Topic > Review of Susan Glaspell's Story, A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers In her short story, A Jury of Her Peers, author Susan Glaspell writes about the investigation of a murder on a country farm. The story is set in the early 1900s, before women could sit on juries. Therefore, whenever a woman was on trial, a jury of her peers did not really judge her. As the story begins, Martha Hale and her husband are taken by Sheriff Peters with his wife and the county attorney to the Wrights' secluded home. Mr. Hale tells the sheriff and county attorney that he had found Mr. Wright strangled to death the previous morning. He also tells them that Mrs. Wright claimed she didn't know who killed him. As a result, Ms. Wright was arrested and was awaiting charges. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Upon entering the house they came across the kitchen, which would become the central location of the story. While the men searched for clues, they continually joked about the things the women were worried about. Furthermore, they humiliate women at every opportunity. What they didn't realize was that the kitchen held many clues to the life of abuse and violence that Mrs Wright had been forced to endure. However, the signs that the men had ignored were clearly seen and understood by the women. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters were to collect clothes and see if they could find any clues while the men went about their more serious work of trying to find a motive. Although the men joked that the women would know a clue if they saw one. What they didn't realize was that the women would not only find a clue, but they would find the clues that would mark the turning point of the case. In a basket of patches that appeared to be for a quilt, the women found a strangled canary. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters reconstruct the difficult life of the third woman, Mrs. Wright, and decide to hide evidence that could incriminate her. Therefore, a jury of her peers was effectively judging Ms. Wright. It was very obvious that men were interpreting a series of completed clues differently than women saw them. For example, when men found incomplete tasks all over the kitchen, they joked about them and called them signs of an incompetent housekeeper. However, for women these were clear signs of unstable consciousness. Incomplete homework in Mrs. Wright's kitchen told the women that she acted out very soon after Mr. Wright strangled his cock. The most important clue the women found was the bird. The bird, as far as they could see, served as a substitute for the baby Mrs. Wright had never had. Furthermore, it helped replace the silence of her cold and demanding husband. The bird also helped them understand that when Mr. Wright killed the canary, he seemed to kill its spirit as well. The different meanings of the word knot seem to fit the plot quite well, however, it also seems to leave one with an image of Mr. Wright with a rope around his neck. Although, for the two women, it means that they won't tell anyone their secret. It was obvious to both Mrs Hale and Mrs Peters what had happened. However, without even discussing it, they knew that if they let the men find the bird they would have the reason they were so eagerly looking around the house. They both understood what Mrs. Wright was going through and obviously felt she had already served a sentence equal to the crime. Therefore,the reason for the title, A Jury of Her Peers, was seen in the way that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters decided to try to hide evidence that would most likely lead to a guilty verdict for Mrs. Wright. So, Mrs. Hale put the dead bird in her pocket where it would never be found, and hoped that Mrs. Wright would be found not guilty, due to a lack of motive. A Jury of Her Peers opens with Mrs. Hale leaving her house with the bread all ready to be kneaded, half the flour sifted and half unsifted (1; numbers in parentheses indicate paragraph). Mrs. Hale had not planned to go to the Wright house to Mrs. Peters, the sheriff's wife wanted Mrs. Hale to come too... The sheriff figured she was getting scary and wanted another woman with her. The Machiavellianism of the gentlemen is oppressive. The county attorney, Mr. Henderson, when he asked Ms. Peters to look for clues, made Mr. Hale wonder aloud: Would the women recognize a clue if they found it? The women, however, managed to identify the clues and determine the motivation and justification of the crime. In A Jury of Her Peers, the jury, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, exonerate Mrs. Wright. The exoneration was based on evidence that Mrs. Wright had been a good housewife, her acceptance of her circumstance, and Mr. Wright's ultimate cruelty. Wright was a good housewife. They were too short-sighted to see anything other than the superficial. Dirty dishes, unstored groceries, and when Mr. Henderson found the towels in the towel rack dirty, he commented Not quite like a housekeeper... Martha Hale knew those towels got dirty fast. Mr. Henderson's condescending attitude shone when he laughed. Ah, true to your gender, I understand. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters felt a deeper unease than the fact that a murder had been committed in that house. The two women had gotten close several times. The county attorney looked around the kitchen. Mr. Peters chuckled at the insignificance of kitchen things. The wardrobes were cheap and unpleasant. Mr. Henderson opened one, as if its strangeness attracted him. Inside were the burst remains of Mrs. Wright's reserves. Mrs. Peters remembered that she had been worried about this when it was so cold last night. A poor housekeeper who had just killed her husband wouldn't have cared too much about jarred fruit. There were groceries outside, half put away. Mrs. Hale was shocked to leave the kitchen in such a mess. It wasn't a normal thing that took her away... Mrs. Hale had noticed... a bucket of sugar on a low shelf. The wooden bucket had been removed from the lid and a paper bag sat next to it, half full. Mrs. Wright was a good housekeeper. No normal thing could have made Mrs. Wright leave the kitchen like that. Mrs. Peters had come to the Wright home to collect some of Mrs. Wright's belongings. His things were a little worn and worn. A rather particular object was requested. Mrs. Wright wanted her apron. Mrs. Peters decided she just wanted it to feel more natural. If you are used to wearing an apron… An inadequate housewife would not feel natural wearing an apron. Mrs Wright had also asked for her shawl. Mrs. Peters knew exactly where to find the shawl according to Mrs. Wright's instructions. A woman who doesn't keep her house tidy doesn't know where exactly things are. and Mrs. Wright had been married twenty years. The gentleman and the.