A Jury Of Her Peers 2 Essay, Research Paper

Susan Glaspell s A Jury of Her Peers is an ethic drama that presents us with a mirror image of a society where men are considered superior to women in all actions. This drama take are reader, not on a murder mystery, but rather a strong human compassion of help for those in need. Author of this drama supports Minnie Foster s act of killing her husband, John Wright as a sign of standing up for herself. Even though killing someone in revenge of a dead bird seems to be meaningless, it has a much deeper meaning if seen through the eye of Minnie Foster. In this drama, the author uses characters and symbols to make the reader aware of the social injustice done to women, and in order to evoke a sense of self-worth in women reader.

The characters in A jury of her peers plays a role which knowledges a reader about the horrors of the time period when the story takes place. Simply by the name Mr. Wright, tells us that men are always right when it comes to opposition against women. Men in this story are shown to be superior to their sub species, women. It shows us that anything a man does is always right even though it might be wrong, where else a thing that can be considered right, done by a women is shown to be wrong. This fact can be supported by the character of John Wright who is an abusive husband. Even though he treats his wife improperly, his actions are not condemned; where as Minnie s character, who killing her husband just to stand up for herself is shows to be wrong. In this story men are given a bad role just to make a reader aware of that fact that how women were ones treated in our society.

Women in this story play a major role not just because they are more talked about but simply because it makes a women reader to stand up for herself imagining themselves as the character in the drama, just as Minnie Foster s character did for herself by killing her husband. The author portrays the fact on women by giving them the role where they are inferior to men and that they have no voice or demands. even though the story revolves around Minnie Foster, Marth Hale can be considered as the main character . she is the protagonist in this drama and also a flat character. Even though she is a typical rural housewife, she shows her loyalty to her friend and supports her action of killing her husband from the very first . This loyalty to women follows her throughout the story and shows her ability to look past a situation and tell what is really happening in the lives of others. The next major character is Mrs. Peters, the sheriff s wife. The fact that she breaks that loyalty to save an acquaintance s distant friend that she only knows what she sees in her house about allows you to see the depths of the bonds of the sisterhood of women in need. This makes her the round character in the story.

The author evokes vivid pictures in our imagination as we read this thought provoking story by using a bird, a cage, and a quilt. The term “knotting a quilt” is a parallel to the knot used in the rope to kill Mr. Wright. The quilt symbolizes Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters who join together as the jury that acquits Minnie of murder. Perhaps the symbol extends to a sisterhood joined together to eliminate spousal abuse.

The cage symbolizes Minnie’s life spent trapped in the confines of a lonely existence, unable to seek adequate emotional or spiritual sustenance. By breaking open the cage door, Minnie’s husband had set her pent up emotions free to strike out like a hawk.

The bird represents Minnie’s happy spirit and peaceful nature, killed by her husband for reasons we may never surely know. the killing of the bird that be associated as killing of Minnie s own life. .

The main purpose of the author in this drama is to make the reader aware of the social problem facing their society. No matter how excellently or how vividly symbols and character are presented in this drama we still are haunted by the disturbing actions that man species cast on the women species. This story makes a woman reader to reconsider her theory of loyalty towards her husbands; and makes a man reader to rejudged their actions on women, mainly his wife.