Feminist Analysis of “A Jury of Her Peers” by Glaspell

Introduction

A Jury of Her Peers is a short story written by Susan Glaspell that covers the theme of feminism. The themes of a story are expressed and developed in many different ways, such as in the title, plot, character, and setting. Susan examines the theme of feminism from the title, the text’s character, and the story’s plot. First, Glaspell uses the title to let the reader know that A Jury of Her Peers will decide Minnie’s fate. Minnie’s peers consist of two women, Mrs. hale and Mrs. Peters, who sympathize and relate with Minnie’s daily life. In A Jury of Her Peers Women as present as inferior characters who are assigned roles that oppress them to remain less noticeable in a patriarchal society where many dominate all aspects of their lives.

Discussion

Inequality between men and women is the most persistent pattern in power distribution. In the story, men have superior advantages over women due to more senior positions held by the males in society. In Glaspell’s text, men and women have distinctly different gender roles and opportunities regarding the division of labor in society (Grossman 40). The male characters often control society as social rules restrict females’ ability to choose their interests or exist as separate beings from their husbands.

Challenges of gender inequality have affected relationships between men and extensively shaped people’s perceptions of themselves and the extent of their potential. The forces have resulted in multiple women suffering from injustices and gender inequalities. Glaspell supports the theme of the urgency of liberation and incorporates elements of loss of agency and freedom. In the story, feminine beings are involved in the responsibilities of caring for the house, especially the kitchen (Iftikhar 42). When married, the wife must take up the husband’s identity, and their personality is lost. Men can have each other’s company, but the women must remain at home. A childless woman like Minnie was left feeling lonely and poignant (Chakravarti 382). Men view women as weak in an example where Mr. Peter mocks his wife for fear of traveling home alone from the murder scene.

Looking at the story from a gender criticism point of view, it can be seen how men mistreat women. Women seem to be born to suffer humiliation and discrimination in the patriarchal society. The men in the story tease women at various times during the investigation. In one instance, Mr. Hales states that women are used to worrying over trifles (Glaspell 6). In another part, the sheriff says, ‘there is nothing here, but kitchen things, in an attempt to identify weakness in females’ work (Glaspell 3). The talks showed how the men perceived women, where they were identified with the kitchen, domestic activities, and less critical chores.

In A Jury of Her Peers, females are shown as the weaker sex in the dominant male world. Minnie is symbolized in the story as a domesticated animal, a caged bird (Glaspell 10). Her ragged clothes and broken furniture represent her miserable life. After investigation, the investigators discover her tragic life and conclude that she strangled her husband. Initially, her life was happy and free, but it changed once she married; the domesticated life made her an introvert. Mrs. Hale remembers Minnie as “really sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery” before her marriage to John Wright (Glaspell 8). The story portrays stereotypical women’s societal roles and shows how the functions create oppression for women. The names of the character are symbolic in the text, where the name Minnie Wright is derived from minimum describing her oppressed relationship with John. Women take their husbands’ last names, such as Mrs. Hales and Mrs. Peter.

In the text, characters take on traits of the opposite gender, raising different feelings in society. A Jury of Her Peers viewed from a feminist criticism side, stands as a commentary on female oppression and discrimination in social life. The woman was considered not fit to become a judge, and there were no women judges, lawyers, police officers, or jurors. However, involved in the investigation, Mrs. Hales and Mrs. Peter discover Minnie’s miserable life. The two women are involved in making a judgment, and the county attorney discriminates against them by saying, “Would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (Glaspell 4). The males find the woman weak in making different judgments. Mr. Hale mockingly sees the women worried about the fruit and feels they are incapable of focusing on the investigation (Glaspell 6). Gender disparities are present because of the historical distortions in the woman-man relationship, and the psychological impact of these is what A Jury of Her peers is. Minnie shows change as she decides to strangle the inequalities presented by her husband.

The works reveal different aspects of operations in a patriarchal society. Economically, females are viewed as only able to perform simple tasks, especially in the kitchen. Minnie is portrayed as a housekeeper, and when she has a messy kitchen, the male character ridicules her. The county attorney finds the dirty towels and states, “not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” which is a degrading remark (Glaspell 4). Politically, women have no influence or say in the justice system. In Minnie’s case, John Wright mistreats and abuses her, but the victim is considered John. The woman’s physical and psychological abuse is considered normal and not a crime. Minnie is affected psychologically by John’s acts, such as not letting her use the telephone at home, being denied access to minimal contacts the town life can afford, and even killing her bird (Chakravarti 383). Socially, the man has been involved in complete control of the wives and their social life showing superiority towards them.

The story shows the possibility of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy. The two women investigators of Minnie’s case have a chance to view the matter from a different perspective than the men. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale understand the “physical labor” involved in boiling fruit in low heat, while the men do not (Glaspell 9). The woman can detect the clue that shows Minnie’s erratic stitching and the quilt representing her emotional state. The quilt indicates the women’s teamwork which proves the men wrong regarding their capability of doing a man’s job. They judge that the torment caused by John would have resulted in traumatic effects and triggered murderous behavior in Minnie.

The two women investigators, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale show creativity in the text. The male characters overlook the potential of the trifles repeatedly. The women ironically discover the evidence the men seek in the domestic items that the men dismiss. The men are not able to see the intelligence and the importance of women. However, the women prove them wrong by placing the solution to the murder mystery within the domestic sphere.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story by Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers portrays the oppression faced by women in the patriarchal society. Minnie Wring represents how women are treated in society. The role of the woman is found to be submissive to the man. The men dominate over women and do not have the freedom they had after marriage. However, in the story, other women have demonstrated change and capabilities beyond men, such as in matters of justice.

Works Cited

Chakravarti, Sonali. “Wanted: Angela Davis and a Jury of Her Peers.” Political Theory, vol. 49, no. 3, 2021, pp. 380-402.

Glaspell, Susan. A Jury of Her Peers. Sahara Publisher Books, 1917.

Grossman, Julie. The Femme Fatale. Rutgers University Press, 2020.

Iftikhar, Sadaf, and Ayaz Muhammad Shah. “Marginalization, Silence and Suffering in A Jury of Her Peers: A feminist Perspective.” Erevna Journal of Linguistics and Literature, vol. 3, no.1, 2019, pp 38-48.

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