Essay about A Jury of her Peers by Susan Glaspell

I have always felt that a good piece of writing causes the reader to think about and analyze a given set of circumstances so that he expands his worldly understandings. Such writing is stimulating and often includes an element of controversy. The short story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell is one example of this provocation in which the writer conveys her views on sexual injustice. In a way that is conceptually intriguing, Glaspell expresses her ideas about the misunderstandings between men and women during the early twentieth century. While personally disagreeing with the interpretive outcome of the story as well as the message that it is intended to present, I must admit that it did provide me with insight into the mind

The most obvious difference between Glaspell’s two works is the title. The play is entitled “Trifles” whereas the prose version is called “A Jury of Her Peers”. Both titles draw the attention of the audience to different parts of the plot. “Trifles” highlights the “trivial household items” in the plot whereas “A Jury of Her Peers” accentuates the women’s roles and how they question what is morally right (Mustazza 489). Mustazza’s article provides background knowledge and a reason why Glaspell may have changed and retitled the prose version. Since women were in the final years of fighting for the right to vote in 1917, changing the title from “Trifles” to “A Jury of Her Peers” made the piece more contemporary and

In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster Wright is the main character, even though the reader never sees Mrs. Wright. The story begins as Mrs. Hale joins the county attorney, Mr. Henderson; the sheriff, Mr. Peters; Mrs. Peters; and her husband in a “big two-seated buggy” (188). The team men are headed the Wright house to investigate Mr. Wright’s murder. Mrs. Peters is going along to gather some belongings for Mrs. Wright, who is currently being held in jail, and Mrs. Hale has been asked to accompany Mrs. Peters. As the investigation is conducted throughout the story, the reader is given a sense of how women were treated during this time and insight into why the women ultimately keep evidence from the men.

“A Jury of Her Peers” is a short story written by Susan Glaspell in 1917 illustrates early feminist literature. The two female characters, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, is able to solve the mystery of who the murderer of John Wright while their male counterparts could not. This short story had been adapted from Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles written the previous year. The play consists of the same characters and plotline as the story. In both works, Glaspell depicts how the men, Sheriff Peters and Mr. Hale, disregard the most important area in the house, the kitchen, when it comes to their investigation. In the end, the women are the ones who find clues that lead to the conclusion of Minnie Wright, John Wright’s wife, is the one who murdered him. Both of Glaspell’s female characters illustrate the ability to step into a male dominated profession by taking on the role of detective. According to Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide, written by Lois Tyson, a reader-response critique “focuses on readers’ response to literary texts” and it’s a diverse area (169). Through a reader-response criticism from a feminist lens, we are able to analyze how “A Jury of Her Peers” and Trifles depict how a patriarchal society oppresses women in the early twentieth century, gender stereotypes confined both men and women and the emergence of the New Woman is illustrated.

In the short story A Jury Of Her Peers, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters uncover the horrible truth behind the murder of Mr. Wright. During the story the women find out that it was Mrs. Wright who murdered Mr. Wright. Although Mrs. Wright claimed to be asleep during her husband's murder, she did indeed have the motive to murder Mr. Wright as evidenced by the broken bird cage, slaughtered canary, and the errant quilt patch.

From beginning to end, Susan Glaspell’s 1917 short story “A Jury of Her Peers,” has several repetitive patterns and symbols that help the reader gain a profound understanding of how hard life is for women at the turn-of-the-century, as well as the bonds women share. In the story two women go with their husbands and county attorney to a remote house where Mr. Wright has been killed in his bed with a rope and he suspect is Minnie, his wife. Early in the story, Mrs. Hale sympathizes with Minnie and objects to the way the male investigators are “snoopin’ round and criticizin’ ” her kitchen. In contrast, Mrs. Peters, the Sheriffs wife, shows respect for the law, saying that the men are doing “no more than their duty”. However, by the end of the story Mrs. Peters unites with Mrs. Hale in a conspiracy of silence and concealing evidence. What causes this dramatic transformation?

