who truly unravel the mystery and understand the motives behind the crime.
Through "A Jury of Her Peers," Glaspell highlights the ways in which gender roles and societal expectations can limit and oppress women. The story serves as a commentary on the injustices faced by women and the importance of giving them a voice and agency in society.
A Jury of Her Peers
He was walking up and down, as if thinking something out. Just go on now with the rest of the story. The men talked for a minute about what a good thing it was the sheriff had sent his deputy out that morning to make a fire for them, and then Sheriff Peters stepped back from the stove, unbuttoned his outer coat, and leaned his hands on the kitchen table in a way that seemed to mark the beginning of official business. Hale is bitter that the men would tease the women for passing the time patiently. Hale, caught up in her own train of thought, says that John Wright must have broken the neck of the songbird. Hale would come too—adding, with a grin, that he guessed she was getting scary and wanted another woman along.
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell Plot Summary
Even as they ridicule the women for their domestic interests, Mr. She had met Mrs. I knew they must be up—it was past eight o'clock. Hale shot a look up at the sheriff's wife. A Jury of Her Peers Significance of the Title The title of the story highlights the differences between the two sets of juries of Minnie Wright — the traditional one of men who only view her as a murderer of her innocent husband even without conclusive evidence, and one of her fellow women who, despite having proof of her guilt, understand and sympathize with the long years of psychological abuse that lead to the act of murder. Peters well, but she reflects that Mrs. Peters stood holding to the table.
Instantly her hand went to her nose. The moment the men are no longer in the room, Mrs. Peters did not know Minnie before she met the charged woman the previous day. As her husband is about to be questioned, we witness a moment of anxiety from Mrs. Peters put the bird-cage on the table and sat down. But I thought maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, and said all the women-folks liked the telephones, and that in this lonesome stretch of road it would be a good thing--well, I said to Harry that that was what I was going to say--though I said at the same time that I didn't know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John--" Now there he was! Wright will have something to occupy her time.
The attorney adds a sexist comment in answer, associating the gloominess of the place with Mrs. You didn't like her? But now she could come. But there she broke—she could not touch the bird. She thought of the flour in her kitchen at home—half sifted, half not sifted. Peters says that the men are only doing their job. She worked with it a minute, and when she straightened up she said aggressively: "The law is the law—and a bad stove is a bad stove. Maybe because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road.
He went to the sink and began washing his hands. Margaret Hossack claimed that John had been murdered with an axe by an intruder. Peters use their knowledge and experience as two "midwestern rural women" to understand Mrs. There was a moment when they held each other in a steady, burning look in which there was no evasion or flinching. She didn't ask me to come up to the stove, or to sit down, but just set there, not even lookin' at me. She held it toward the light. There was the sound of a knob turning in the inner door.
Minnie Wright revealed that John was home, but that Mr. And so the two women stood by the door, at first not even so much as looking around the kitchen. Thus, the author employs traditional ideas of female roles and spaces to portray solidarity and sisterhood. In a moment of foreshadowing, the attorney mentions the possibility of the women finding a clue. As if its queerness attracted him, he got a chair and opened the upper part and looked in. Glaspell's uses irony to make the female characters, who the men dismiss as trifling, the most powerful characters in the story. A Jury of Her Peers Analysis The story is an excellent critique of the patriarchy embedded in society as well as the legal system, reflected in a conversation amongst the men on how a single piece of evidence is needed by the male jury to get a woman convicted, busting the myth of law being an institution of equality.
Hale to come over to the Wright place and tell the county attorney his story there, where he could point it all out. Wright had a bird. Nobody spoke; it was as if every one were seeing the woman who had sat there the morning before. Henderson just what it was you saw when you came here yesterday morning. Something to show anger—or sudden feeling. However, the evidence shows Mr. Hale was friends with Mrs.
Hale entered the house to find Minnie Wright in her rocking chair. It's cold, ain't it? She kept her eye fixed on her husband, as if to keep him from saying unnecessary things that would go into that note-book and make trouble. Hale was saying: "Do you suppose she was going to quilt it or just knot it? I don't know what it is, but it's a lonesome place, and always was. The sheriff followed the county attorney into the other room. Hale looked at Mrs. Martha finds a half-empty bucket of sugar with an open packet beside it, evidence of the task being left incomplete, and wonders what might have interrupted Minnie Foster. Now, just what will I take? Peters, why don't you take the quilt in with you? The sheriff came up to the table.
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