Breaking the Bonds of Oppression in A Jury of Her Peers
Susan Glaspell’s "A Jury of Her Peers" is a view into the lives of farmer’s wives in the Midwest at the turn of the century. These women live in a male dominated world, where the men consider them incompetent and frivolous. The only identity they have is that associated with their husbands. They stay at the farmhouse to complete their repetitive and exhausting chores. The wives have little or no contact with the other people because of the distances between farms. Glaspell uses her female characters to rebel against the inequalities that women face and to prove that women are competent and when pushed too far --strike back. The male dominant society that is condescending, controlling, denies individuality, demands submission, and is abusive toward women, is a society that punishes and deprives itself. It is a society that is harmful and hurtful, not only to the women, but to the men as well.
Typical of the male dominant frame of mind, the men’s view of the women in "A Jury of Her Peers" is condescending from start to finish. Putting a slight twist on Shakespeare’s famous metaphor, "The world is a stage", the men are the puppeteers, and the women "merely" puppets, evidences the men’s beliefs (Act II, scene 7, lines 143-144). The men believe they are superior and more intelligent than the women are. The feeling of superiority is evident in Mr. Hale’s comment, "women are used to worrying over trifles" (Glaspell 186). Similarly, these feelings of superiority are shown in the county attorney’s musings over whether the women would "know a clue if they came upon it" (Glaspell 187). Glaspell uses this emotion to create the irony in the story. She shows how ...
... middle of paper ...
...~journals~S~hyp.html&querydocid=1096142
@library_a&dtype=0~0&dinst=0>
Sherman, Beth. "The Dirt on Men despite Liberation, Education, Maturation and Good Old Nagging, Women still can’t get their Men to Clean the House. Is it a Lost Cause or is there Some Way to Make Men Come Clean?" 26 Sept. 1992. SI., Newsday. 17 Feb. 1999.
<http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.cgi?id=125920539x0y20939w1&
OIDS=0Q002D000&Form=RL&pubname=Newsday&puburl=http~C~~S~~S~
www.newsday.com&querydocid=213927@library_g&dtype=0~0&dinst=0>
Walradth, Ellie. "Historian Says Farm Wives a Happy Lot." 21 Feb. 1997. University of Wisconsin. 17 Feb. 1999.
<http://www.elibrary.com/s/edumark/getdoc.cgi?id=125920539x0y20939w1&
OIDS=0Q002D000&Form=RL&pubname=Newsday&puburl=http~C~~S~~S~
www.newsday.com&querydocid=213927@library_g&dtype=0~0&dinst=0>
In A Jury of Peers by Susan Glaspell, the story revolves around the sudden death of John Wright. There are five characters that participate in the investigation of this tragedy. Their job is to find a clue to the motive that will link Mrs. Wright, the primary suspect, to the murder. Ironically, the ladies, whose duties did not include solving the mystery, were the ones who found the clue to the motive. Even more ironic, Mrs. Hale, whose presence is solely in favor of keeping the sheriff s wife company, could be contributed the most to her secret discovery. In this short story, Mrs. Hale s character plays a significant role to Mrs. Wright s nemesis in that she has slight feelings of accountability and also her discovery of the clue to the motive.
The central theme in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the place of women in society and especially the isolation this results in. We see this through the character, Minnie Foster and her isolation from love, happiness, companionship and from society as a whole. Not only does the story describe this isolation but it allows the reader to feel the impact of this isolation and recognize the tragedy of the situation.
Firstly we will commence by discovering how women are presented in Shakespeare’s play .Through-out the play women are presented as immature , impuissant characters : Lady Capulet & Juliet ,all women are regarded as possessions of men ,for them to do as they please . They are ornaments, they cannot speak their minds nor can they make their own decisions. Women are in the men’s shadows.
Susan Glaspell Trifles Susan Glaspell wrote many literary pieces in the early 1900s. Two, in particular, are very similar in theme, which is the play Trifles and the short story “A Jury of Her Peers”. The Trifles was written in 1920 and “A Jury of Her Peers” was written in 1921, a short story, adapted from the play. Susan Glaspell was born in Davenport, IA July 1, 1876 as a middle child and the only daughter. In college, she wrote for her school paper, The Drake, and after Glaspell graduated, she started working for the Des Moines News.
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.
