A Jury of Her Peers – 1

An epitome of Characterization in A dialog box of Her Peers In A control panel of Her Peers written by Susan Glaspell and published in 1917 a man named funda custodyt Wright was choked to death in his bed with a rope. John Wrights wife, Minnie is the prime suspect and has been pursuen to the jail to await her trial. The county lawyer George H demolitionerson, the sheriff total heat Peters, his wife and the local farmer Lewis twinge and his wife Martha arrive at the home of John and Minnie Wright trying to locate clues so they could hold a trial and convict Minnie for the murder of her husband. Mrs.Peters and Martha wholesome, both precise observant, quickly take none of the obvious clues in the home but choose to not reveal them to the men. This invoice takes place during a time when women were made to savour inferior to men. This is ironic because the men fail to see the obvious clues, that the ladies ar uncovering, that are important to their investigation. Minnie Fost er Wright, who is the main character in the degree, has been force to change her identity from a lovely girl who loved to render in the choir and wear pretty dresses to one of a submissive housewife.Minnie is a very dynamic character whose dreams were represented by her pet canary and ultimately choked by the hands of her husband. The write up gives a lot of insight into the sustenance of Minnie Wright and how she felt as a housewife but it is done through the eyes of her peers. George Henderson comes across as organism narrow-minded and egotistical. He talks downward to the women throughout the entire story, he looks inside the cupboard and says, Heres a fine push-down store (Glaspell 540).After multiple comments and derogatory looks toward the ladies the lawyer remembers his grapheme in the community and states, for whole their worries, what would we do without the ladies (Glaspell 540)? George Henderson then falls back into superiority by criticizing the perturb and d irt in the farmhouse. Lewis Hale and Henry Peters share the same picture of women and do not mind letting their wives know their place in the home. Mr. Hale made a statement that the women wouldnt know a clue if they came upon one and that they were only used to worrying over trifles. ironically Mr.Hale never realized that while he was busy keeping the women in their place they were solving the murder. Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters are so detached from the internal world they didnt view the kitchen and its condition the same way the women did. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale were under no illusions as to why the kitchen was in such disarray. The story indicates that Mrs. Hale is an obedient housewife that is very comfortable in her role being married to a farmer. She is a strong lady, a charwoman of principle and a lady that is given to neatness and that leaves no romp unfinished.For example, Paragraph 1 states her bread all ready for mixing, half the dredge sifted and half unsifted. This may seem to hold little significance to the story as yet we find that Mrs. Hales neatness and sense of organization allows to her see clues that the men overlook because of their views of the home. Mrs. Peters on the other hand seems to be very ill-fitting in her role as the sheriffs wife. Initially in the story Mrs. Peters appears weak and unwilling to withhold the clues from the men investigating the crime. Mrs.Peters also discourages Mrs. Hale from withholding clues and tampering with evidence, however as the story progresses we find that Mrs. Peters has very strong convictions and that she can and will rise to the occasion. The ladies quickly pieced together what had happened, however because they relate to Minnie they chose to keep it between themselves. To these ladies dirty towels and dishes were signs that things were not well at home. Mrs. Peters knew Minnie as a young lady that was full of life, had a better-looking voice and wore pretty clothes.Over time things changed for the ladies and they grew apart and the guilt that was felt for not being a better neighbor and friend weighed heavy on their minds. Mrs. Peters said, I know what stillness is (Glaspell 550). Mrs. Peters silent where Minnie had been in life because her life wasnt that different. Although the ladies knew Minnie had committed the crime it wasnt until they found the broken henhouse and the choked canary that they felt empathy for her and begin defending her actions.They both understood that John Wright had interpreted her song, She used to sing. He killed that too (Glaspell 550). The ladies knew that the crime should be punished but they justified the crime in their minds based on their personal situations, the way John Wright had treated Minnie, and the fact they hadnt taken the time from their own lives to visit. The ladies seemed to secretly enjoy knowing they have understand the puzzle based on their domestic skills of working in the kitchen down to the type of stitching on t he quilts, even if that meant Mrs.Peters going against her husband who was the law. They go on to talk in domesticated code to the men to the very end of the story where Mrs. Hale gave the men the final clue by using quilting terms and stating, We call it knot it, Mr. Henderson (Glaspell 553). Works Cited Glaspell, Susan. A Jury of Her Peers. Perrines Literature, Structure, Sound, and Sense. Arp, Thomas R. & Greg Johnson. 10th edition. Thomson/Wadsworth. 2009. (page number)