Susan Glaspell A Jury Of Her Peers

For centuries, women were often looked at as housekeepers of the household. It was rare to see women managing businesses or working for the government. Usually, men were the "power holders" of the society and tend to ignore many brilliant ideas from women. Overlooked and overworked, women are yet fighting for their rights to achieve the liberty they have today. Susan Glaspell wrote "A Jury of Her Peers" to secretly embed the unnecessary practiced culture of social structure and subjugation against women, females' forced labor, and the oppression on women in order to explain that society should stop overlooking powerful women and their extraordinary minds. Furthermore, Glaspell was a member of a group of intellectuals who questioned marriage

and women's role in society, and she also wrote the short story that was based on the murder of John Hossack and the way of living which females were forced to live through.
The patriarchal system was an ordinary ideology practiced by the government, businesses, and families during early twentieth century. Ruled by men, society viewed women as a secondary class. Laws and cultures were very biased and benefitted men rather than women, regardless of the race. Most family structures were not different from each other. Usually, men held authority over the household and placed rules and ordered hobbies. Therefore, wives and their children were expected to be loyal to the father-figures no matter the circumstances they must face. Inside "A Jury of Her Peers", the two women, Martha Hale and Ms. Peters, followed their husbands, Lewis Hale and Sheriff Peters, to investigate the crime scene of the murder of John Wright. Minnie Wright, the suspect and John Wright's wife, was in a trial which the men had to search evidence in order to proceed. Within the conversation, Mr. Hale explained his failure of convincing John Wright to install a telephone line. However, John declined the offer and did not care whether his wife lived a lonesome life or not. This event is a way to shown that males indeed controlled the life of others, especially women. Another example shown within the story is shown through the dead canary. It was no coincidence that both John and the canary were injured from the neck. It was the main evidence to prove that Minnie indeed murdered her husband, although there is meaning behind the situation. Obviously, Mrs. Wright was a lonesome housewife and wanted happiness inside the house, therefore, a songbird was the perfect pet to bring a cheerful atmosphere. Still, John did not care for his wife's loneliness and strangled the bird, shown by rigorous actions through the pulled hinges and broken cage (Glaspell 8). John emphasizes men subjugating women daily. Within their beliefs and customs, women were considered property and also were discouraged from being involved in following their beliefs. It shows the concept of men determining the decisions and women cannot resist against it.
Once marriage was established, moments of relaxation perishes from a wife during the early twentieth century.

The overworked women were obligated to complete their chores on a daily basis, routinely without a rest. The setting in the short story "A Jury of Her Peers" was in a rural town with numerous farms from east to west, therefore, many families work in farms from dawn to dusk and each member has certain tasks throughout the day. The wives, however, usually work alone to maintain indoors in a proper manner. For men, a woman's job was not considered real work, but in reality, a wife is a backbone inside a home. A variety of tasks, such as preparing food, cleaning house, laundering, sewing, ironing, harvesting fruits, and feeding chickens, was a responsibility in a women's uncalculated hours. George Henderson, the male attorney inside "A Jury of Her Peers", washes his hands inside the Wright's unorganized kitchen and notices filthy towels and cookware. After discriminating the work of Minnie Wright, both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters defend the poor housewife by explaining that "there's a great deal of work to be done on a farm" (Glaspell 4). These women share similar roles, experiences, and situations, hence they were determined to defend each other from the biased and ignorant

judgments.
The "men-controlled" society oppressed women, devaluing their dedication and inhumanly lowering their self-esteem.

Unfortunately, it was an accepted trend and women fought with determination for their rights and equality, which was later called the feminist movement. Glaspell placed such actions in her short story, performed by Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters. During their search, the wives looked for clues and discovered useful evidence. At one point, the attorney acknowledges the possibility of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters finding a clue. However, Mr. Hale doubts by saying "would the women know a clue if they did come upon it" (Glaspell 5). Afterward, the men were not relying on the women's knowledge and abilities to help them in the professional business. This degradable action oppresses the women's mentality by stating that they are worthless and unneeded. However, despite their impolite comments, the women looked for the clues themselves by evaluating the domestic items and 'trifles', which the men were not experienced with. In conclusion, the women were able to solve the mystery and the author "empowers the women with the very information the men unsuccessfully seek" (Champlin). Actions were performed by powerful women to exclaim that they, too, were able to perform such important tasks as

men.
Wearied although determined, women counterattacked critics using knowledge and efforts to demonstrate that they are equal as men. Glaspell communicates using her short story to explain that the public needs to consider the potential of hardworking women and their effort to assist their families. Eventually, liberty was granted due to the efforts and actions performed by females and other minority groups.