As the ladies examine the house, while the men are other places, picking clothes and an apron up for Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale gains sympathy for her until finally she starts to take action. When they find the block of quilting that has stitching askew, she starts to fix it, perhaps to cover for Mrs. Wright?s distraught state of mind. While Mrs. Hale is finding sympathy for Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Peters offers a counterpoint that tries to justifies the men?s viewpoints and actions. Her comments to Mrs. Hale?s resentful musings on Mrs. Wright?s unhappy life and on the actions of men in regards to women in general all seem to be rote answers programmed into her by society and a desire not to cause any trouble. This all changes as soon as Mrs. Peters finds the bird.

Susan Glaspell's short story, A Jury of Her Peers, was written long before the modern women's movement began, yet her story reveals, through Glaspell's use of symbolism, the role that women are expected to play in society. Glaspell illustrates how this highly stereotypical role can create oppression for women and also bring harm to men as well.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters both understand and get to know each other by piecing together the crime scene and also looking at Mrs. Wright’s empty house. By the women noticing details and Mrs. Wright’s living conditions, they can see how sad and what little enjoyment Mrs. Wright had in her home. Mrs. Hale says, “It never seemed a very cheerful place," and later on she says, "But I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuller for John Wright's bein' in it.", she is revealing the atmosphere that the home had (Glaspell 5). The home was certainly not cheerful, but not

The theme of the story concentrates on women's suffrage. Mrs. Wright apparently has been pushed over the edge with the restrictions set on her life and one day she finally snaps. This implicit theme suggest

Wright. They discuss her childhood, her life with John, and the quilt that she was making before she was put in prison. They realize how very much Mrs. Wright had changed over the years and how miserable her life with John Wright had been. The women express sympathy, unlike the male characters, over what the kitchen disorder would mean emotionally to Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale says "I'd hate to have men coming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticizing." (Glaspell 1387) They talk about the murder, asking each other if they think Mrs. Wright did it. The women can’t imagine why, if she did it, she put a rope around his neck to kill him , because "there was a gun in the house", (Glaspell 1388) and that would have been easier. They start to talk about the quilt she was making. The men come in and laugh as the women look at the unfinished quilt. The sheriff says " They wonder if she was going to quilt it or knot it!” (Glaspell 1388) poking fun of the women. The men go outside and the women notice the sewing is perfect until they find a patch that is messy. Mrs. Hale suddenly takes it and fixes it. She says "what do you suppose she was so nervous about? " (Glaspell 1389) They find an empty bird cage and wonder where the bird is. The women then find Mrs. Wright’s pet bird. It has been killed, and she has hidden it in her sewing box. When Mrs. Hale hears the men returning, she hides the dead bird under some quilt pieces. They decide, quickly that

Since women, especially white women, did not work, they were housewives. This caused women, such as Minnie, to be isolated. She is to cook, clean, and do for her family as expected. Unfortunately Mrs. Wright’s only family is her husband. In Beaty’s article, it states, “They communicate how greatly Mrs. Wright had changed over the years and how depressing her life with John Wright had been” (2). A wife with an abusive husband and a big farm can cause any wife to feel lonely during the winter. She is trapped in the house with a man who beats her and spends time working. There is nothing to do but to clean the house

The story kicks-off with Martha Hale departing her kitchen while her husband Lewis hale, is rushing her out of the house. She joins George Henderson the court attorney, Henry Peters the sheriff, Sheriff Peters’ wife Mrs. Peters, and her Husband Mr. Hale on their way over to the Wright’s farmhouse. When they arrive they go to the kitchen and Mrs. Hale ponders that she should have checked up on John and Minnie Wright. She had been too busy with her own life that she did not make any type of effort to see Minnie Wright. Mrs. Hale still refers to Minnie Wright as Minnie Foster before she married John twenty years ago.

Mrs. Wright suffered from social isolation caused by her husband. When Mr. Hale suggested the family “go in with me on a party telephone,” Mr. Wright defended himself by saying he only wanted “peace and quiet” and seemed to not care “what his wife wanted.” Even when Mr. Hale explained to Mrs. Wright the reason behind his visit was to ask about the telephone, she laughed, but then looked scared. As if she had been conditioned to suppress her true wishes and desires, unless she wished for grief. Without the agency and ability to reach out to the other women, Mr. Wright isolated Mrs. Wright from potential hobbies, social groups, and activities. Before she became