Minnie's Desolation in Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers"

“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 “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 story about a farmer’s wife who is accused of murdering her husband. Referred to fundamentally as a writer, Glaspell's short fiction went to a great extent unnoticed until 1973 when her short story, "A Jury of Her Peers" was rediscovered. Despite the fact that the creator of forty-three short stories, Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" is her most broadly anthologized bit of short fiction and is dependent upon a real court case Glaspell secured as a news person for the Des Moines Daily. The story, which she acclimates from her one-enactment play Trifles in 1917, has pulled in the consideration of feminist researchers for its medication of sexual orientation related topics. On its surface, "A

“A Jury of Her Peers” is refers to the people who are judging Minnie Wright for her crime.  In the story, Mrs. Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters, are the peers whom the author is referring to and who are judging Minnie Wright.  These women know Mrs. Wright and their views of her are altered by the fact that she is their neighbor and also a woman.  The women feel sorry for Mrs. Wright because her husband was emotionally abusive to her.  They do not pay attention to the fact that she did indeed kill someone.  If Susan Glaspell had really wanted women to be treated just like men, she would have written the story so that Minnie Wright had a normal trial.  Minnie Wright should have gotten a trial with a jury consisting of people who did not know her or anything about her past.

In Susan Glaspell’s, “A Jury of her Peers”, it is the women who take center stage and captivate the reader’s emotions. Throughout the feministic short story, which was written in 1917, several repeating patterns and symbols help the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the difficulty of prairie life for women and of the bond that women share. The incredible cunning the women in the story demonstrate provides insight into the innate independence that women had even during days of deep sexual discrimination. In “A Jury of her Peers”, the hardships women of the early twentieth century must endure and the sisterhood that they can still manage to maintain are manifested as a mysterious, small-town murder unfolds.

Additionally, gender roles affect Mrs. Wright’s (also known as Minnie) reaction to oppressive marriage. Before marriage, Minnie was a carefree independent woman who was active in her community. She always dressed in pretty clothes and was one of the town girls singing in the choir (Glaspell 1111). After marriage, Minnie’s life became sad and lonely due to the lack of children and the lack of empathy and warmth from her husband. Glaspell provides the reader glimpse of Mr. Wright’s character through Mrs. Hale’s description of him being honest and upright, but he was a “hard man” and not very amiable (1114). The Wright’s marriage is a perfect example of the effects of traditional gender roles. Mr. Wright represents the traditional role of male dominance in marriage by controlling Minnie’s life through isolation and removing anything that would bring her happiness. Although Minnie became submissive in order to conform to the demands of her husband, she took back control when she murdered her husband in the same fashion as he did to her pet canary (1116).

To begin with, “A Jury of her Peers” is about the way women in 1917 were treated by men. The main women characters are Minnie Wright, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale. The women in the story are confined to their homes; rarely getting to go to town or visit with their friends. The women did not have many

In the short story "A Jury of Her Peers" a woman named Minnie Wright is accused of the murder of her husband. Minnie Wright is a farmer's wife and is also isolated from the out side world. There is an investigation that takes place in the home of the murder. There are three men that are involved on the case and two women accompany, but are not there to really help solve the murder. These two women will

The story Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell features Martha and Mrs. Peter as the main characters in the short story. As the author narrates the story, there are key themes and traits which emerge that contribute to the development of the story and the protagonist such as the marriage conflicts, friendship, secrecy, scandals, and male-chauvinism and aggression. In brief, the authors of Two Kinds and Jury of Her Peers aim to show how the main characters have unresolved issues they did not know about their live until they engage in confrontations.

Something that was interesting was the titles Glaspell gave each story was very unique. Glaspell named the short story, “A Jury of Her Peers” because Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter decided Minnie Wright’s fate. Also, the women decided not to turn in the evidence that could seal Minnie’s fate.

The short story “A Jury of Her Peers” written by Susan Glaspell showed many different aspects of symbolism. Millie Wright is symbolized a traditional woman that lost her way because she is consumed in her many wifely duties. Throughout the story her living situation, her red rocking chair, and her yellow canary had significant symbolic interest. Minnie Wright’s environment is a lonesome-looking place. “It was in a hollow, and the poplar trees around it were lonesome- looking trees(Glaspell 243). At the Wrights’ home there were no children running around to make noise, no telephone to talk with friends and family, no visitors, and most importantly no husband to show her affection. Mr. Wright had a cold attitude, unsociable, and careless demeanor. Mrs. Wright is consumed in her farmer’s wife duties she loses herself. The broken stove displays the lack of instability. The dirty kitchen with the

In “A Jury of Her Peers” Minnie Wright demonstrates the deranging effect of isolation. She grew up a joyful young women with all her peers, but drifted away when she became Mrs. Wright and wedded Mr. John Wright. Minnie Wright became socially and emotionally isolated in her own home. This caused her to lose her sanity. The effects that isolation had on Minnie Wright negatively affected her own life and the life of those around her, especially including her husband who she murdered. As the story “A Jury of Her Peers,” progresses it becomes more evident that Minnie Foster is in fact for sure the person who is responsible for the murder of her husband. In the time period “A Jury of her Peers” was written women were also victims of a treatment called the “rest cure.” The rest cure isolated women away from society and in some cases drove them mentally insane as shown in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The story of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

The woman view the interior of objects or situations and seek the evidence for its meaning, whereas men look for the evidence at the surface. In addition, Sheriff Peters, County Attorney George Henderson, and Lewis Hale remained cold hearted and prejudice towards Minnie, while Mrs.Hale and Mrs.Peters accepted Minnie’s crime, felt sympathy and determination for her. No matter if Mrs.Wright is innocent or guilty, both women protect Minnie in any circumstance. From redoing the quilt to covering up the reason of the bird cage to hiding the dead bird, both wives want Minnie to look innocent so she could experience the freedom she missed during the last twenty years. Although, the men were right to question her involvement with the murder and suspect Minnie to be the killer. In fact, their suspicions were correct being the Wright’s are the only two people living in their home, clarifying Minnie the killer. I could get a good understanding of why Mrs.Hale and Mrs.Peters withhold evidence against the jury, but I do not approve of their decision. I feel as if the women shouldn’t have gotten involved. No justice saved Minnie Wright from going to jail; withholding evidence and committing crimes, serves a prison sentence. As stated previously, if I was in Mrs.Hale’s or Mrs.Peters's shoes, I would not destroy any evidence being the damage

Mark Twain, in 1888, stated that “both marriage and death ought to be welcome: the one promises happiness, doubtless the other assures it.” Under the law during this time period, marriage was considered a completely different institution than what state it is known to be today. To have a marriage with several of the same controlling aspects during this day and age would be described as abusive. In Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, Glaspell demonstrates male dominance, female oppression as well as female insubordination during the early 1900’s effectively by revealing the unhealthy relationship, between John Wright and Minnie Wright that produced a farmhouse murder. This fatal occurrence is investigated by their neighbor Lewis Hale and wife Mrs.

Hale her neighbor says that the only time Minnie wright seemed happy was when she was not married. Mrs. Hale says, “I heard that she used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie foster. But with thirty years of marriage, Mrs. Wright is now worried about her canned preserves freezing, and not having her apron whilst she is in jail. Mrs. Peters, the sheriff’s wife suggested that Mrs. Wright wanted her apron so that she can “feel more natural”; because that is what she is use to.