Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers is a powerful story that highlights the struggles faced by women in a male-dominated society. The story centers around a group of women who are tasked with investigating a murder case. While the men in the story focus on the evidence, the women are more concerned with the victim’s life and how she must have felt. This difference in perspective leads to a deeper understanding of the case and ultimately helps solve it.
The title of the story, A Jury of Her Peers, is significant because it shows that when it comes to matters of justice, women are just as capable as men. This is an important message, especially given the time period in which the story was written. In many ways, Susan Glaspell was ahead of her time in championing the rights of women.
While the story is a work of fiction, it is based on a real life case that Susan Glaspell covered as a journalist. This gives the story an added layer of realism and makes it all the more impactful.
Overall, A Jury of Her Peers is a groundbreaking story that highlights the importance of female perspectives in solving crimes. It is also a reminder that women are just as capable as men when it comes to justice.
“Trifles”, a play written by Glaspell, is important to the tale since it explains how a little thing like the bird being shot relates to Mrs. Wright’s life. The bird was a literary allusion. There was great joy at Minnie’s house and in her life as she listened to the song of the bird. When her husband strangled the creature he also suffocated Minnie by restricting her from making friends outside of the home. “Trifles,” rather than “Trifles,” is a better title for when this narrative was created, but not so much for today’s standards because this isn’t a word that gets used very often anymore.
Susan Glaspell grew up in a time when women were not considered to be on the same level as men, and she wrote this story to try and bring awareness to how differently women are treated. The title “A Jury of Her Peers”, is more appropriate for today because it is a term that is still used and it also brings attention to the fact that even though times have changed, there are still some things that need to be improved upon. Susan Glaspell was ahead of her time and her story is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published.
In today’s society, the phrase “A Jury of Her Peers” is a more accurate title. It explains things better in terms of how her peers would perceive little aspects of her life if they examined them closely. If you compared it to a real trial, you’d notice that the men were the prosecutor and the women were the defense. The men never stopped in the kitchen and inquired about what happened in there. Instead of investigating what kind of life she led with her husband, the guys tried to find out what kind of woman she was.
The defense always tries to show what kind of person the defendant is because it can help with motive. The women in this story were looking for that, they were looking for something that would explain why she would do such a thing. Susan Glaspell was showing how important it is to understand where someone is coming from and not just look at the surface of things.
A Jury of Her Peers can also be seen as a feminist story. At the time it was written women were not seen as equals to men. Women did not have the right to vote and many other things that we take for granted today. This story shows how even though the law may not see women as equals they are still human beings with feelings.
They should not be treated as if they are lesser beings just because they are not men. This story is still relevant today because there are still many places in the world where women are not seen as equals to men. We have come a long way since this story was written but there is still more work to be done. Susan Glaspell was ahead of her time and she is an important part of feminist history.
A Jury of Her Peers can also be seen as a story about human nature. We all have a tendency to judge people without knowing all the facts. We see what we want to see and we ignore the rest. This story shows how dangerous that can be. If we had only listened to the women in this story maybe the outcome would have been different.
The men were sure she had murdered her spouse, but she was not looking to find out why. “Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? ” said the county attorney as he washed his hands at the sink. (Glaspell, 540) The men never questioned why she had left the dishes in the first place. Mr. Henderson added, “… I shouldn’t say that she possessed the homemaking instinct.” (Glaspell, 541) Why would a woman who used to be so cheerful now have a home so dismal and not want to take care of it?
The women put themselves in her shoes and thought about how they would react if they were in her position. The Jury of her Peers allowed Susan Glaspell to explore the inner lives of women and their relationships. Susan Glaspell was a playwright, journalist, novelist, and actress. In 1916, she wrote the one-act play “Trifles,” which is based on an actual Iowa murder case that she had covered while working as a reporter for the Des Moines News (Buhle, 1). Susan Glaspell’s short story entitled “A Jury of Her Peers” was first published in 1917 in The American Magazine.
It is based on the same events and characters as her one-act play Trifles. Susan Glaspell’s short story, “A Jury of Her Peers,” tells the story of a group of women who come together to investigate the death of Mr. Wright. The men in the story are convinced that Mrs. Wright killed her husband, but the women are not so sure. They put themselves in her shoes and think about how they would react if they were in her position.
By doing this, they are able to see things that the men cannot see. In the end, it is the women who find the evidence that Mrs. Wright did indeed kill her husband. The women in Susan Glaspell’s short story “A Jury of Her Peers” are able to see things that the men cannot see because they are able to put themselves in Mrs. Wright’s shoes. They understand what it is like to be a woman in a man’s world and they are able to see the things that the men cannot see.
The women in the tale were betrayed as someone who doesn’t know how to handle a problem. This was an era when women didn’t vote and had no voice in politics. The men departed the kitchen, quipping that “But would the ladies be able to solve it if they did come upon it!” (Glaspell, 541) The ladies paid attention to the details of the kitchen and remarked that she appeared to have stopped in the middle of something. Mrs. Hale recalled Minnie Foster’s prior personality: she used to be so happy and sang in the choir.
“That’s why I thought she done it. But now- well, I don’t know. I don’t see how she could do it! ” (Glaspell, 542) Susan Glaspell wrote Trifles as a way to show the inequality between men and women during this time period. Susan Glaspell also was apart of the first American feminist group. The group fought for reproductive rights and woman suffrage.
A Jury Of Her Peers can be interpreted in many ways but, one thing is for sure and that is Susan Glaspell was definitely ahead of her time. She understood the unjust treatment of women and wanted to bring light to the fact that just because someone is a housewife doesn’t mean they aren’t intelligent. Susan Glaspell was definitely a woman ahead of her time.