A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell

Going along with the theme of this literature packet, this short story centers around the theme of gender roles. More specifically, it men's sexism and thoughts on the stereotypical roles of women. This whole story has a very ironic twist. When conducting an investigation of Mrs. Wright's husband's death, the typical men decide to take on the clues themselves, leaving the women to stay out of the way. However, it is the overlooked women who ironically crack the case. With a womanly instinct and wisdom, they pick up on small clues that the men and their big egos seem to overlook. They point out the many unfinished tasks of Mrs. Wright around the house. Whenever, the women pick up certain clues, the men just dismiss it condescendingly, "Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder, and worrying about her preserves!" (Glaspell 413). Once the woman finally fully realize with certainty that Mrs. Wright was her husband's murderer and even why she did it, they do not reveal the truth. This I find incredibly disturbing. Although the women were mistreated and Mrs. Wright was a neglected wife,  that does not justify the actions of either. Mrs. Wright is a murderer, she took someone's life away, she does not deserve to live on the outside. Just because her husband mistreated her does not suddenly nullify her crime. I have hopes that men can take a lesson from this story to dismiss sexism, because the women are much more conniving then we believe.