Susan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers - 1408 Words

Growing up in Iowa in the 1800s and 1900s, Susan Glaspell took inspiration for many of her stories from personal experiences. As a former courthouse reporter herself, Glaspell’s short story â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† is based largely on her involvement with a murder case and a kitchen she recalled investigating. â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers,† a rendition of her early play, Trifles, focuses on the homicide of an abusive husband by his wife. While the men investigating the case overlook the various signs of abuse, their wives work together to defend the widow. During this time period, sexism was a widely spread concept. Glaspell was a strong willed advocate of women’s rights, and promoted feminism throughout her life, oftentimes featuring this concept in†¦show more content†¦She writes, â€Å"The men, all representatives of the Law (the sheriff, the prosecutor, and a witness), are oriented to a mechanistic view of legal propriety: they react to an act ion and look for the evidence to justify the retribution they wish to enact† (Bendel-Sismo 1). She then compares the beliefs of the men to women, whose views shift as they learn more about the murder and the reasons behind the widow’s actions. â€Å"Unlike the men, the women conclude that a different crime has been committed, and that the crime the men perceive is, in fact, justice being enacted. While the men see John Wright s death as the point of departure for their investigation, the women see his death as closure; not the beginning, but the end, and as such their role is to protect Minnie Foster† (Bendel-Sismo 1). While the men in Glaspell’s story are quick to search for ways to convict Mrs. Wright, often overlooking details, their wives dig deeper to learn about the real reason behind her husband’s death. â€Å"‘Nothing here but kitchen things,’ he said, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things† (Glaspel l 6). The critic concludes that the motives of the men and women while investigating the murder are a result of psychological differences differences of genders during this time period. She sums up her statement by saying, â€Å"While the women can seek Justice for other women, the men in charge of the case--by their very nature as men--can seek Justice only for men (their peers),Show MoreRelatedSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers1174 Words   |  5 Pages A Jury of Her Peers is a short story written by Susan Glaspell in 1917 and follows the investigation of the murder of John Wright, with his wife Minnie Wright being the alleged murderer. Martha and Lewis Hale assist Sheriff Peters and his wife, Mrs. Peters, with investigating the scene of the crime. Throughout the story, women notice significance in their findings, of which the men overlook. The men have a dismissive attitude towards the women, ignoring their contributions. When the women solveRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers995 Words   |  4 Pagesprominent theme in the 1900’s, during a time when women were often treated as second class citizens to men. Susan Glaspell wrote the play â€Å"Trifles,† in 1916, which portrayed how women’s lives were seen as less significant throughout American society. The following year, Glaspell wrote the short story â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers,† which was essentially a longer and more detailed version of â€Å"Trifles.† The stories are alike in many societal implications, since â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† was based off of â€Å"TriflesRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers Essay982 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† by Susan Glaspell is now known as a feminist classic. Susan Glaspell first published the play â€Å"Trifles† in 1916 and was adapted to the short story â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† in 1917. The story was rediscovered in the early 1970s, since then it has been reprin ted into textbooks and anthologies. It is said that while Glaspell was working as a reporter she was inspired to write â€Å"Trifles† and â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers.† The stories are inspired by a real murder case she was covering. TheRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers999 Words   |  4 PagesFrom beginning to end, Susan Glaspell’s 1917 short story â€Å"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 andRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Jury Of Her Peers1841 Words   |  8 PagesName: ZaZa Horton Professor: Leblanc Course: Anicent Woman in Greece 20 April 2015 Susan Glaspell’s â€Å"Jury of Her Peers† â€Å"Jury of Her Peers† is a short story that revolves around the strange death of john wright. It is a piece of work that exposes sexism on women. Women have been categorized for some time now based on their gender and not on ability and skills. They have always fell at the short end of the stick when compare against men. Nevertheless, there were many similarities as well asRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers878 Words   |  4 Pages In â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers,† Susan Glaspell crafts an intricate portrayal of these differences, but also provides a closer look at interpersonal relationships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as how one’s atmosphere may affect the mind. Glaspell’s commentary is clear regarding the standing of men and women of the time, with the male characters being in positions of duty and respect, and the female characters being in positions of maintenance. These choices made by Glaspell allow theRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers Essay1164 Words   |  5 PagesSusan Glaspell was a prolific author, playwright, journalist and novelist in the early 1900s. Early in her career as a reporter she wrote many articles including the newspaper coverage of a murder trial known as the Hossack Case when she worked for The Des Moines Daily News in Des Moines, Iowa. This murder trial was a much publicized event in which a woman, Margaret Hossack, was accused of murdering her prosperous husband on the couple’s farm in Des Moines. In these newspaper articles dated fromRead MoreSusan Glaspell s A Jury Of Her Peers Essay1789 Words   |  8 Pagesdefined as the treatment of someone or something with due fairness, but the fa irness of a situation is often seen differently, depending upon the viewer. In Susan Glaspell’s, A Jury of Her Peers, the idea of who is capable to fairly judge a person, and therefore serve justice, is examined through the arrest of Mrs. Minnie Wright for the murder of her husband. As the sheriff and others go to the Wrights’ house, the suggestion is made that those empowered by law to cast judgement and those with an understandingRead MoreSusan Glaspell s `` The Yellow Wallpaper `` And A Jury Of Her Peers ``2004 Words   |  9 Pagesof mankind. Women, in particular, fight for fairness even in today’s society. This everlasting battle can be seen in both â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† by Susan Glaspell. Gilman’s story revolves around a woman who has postpartum depression. Her husband, who is also her physician, uses isolation to try and heal his wife’s â€Å"nervous disea se.† Glaspell’s story, on the other hand, describes the murder of a man, with his wife being the prime suspect. Read MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles And A Jury Of Her Peers984 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† and â€Å"Trifles† are similar in plot, Mustazza’s article, â€Å"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. â€Å"Trifles† is a dramatic play whereas â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† is prose