Sisterhood In Susan Glaspell's A Jury By Her Peers

Lady Macbeth and Curley’s Wife are portrayed as victims in some parts of the play and the novel, respectively. Lady Macbeth is shown as a victim of guilt; whilst Curley’s Wife is shown as a victim of physical abuse from Curley. E Lady Macbeth is shown as a victim when the guilt of killing Duncan finally takes its toll on her health. She starts having nightmares as she tries to remove blood from her hands saying “Out, out damned spot out I say” (Poel, 2013). Curley’s wife is shown as a victim in the novel, at the point when Curley goes to accuse Slim of talking to his wife, and at this point Slim says “it seems like she can’t stay away from the men”.

Susan Glaspell’s short story, “A Jury of Her Peers” is full of symbolism, which is portrayed through the bird in the story. The story takes place in a house that is set far back and is a lonely place. With the story being written in the 1920’s the attitude men have towards women is by far noticeable throughout the story with them being doubted or looked down upon. There is a murder scene that is being investigated with the wife of the murdered man as the number one suspect. The men in the story are looking in all the wrong places, where the women looked in the one spot to find the one clue that would close the entire case.

The blind man’s wife had recently died and that’s why he was coming to visit. The narrator thought it was absurd that he was able to have a wife, he says it “ was beyond my understanding” (11). He even said how he started to feel sorry for the blind man for a minute then he began to think about the predicament the wife was in, and only the narrator thought was a bad situation. With him not trying to see the deeper effect they might’ve had on each other, he says, “And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one” (11).

“A Jury of Her Peers” The short story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell is about a murder investigation that has taken place in a lonesome-looking farm house of the Wrights. This story describes many challenges women faced during this time living in rural America. The story is given by two families, who help illustrate the murder suspect Minnie Wright. Insight on how Minnie’s life was used to help describe her and to help build the motive for the murder, and with that they were left to decide if she was guilty of the crime that was committed. Glaspell uses the plot, irony, and symbolism to develop the theme of sisterhood in this story.

In “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Foster is taken to jail for killing her quarrelsome husband. In order to convict her, the sheriff needs to find a reason for the murder. Sheriff Wright, his wife and another couple survey Minnie’s home and farm in search of evidence. While the men search the farm and upstairs room, the wives go through the kitchen and living room (the areas thought to be of little use to the men).

Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” is a story about the isolation of an individual through acts brought upon herself because of jealousy and sibling rivalry. The narrative is told through the older sister’s perspective and she is simply referred to as “Sister”. All of the characters in "Why I Live at the P.O." show a family that paints the reader a picture of comical dread: The narrator who leaves her family to live alone because of an argument that stems from sibling rivalry and a family that instead of showing comfort, love and togetherness further push her away by verbally and physically abusing (Mama slapping Sister after mentioning Cousin Flo(98)) her to the point where she had to move out. .

Curley is overly protective of his wife, which causes his wife to be lonely because no one will talk to her because she is “bad news”. Steinbeck uses ageism, sexism, and racism from the early 20’s to prove that anyone can be

The novel Beloved by Toni Morrison fundamentally relies on the relationship between the former slave Sethe and the daughter she murdered as an infant, only known to the reader as Beloved. In one scene, Beloved is attempting to make Sethe feel guilty as Sethe argues that her attempted murder of her children was out of love, and that she intended for them to be “together on the other side.” Beloved’s response, in which she points out that, after she “died,” “ghosts without skin stuck their fingers in her and said beloved in the dark and bitch in the light,” shatters the intensely loving, devoted tone that Sethe attempts to establish in favor of a more dramatic, graphic tone and creates intense juxtaposition, a device which is continually used throughout the text. (254) The phrase “ghosts without skin,” overall, exemplifies Beloved’s immature perspective. Although she is physically only about a year older than Denver, her rhetoric is not as developed, and has many childish qualities to it; the

“A Jury of Her Peers,” by Susan Glaspell is a narrative about a murder that happened in a rural county. Mrs. Martha Hale is asked to accompany her husband, the county attorney, the sheriff, and the sheriff’s wife, to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Once the five of them arrive at the crime scene, the Wright house, they settle inside the house and Mr. Hale begins to tell how he discovered Mr. John Wright was dead. After Mr. Hale tells his story, the men head upstairs and leave the women alone to gather clothes for Minnie Wright. In this time, the women discover the telling clues for Minnie’s motive in killing John but decide to not reveal this information to the men.

The character of the narrator progresses from a closed minded individual to someone who can look outside of his own perspective. The feelings and assumptions the narrator has towards the blind are insensitivity and bitterness. Without even meeting the blind man, the narrator displays a negative view towards him. When the narrator hears that Robert was once married, he starts to feel bad for the woman, “what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one… She could if she wanted, wear green eye-shadow around one eye, a straight pin in her nostril, yellow slacks, and purple shoes, no matter” (282).