Women that go against traditional roles of femininity are punished through perfect executions of “an eye for an eye” justice. This is evidenced through the consequences of Lady Macbeth’s, minor female characters’, and Lady Macduff’s actions. What initially seems to be a depiction of Shakespeare’s approval of unconventional gender roles is actually a reinforcement of traditional notions. This is a clear indication that Shakespearian women were beginning to crack stereotypes in favor of feminism- else Shakespeare’s assertions would be unnecessary. Modern attitudes towards gender equality stand as indications of this silent war- still raging within society. All in all, there is hope for women to stand abreast with the very men that have dominated thus far.
The nexus of status, gender, and societal roles are consistently topics of interest among people, and can be found throughout the plays of William Shakespeare. More evident in their original production, however, through modern renditions and personal interpretation of readings these topics reoccur often His work dictated specific roles for men and women. Through analyzing said roles one can derive insights regarding the esteem of women and how the relative devaluing of women shaped normal gender roles. However, Shakespeare provides conflicting interpretations, dependent upon the light in which his work is read. Among the possible differing interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” stands a reoccurring argument throughout history of, men vs. women in a battle of status/power. After reading the play one could make the argument that women are inferior to their counterparts, however, at the same time, the argument could be made that women have more power than men, and both positions be considered accurate.
According to Males and Brown article, the primary cause for the youth to get involved in crime is poverty and lack of success. The statistics from California Criminal Justice and Census Poverty for 2010 refers that the lift in economic deprivation and the lack of success or jobs indulge the youth or teenagers more into the life of violent offenses. The news and article exacerbate the rate violent crime and over-represented the young age in violent crime. The peak age for crime means that the young people involved more in crime than older people. The Brown article suggests that the age-crime relationship means that the violent crime rise in young age and then decline with the age. The child who gets involved in crime at an early age becomes the chronic offenders. The teens who have less relationship with their parents, labelled as antisocial by parents, teachers, neighbors and society get more involved in crime.
Communication is an important aspect of processing and transferring information in our society. The important entities needed for a successful communication includes; a sender, receiver, message and feedback. First, the sender is a person or entity that is sending information to the receiver. After receiving the message, the receiver will attempt to decode the message and prepares a proper response (feedback). Communication is an essential part of our daily interactions; it can be seen used in businesses, for pleasure, sports, education and many more activities.
Glaspell spent more than forty years working as a journalist, fiction writer, playwright and promoter of various artistic. She is a woman who lived in a male dominated society. She is the author of a short story titled A Jury of Her Peers. She was inspired to write this story when she investigated in the homicide of John Hossack, a prosperous county warren who had been killed in his sleep(1).Such experience in Glaspell’s life stimulated inspiration. The fact that she was the first reporter on scene, explains that she must have found everything still in place, that makes an incredible impression. She feels what Margaret (who is Minnie Wright in the story) had gone through, that is, she has sympathy for her. What will she say about Margaret? Will she portray Margaret as the criminal or the woman who’s life has been taken away? In the short story Minnie Wright was the victim. Based on evidence at the crime scene, it is clear that Minnie has killed her husband; however, the women have several reasons for finding her “not guilty” of the murder of John Wright.
Hedges, Elaine. "Small Things Reconsidered: Susan Glaspell's' 'A Jury of Her Peers'." Women's Studies 12.1 (1986): 89. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
It is almost a daily occurrence to turn on the nightly news and hear stories of ever increasing youths committing crimes. Even more alarming are the ages of these offenders. In Lake Station, Indiana, three first-grade students were plotting to kill a classmate. They even went so far as to draw a map of where the slaying was to take place. In California a six year old boy was charged with attempted murder of a 3 month old baby. In Southern California, three 17 year old girls were charged with false imprisonment, conspiracy, aggravated mayhem and torture when they held a 15-year-old runa...
Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so.
Although the women in Shakespeare’s time where not given the opportunity for their voices to be heard, Shakespeare gave them a voice through the production of his plays. In both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear, Shakespeare highlights the ways in which male superiority impedes with the lives of females, he also queries and mocks the accepted patterns of prescribed feminine and masculine behaviors. “While female characters such as Regan and Goneril take on masculine characteristics and King Lear takes on feminine characteristics, Shakespeare demonstrates that men and women are forever searching for a balance between their gender roles, and that this can sometimes be corrupted by power” (Ink).
As a parent, I have spent a great deal of time observing the behavior, motivation, and thought processes of my children. As they mature these processes have changed, and it has been fascinating to watch. I have learned a great deal on the limits of self control in the adolescent mind during this time, and I believe that families should be held responsible for crimes committed by their teenagers.