A Jury Of Her Peers Summary

After reading the story “A Jury of Her Peers,” I realized that the story discusses problems such as gender roles, inequality of power and labor divisions and domestic violence. I was interested in the story because injustice and gender biased under the law still exist within our society. In the story, I learned that gender role created by society restrict and limit women to the kitchen and domestic work and men control the legal law hence the women are bind to household chores. Susan Glaspell emphasized how the women worked in the farms and the men held corporate jobs. She also highlights the importance of women’s role in the society and how the men overlook and limit women’s capabilities. Martha Hale, the protagonist, stated she has not visit

Minnie Foster but Minnie whom they were investigating a murder case had been Mrs. Wright for 20years (Glaspell 144). Although the men in the 1900 era kept company within themselves, women often remained at home, and due to the household work overload, they did not have time to meet. Glaspell describes the place as lonesome-looking place and Mrs. Hale seeing the place does not feel like talking because she is already sympathizing with Minnie (Glaspell 143). The story shows that loneliness can be a very dangerous tool for a woman. Thus, Mr. Peters mocked her wife for requesting the company of a female because she is scared to be at the murder scene.
Another critical point was the division of labor and inequality of power.

Since women spent much time in the house especially in the kitchen, women did not have an opinion or voice in legal work. For example, Mrs. Peters was defending the men for doing their job and not allowing Mrs. Hale to talk about injustice. Although most of the murder evidence was in the kitchen giving the power and knowledge the women have in the domestic area, the male counterparts overlooked these pieces of evidence. According to the story, women discovered the evidence the men seek among the kitchen items but the men dismiss it as the potential of trifles that concern women. These men were unable to see the importance of the kitchen things because the kitchen is a woman’s place (Glaspell 148). Thus Glaspell empowers women for having vast knowledge and information due to the time they spent in the house and showed that the women have an advantage over the men since the men underestimate women’s intelligence and believe that the investigation is a man’s job and responsibility. Hence, Mrs. Wright is a woman by gender anything these women take to Minnie is deem harmless concludes the court attorney. Thus, since Mrs. Wright request items such as her apron were below the men’s notice, they left the evidence under the women’s control to hide and clean out. The story also teaches men to allow women to have a voice and input because their lack of concern in domestic issues made it impossible for them to find the evidence they searched for because men take for granted their

personality.
After these women saw how Minnie’s palace was unkempt, and how her dresses were, they believe she was in a domestic violence marriage, and Mrs. Hale states that she used to be very clean, and joyful. The women were very remorseful, understanding and sympathetic with her situation united amongst themselves to stand by Minnie. They sympathized and related to Minnie knowing that due to her mistreatment, loneliness, and isolation they have experienced firsthand lead to Mrs. Wright killing her husband. They know having been in similar situation as oppressed women like Minnie they cannot judge her; thus they hid one of the evidence “the dead birth” and create a jury of united women so the judge can forgive Minnie.
Due to gender bias and men controlled and enforced the law, Minnie’s wasn’t given a chance to be judged by her peers. Men dominated the criminal justice system that has to trial Minnie, and the same law gave power to men. Thus men think it is their responsibility to uphold the law. Therefore, the women know men will judge and punish the crime in a legal way without having any remorse or understanding her situations, Minnie’s jury of her peers can relate to Minnie and will be more lenient to her. The women think the law that men controlled has failed them as well as Minnie and they conceal the death bird because they do not trust the system.
Although the story was to find evidence and to the mysterious case and punish the suspect for the crime, the story was complicated in finding who was responsible for the crime. In the jury of her peers, Minnie’s actions were justifiable because of the isolated and oppressive state she was and what she went through with her husband. As Mrs. Hale mention that it was a lonely place and not a cheerful one that why she did not visit they believe that was her final option (Glaspell 153). They believe Mrs. Wright situation is an exceptional one because as females, they experience crimes committed against them which are similar but most of the time goes unpunished because they are males. Martha felt guilty that not visiting her friend for so long was also a crime.
Overall, Martha thinks the system is unfair due to gender bias because most of the crimes committed by men go unpunished due to the men controlling the law and turning a blind eye to the crimes committed from gender-based oppression and injustice. I learn from the story that gender gap still exists, and women are not given the same opportunity or equal pay as their male counterpart. Minne’s lonesome not having a kid and been in a domestic violence relationship and been oppressed and controlled by her partner made her do the unthinkable because she felt she was not her self anymore and wanted a way out.