A Jury Of Her Peers Susan Glaspell Summary

    As a strong feminist, Susan Glaspell wrote “Trifles” and then translated it to a story called “A Jury of Her Peers.”  These works express Glaspell’s view of the way women were treated at the turn of the century.  Even though Glaspell is an acclaimed feminist, her story does not contain the traditional feminist views of equal rights for both sexes.

Having studied the time period myself, I concur with her real time assessment of these stark separations. However, I strongly disagree with the statement she makes in her conclusion of the story. By having the women forgo their responsibility to uphold justice in the eyes of the law, or, at a bear minimum, not to obstruct it, Glaspell leads the reader to believe that murder, perhaps the worst crime that can be committed by man, or woman, is to be forgiven without reproach because of purported mental abuse! I find the idea sickening. That there are evil people in the world who take the life of others is bad enough, but to consider that some rationalize such activities because of a certain social persuasion is intolerable.

Ben-Zvi, Linda. "'Murder, She Wrote': The Genesis of Susan Glaspell's Trifles." Theatre Journal, 44 (March 1992): 141-62.

She is most famous by her articles that she wrote on the Hossack Case. From this murderous conviction case she created a story line of similar actions yet with a few twists and turns along the way. Though there were many similarities and quite a bit of differences, Susan Glaspell wound up creating a spine chilling and infamous play that corresponds with history in the most adequate way for a woman writer in a world filled with little rights for those women who were willing to speak their

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

First, Glaspell uses conflict to show the inequalities of women in the 1900’s. One conflict in the story is between the groups of investigators (The Sheriff, Hale and The County Attorney) who were there to gather clues of the murder and the woman who came to with them (Sheriffs Wife and Mrs.Hale). The men entered the house and “go at once to the stove” (8) and leave the girls standing at the entrance close together.

Although “A Jury of Her Peers” and “Trifles” are similar in plot, Mustazza’s article, “Generic Translation and Thematic Shift in Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ and ‘A Jury of Her Peers’” highlights the differences and similarities between the two. Mustazza’s article may help aid readers to understand the differences between Glaspell’s two works and provide understanding as to why Glaspell may have changed the genre and form of the plot. “Trifles” is a dramatic play whereas “A Jury of Her Peers” is prose fiction. While some differences may be seen on the surface, other differences will need to be inspected closely. Mustazza’s article may help one to understand Glaspell’s works by providing analysis and additional perspectives on both “A Jury of her Peers” and “Trifles”.

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.

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

Twentieth century society places few stereotypical roles on men and women.  The men are not the sole breadwinners, as they once were, and the women are no longer the sole homemakers.  The roles are often reversed, or, in the case of both parents working, the old roles are totally inconsequential.  Many works of literature deal with gendered roles and their effect on society as a whole or on an individual as a person.  "A Jury Of Her Peers" and Trifles, both written by Susan Glaspell, are works of literature that deal with socially gendered roles during the early nineteenth century.  The two works are almost exactly alike in that the dialogue from "A Jury Of Her

While each proses a serve of justice and determination to do the right thing; the men approach the crime scene emotionless, indifferent and determined to go in and get to the bottom of the mystery as quick as possible, and push aside the little details. Little do they know that the things they are putting off could be very essential to their case? For example, in a conversation between the attorney and Mr. Hale who remarks, “..I said to Harry that I didn’t know as what his wife wanted made such a difference to John..” who was interrupted by the attorney in mid conversation and interjects, “Let’s talk about that later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house.” (1127) Meanwhile, while the men are out on their hunt for clues, the women stay in the kitchen to look through Mrs. Wright’s things and discuss a motive for why she killed her husband. Glaspell proposes a plan that by looking deeper into circumstances, you may in turn fully understand its true meaning; leaving no stone left unturned.

Susan Glaspell’s one-act play covers issues regarding female oppression and patriarchal domination. The play still exists as a fascinating hybrid of murder mystery and social commentary on the oppression of women. When Margaret Hossack was charged with the murder of her sixty year old husband John, the man she had been married to for thirty three years. Killed by two blows to his head with an ax, John Hossack was thought to be a cold mannered and difficult man to be married to, but he didn’t deserve his

“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.

However, Susan Glaspell proceed on to go to college at Drake University with a male student body. When she graduated, she became a journalist Her job allowed her to be exposed to historical case base on which “A Jury of Her Peers” and her similar play “Trifles” are based.