Susan Glaspells Trifles and A Jury of Her Peers Essay

In the early 1900s Susan Glaspell wrote many works, two stand out, the play Trifles and the short story A Jury of Her Peers. Trifles was written in 1920, while A Jury of Her Peers was written the following year. Trifles was written in only ten days. The true greatness of these works were not recognized until the 1970s. In the short story A Jury of Her Peers a woman named Minnie Wright is accused of the murder of her husband. Minnie Wright is a farmers wife and is also isolated from the out side world. There is an investigation that takes place in the home of the murder. There are three men that are involved on the case and two women accompany, but are not there to really help solve the murder. These two women will†¦show more content†¦The men talk with a rough familiarity born working together and knowing one another. The women seem less acquainted and dont ever call each other by their first names. But at the mens first disparaging remarks about Minnies housekeeping and wom en worrying over trifles, the women move closer together (Smith 177). This is what set up the women to try and find the evidence that they need to protect Minnie Wright from being charged with her husbands murder. This murder is one that the two women can identify with. The reason is that both of the women were farmers wives and had very similar lifestyles. Mrs. Hale describes John Wright as a hard man, and never let Mrs. Wright do anything. I feel that this is just how she is describing her own life perhaps. The two women also find a quilt that is not stitched very well. This adds to the fact Minnie Wright was under some stress when sewing this quilt. At this moment Mrs. Hale begins sewing the quilt, the way it should have been sewn in the first place. I feel that Glaspell is giving the women a lot of symbols to justify the womens findings, and making it easy for them to foil the investigation. There are some other clues symbols that relate to Minnie Wrights feeling, emotional like the jar of cherries on the shelf. One critic named Linda Ben-Zvi says, Minnie herself stayed on the shelf, alone and unbefriended on the farm, until the coldness of her marriage, her life inShow MoreRelated Gender Roles in Susan Glaspells A Jury Of Her Peers and Trifles 1176 Words   |  5 Pagesin Susan Glaspells A Jury Of Her Peers and Trifles  Ã‚   Twentieth century society places few stereotypical roles on men and women.   The men are not the sole breadwinners, as they once were, and the women are no longer the sole homemakers.   The roles are often reversed, or, in the case of both parents working, the old roles are totally inconsequential.   Many works of literature deal with gendered roles and their effect on society as a whole or on an individual as a person.   A Jury Of Her PeersRead MoreSusan Glaspell s Trifles And A Jury Of Her Peers984 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough â€Å"A Jury of Her Peers† and â€Å"Trifles† are similar in plot, Mustazza’s article, â€Å"Generic Translation and Thematic Shift in Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ and ‘A Jury of Her Peers’† highlights the differences and similarities between the two. 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